Deputy Solicitor of the USPTO and Deputy GC for IP Law

The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) is headquartered in Alexandria, VA. The mission of the USPTO is to promote innovation and competitiveness by providing quality and timely examination and issuance of patent and trademark applications, guiding domestic and international intellectual property policy, and delivering intellectual property information and education worldwide.

Duties

As the Deputy Solicitor and trusted legal advisor to the Solicitor, General Counsel, and Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, you will stand at the forefront of intellectual property law and policy - guiding critical patent litigation, influencing national intellectual property strategy and the integrity of decisions that impact inventors, businesses, and the global marketplace.

As the Deputy Solicitor, you will:

• Supervise, in coordination with the Solicitor, all intellectual property litigation involving USPTO as a party or amicus;
• Argue cases at the Federal Circuit and other courts;
• Participate in discussions with Department of Justice and Department of Commerce attorneys regarding intellectual property issues before the Supreme Court, and represent the USPTO in discussions about potential positions taken by the United States on intellectual property matters in federal courts;
• Provide administrative clearances on proposals to amend the Code of Federal Regulations and Federal Register notices involving patent and trademark law;
• Participate in developing intellectual property policies; and
• Supervise prosecution of disciplinary proceedings concerning allege violations of rules of governing practice before the USTPO.

Come join the USPTO as the Deputy Solicitor and play a pivotal role in shaping the future of American innovation.

Salary

• $196,489 - $219,487/year

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so. To verify registration visit SSS.gov.
• May be required to successfully complete a 1-year SES probationary period.
• A Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-278, and the supplemental form, Confidential Statement of Employment and Financial Interest is required within 30 days after the selection for this position.
• You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
• Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
• Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
• May be subject to pre-employment and random drug tests.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you must show that you possess the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and two Technical Qualifications (TQs), listed below in your resume. NOT TO EXCEED 2 PAGES. Resumes over the 2-page limit will not be reviewed and will be disqualified. Your resume should include examples of experience, education, and accomplishments applicable to the qualifications. If your resume does not demonstrate evidence of these qualifications, you may not receive consideration for the position.

TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (TQs): Your resume should demonstrate accomplishments that would satisfy the technical qualifications.

TQ 1: Demonstrated experience in litigating intellectual property cases in federal district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit levels and applying knowledge of intellectual property law in cases involving complex legal and technological issues.

TQ 2: Demonstrated administrative, managerial, and interpersonal skills to effectively (a) lead a highly skilled team of experienced professionals, (b) collaborate with individuals, groups, and organizations having diverse prespectives, and (c) deal with, negotiate successfully with and relate well with Judiciary, government officials, and external audiences.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQS): In addition to the Technical Qualification requirements listed above, all new entrants into the Senior Executive Service (SES) under a career appointment will be assessed for executive competency against the following five mandatory ECQs. If your 2-page resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of the ECQs, you may not receive further consideration for the position.

ECQ 1: Commitment to the Rule of Law and Principles of the American Founding: Requires a demonstrated knowledge of the American system of government, commitment to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, and commitment to serve the American people.

ECQ 2: Driving Efficiency: Involves the demonstrated ability to strategically and efficiently manage resources, budget effectively, cut wasteful spending, and pursue efficiency through process and technological upgrades.

ECQ 3: Merit and Competence: Involves the demonstrated knowledge, ability and technical competence to effectively and reliably produce work that is of exceptional quality.

ECQ 4: Leading People: Involves the demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a group toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals, and to drive a high-performance, high-accountability culture. This includes, when necessary, the ability to lead people through change and to hold individuals accountable.

EQ 5: Achieving Results: Involves the demonstrated ability to achieve both individual and organizational results, and to align results to stated goals from superiors.

Note: If you are a member of the SES or have been certified through successful participation in an OPM approved SES Candidate Development Program (SESCDP), or have SES reinstatement eligibility, you do not need to respond to the ECQs. Instead, you should attach proof (e.g., SF-50, Certification by OPM's SES Qualifications Review Board (QRB)) or your eligibility for noncompetitive appointment to the SES.

Education The candidate must have a law degree from an accredited law school program and must be a member of a bar in good standing in the United States or a Territory of the United States. Other Information This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position This is a Public Trust position and has a risk level designation of "high" risk. The USPTO participates in E-Verify. For more information on E-Verify, please visit https://www.e-verify.gov. Veteran's preference does not apply to the Senior Executive Service. Organizational and geographical mobility is essential in developing and managing SES leaders and generally is a key to advancement. Therefore, applicants are expected to be mobile and once appointed SES members, may be reassigned at the discretion of the appointing authority. OPM must authorize any employment offers made to current or former (within the last 5 years) political Schedule A, Schedule C, Schedule G, or Non-career SES employees in the executive branch. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political appointee, you must disclose that to the Human Resources Office. USPTO Job Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should request accommodation(s) from the USPTO at http://www.uspto.gov/accommodation. The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors. If you believe that you have been discriminated against and would like to file an EEO complaint, you must do so within 45 days of the date of the alleged discriminatory act. Claims of employment discrimination must be submitted to the attention of the USPTO's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity via email (oeeo@uspto.gov) or phone (571-272-8292). Required Documents

A complete application includes items described below. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).

Please carefully review the following list to determine what documentation you need to submit. Some documents may not apply to all applicants.

1. RESUME: All applicants are required to submit a resume limited to 2-pages, pdf format no less than 11pt font and 0.8 margins, showing all relevant experience. Applicants seeking initial career appointment to the Senior Executive Service (SES) must include evidence of the ECQs and TQs.

2. ADDITIONAL REQUIRED DOCUMENTS: Applicants are required to submit the following supporting documentation if applicable:

• CURRENT OR FORMER SES MEMBERS: Must provide your SES appointment SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action (or equivalent)), or SF-50 showing career SES reinstatement eligibility.
• SES CANDIDATE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (SESCDP) GRADUATES: Verification of successful completion of an OPM-approved SESCDP and OPM SES QRB certification.
• CURRENT FEDERAL CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEE: Must provide a copy of your SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) or equivalent
• TRANSCRIPT(S): You must submit copies of your law school transcripts for verification of the education requirements. Unofficial copies are acceptable; however, if selected you will be required to furnish official transcripts.
• BAR MEMBERSHIP DOCUMENTATION: You must submit documentation showing that you are an active member of the Bar in Good Standing of any State, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or any Territorial Court under the U.S. Constitution.

3. ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBER: Active Duty Service Members are required to submit a statement of service printed on command letterhead and signed by the command. The statement of service must provide the branch of service, rate/rank, all dates of service, the expected date of discharge and anticipated character of service.

Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents contain personal information such as SSN and DOB and some documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove said personal information before you submit your application. You must provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected.

How to Apply

You must submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section.

To receive consideration, the complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date.

1. Select Apply. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to log in or create an account. Then prompted to Start the Application Process by selecting "Start Application".
2. Add your two-page resume.
3. Select the documents you want to be included in this application.
4. Review the package to acknowledge that your documents were reviewed.
5. After reading and certifying the application is true and submitted in good faith, select "Continue to Agency Site."
6. Follow onscreen prompts and instructions to complete your application.
7. Add the supporting documents by indexing your documents with the dropdown. Upload any missing documents or optional documents.
8. Review and Submit Application.
9. While logged in, you can check the status of your application by selecting "+" next to the job title for this position.
10. You can review or revise your application at any point during the open period of the announcement. To update an application, you should log into your USAJOBS account and select "+" next to the job title for this position. Select "Update Application" for this job.