Patent Examination Policy Advisor

Are you up for an exciting challenge to work with the Office of Patent Legal Administration (OPLA), Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy? The incumbent will support the development, review, and implementation of patent examination policies, procedures, rules and practices, including the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, and provide guidance and training on patent-related legal and policy matters.

Duties

The physical worksite for this position is located in Alexandria, Virginia. Presence at the Alexandria, VA campus is required for this role, as it includes on site functions that must be performed in person. Position may be eligible for situational telework in accordance with agency policy/business unit discretion. The agency currently allows for 52 hours of telework per calendar year.

The individual selected for this position will be…

• Applying comprehensive knowledge of applicable intellectual property laws, examination guidelines, and rules of practice and procedure; and utilizing a strong working knowledge of overall patent operations and related administrative functions to support policy, procedural, and operational decision-making.
• Performing comprehensive, in-depth reviews and analyses of complex individual intellectual property applications or systemic components of the examination process, identifying issues, evaluating procedures, and recommending improvements to ensure consistency, accuracy, and compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and standards.
• Developing, formulating, and implementing new or revised examination regulations, practices, and procedures by issuing regulatory or public notices, circulating internal memoranda, creating training materials, and updating forms and standardized guidance.
• Providing staff assistance to senior patent leadership by researching and developing legal position papers to resolve complex patent-practice issues as they arise; formulating and guiding patent practice and policy subject to public and legislative scrutiny; and coordinating stakeholder outreach, impact analysis, and implementation planning for adopted positions.
• Delivering briefings and presentations to organizational leaders, technical examiners, and external stakeholders-including practitioners and independent inventors-on legal and procedural updates, policy changes, and program initiatives to support consistent, informed practice.
• Drafting documents; including presentations, policy memoranda, public notices, and rulemaking packages-and delivering them to organizational leaders, technical examiners, and external stakeholders for review, consideration, and, where appropriate, public comment.

Salary

• $183,257 - $197,200/year

Conditions of Employment

• Applicants will only be accepted from United States Citizens and Nationals.
• Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related competencies.
• You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
• Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
• Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
• If selected, you may be required to complete a two-year trial period.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
• Suitable for Federal Employment.
• This position requires the completion of OGE-450 Financial Disclosure.
• If selected, you will be appointed under Schedule Policy/Career Excepted Service Hiring authority. See below in Additional Information for more information.

Qualifications

You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. OPM Qualifications Standards are available at Patent Administration Series 1220.

Specialized Experienceis experience that has equipped applicants with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the federal service. For this position, the next lower grade level is a GS-14.

Specialized experience for this position includes:

• Applying advanced engineering, scientific, and practical principles and methodologies to examine patent applications, assess patentability, and identify key issues. AND
• Interpreting and using administrative laws, policies, regulations, and precedents relevant to patent prosecution, reexamination, and reissue proceedings. AND
• Analyzing complex technical, factual, and legal matters to assess economic and technological impacts on major industries.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.?

Education Education may not be substituted for specialized experience at this grade level. Other Information As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be serving in a position in Schedule Policy/Career of the excepted service. You will obtain competitive status after two years of service in this position if applicable. Your employment in this position will be at-will. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) appeals of adverse actions concerning performance, discipline, and other matters arising under chapters 23, 43, and 75 of title 5, United States Code will not be available to an individual serving in this position. Prohibitions on prohibited personnel practices will be enforced by the Office of General Counsel [or agency equivalent position] and not the Office of Special Counsel. If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information. This is a Non Bargaining Unit position. If selected for this position, you may be required to complete the Fair Credit Act Memo, which gives consent so that one or more consumer credit reports may be obtained for employment purposes. This is a Public Trust position and has a risk level designation of "high risk". Background Investigation - If selected for this position, you may be required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306), which includes a fingerprint and credit check, to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. The USPTO participates in E-Verify. For more information on E-Verify, please visit the Department of Homeland Security Website. All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice. Relocation Expenses are not authorized and will not be paid. More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued. All application materials become the property of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO Job Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should request accommodation(s) from the USPTO at USPTO Reasonable Accommodations. Required Documents

A complete application consists of:

• Resume: All applicants are required to submit a two-page resume (NOT TO EXCEED 2 PAGES). Resumes exceeding this limit will not be considered eligible. Please submit only one resume. Only the document uploaded under the "Resume "section as the "Document Type" will be reviewed to assess your qualifications and for evaluation purposes. To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/year (MM/YY - MM/YY) and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resume. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Resume should clearly state your experience related to this position as described in the Duties section and Qualifications section.
• Professional or Academic References: Provide 2-3 professional/academic references (name, phone, email); one must be your current supervisor. We'll notify you before contacting them.
• Accomplishment Record: No more than two pages, candidates must provide brief narratives addressing all four competencies. Each narrative must include one relevant example.

Please Note: Responses to job questions that are not fully supported by the information in your resume may result in adjustments to your rating. Any experience claimed in a cover letter should be substantiated by information contained in your resume. A HR Representative will validate the qualifications of those candidates eligible to be referred to the hiring official.

Supporting Documents:

1. Performance Appraisal: Recent performance appraisal with supervisor's signature showing the official final rating of record and copy of incentive award(s). In cases where the performance appraisal is incomplete or unavailable, applicants may provide explanation of the reasons.

2. Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) documents: If you are a Veteran claiming eligibility under VEOA, you will be asked to submit a copy of your DD-214. Veterans must include dates of military service on their application materials and submit a copy of each Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, DD-214. For more info, please visit Special Appointing Authorities for Veterans.

3. Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50): For current and/or former Federal employees, your status eligibility and highest permanent grade/step/salary held in the Federal service will be validated with a copy of your most recent (NON AWARDSF-50), "Notification of Personnel Action" so that we may verify your time-in-grade.

4. Special Appointing Authorities: If you are applying under a special appointing authority (i.e., Schedule A, disabled veterans, or certain military spouses, NOAA Corps), you will be asked to submit documents showing eligibility to non-competitively apply under Merit Assignment announcements. Please indicate the type of special appointment you are seeking on your application. For more info on non-competitive appointments and supporting documents, please visit Federal Employment of People with Disabilities or Feds Hire Vets - Special Hiring Authorities.Documentation supporting NOAA Commissioned Corps: NOAA Form 56-16 or other documentation supporting active duty in NOAA Corps.

How to Apply

You MUST apply online. If you experience difficulties with the application process or do not have access to a computer, please contact the HR Specialist listed as the point of contact before the closing date of this job announcement.

If you are a new user to the USAJobs Site and have never registered for an account; you will first need to create an account profile with your basic contact information and a resume to begin applying. You must be a registered USAJobs user AND you must be signed-in to your account in order to apply for this position. For help setting up an account or for general help using USAJobs, go to USAJobs Help Page. Once you have gathered all of the required information and are ready to begin the application process, click the "APPLY" button at the right side of the page. You will then be directed away from USAJobs to the Department of Commerce application site for USPTO. You must click "Submit" at the end of the application process to send your application for consideration.

To return to your saved application, log in to your USAJOBS account at http://www.usajobs.gov/ and click on "Applications." Click on the position title, then select "Update Application."

If you experience any difficulties with the application site, help is available! OPM has a Help feature on each page. Use this option when you need assistance.

All required supporting documents will be collected electronically via the USAJobs "Saved Documents" feature.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is defined as information that can be traced back to a specific individual and potentially compromise their security or privacy. Examples of PII include: date of birth, Social Security Number, and place of birth.

Please ensure that you have removed all Personally Identifiable Information from all documents prior to submitting or uploading your applications material.