Director / Senior Director, Intellectual Property

About the role

This role adds senior in-house legal capacity to protect insitro's science and pipeline. Reporting to the VP, Head of Intellectual Property, you will lead patent preparation, prosecution, and freedom-to-operate analyses across therapeutic programs and the machine-learning platform. You will also help design and implement IP strategy that keeps pace with the legal developments shaping AI-native pharmaceutical companies—translating shifts in the law quickly into filings that strengthen insitro's scientific, competitive, and IP position.

Responsibilities

• Patent Preparation & Prosecution
  • Draft and Prosecute: Prepare and prosecute U.S. and foreign patent applications across the therapeutic pipeline and machine-learning platform
  • Ownership & Assignment: Manage inventorship, ownership, and assignment matters across jurisdictions
• IP Strategy & Portfolio Management
  • Shape the Strategy: Help design, implement, and evolve IP strategy and asset lifecycle management in step with the rapidly shifting legal landscape for AI-native pharma
  • Competitive Intelligence: Monitor patent filings, publications, and pipeline developments of competitors and translate complex landscape data into strategic recommendations for corporate strategy and business development
• Trademark & Trade Secret
  • Manage the trademark portfolio and support trade-secret strategy and protection
• Risk & Transactions
  • FTO & Counseling: Conduct and lead freedom-to-operate, patentability, validity, and infringement analyses, and counsel scientific and business colleagues on data-use agreements and use of open-source software, AI models, and third-party datasets
  • Due Diligence: Support IP due diligence for partnerships, collaborations, and financing transactions
• Invention Capture & Operations
  • Embed with R&D: Identify and protect patentable innovations by partnering with research teams to establish systematic invention capture workflows and reviewing upcoming publications to prevent premature disclosure
  • Outside Counsel & Budget: Manage outside counsel, foreign associates, and the IP budget; prepare IP strategy and portfolio reviews for leadership
  • Docket Discipline: Maintain docket and information-disclosure-statement (IDS) discipline in partnership with the IP paralegal

About You

Experience & Qualifications
Legal Credentials: J.D., active state bar membership, and USPTO registration (patent bar); this is an attorney role
Scientific Foundation: Ph.D. in a life-science field
Prosecution Depth: 8-10+ years as a patent attorney with substantial pharmaceutical/biopharma patent preparation and prosecution experience (in-house or firm), including written-description and enablement strategy
Both Sides of the Table: Experience on the innovator side (offensive claiming and moat-building) and the fast-follower side (FTO analysis and navigation, licensing, and secondary patents)
Full IP Toolkit: Breadth across patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyright, with exposure to handling IP in partnerships, licensing, and business transactions being a plus
Subject Matter Expertise: Deep expertise in nucleic-acid and/or antibody therapeutics and working knowledge of AI/ML methods and their application in drug discovery are both pluses
Technical Skills: Comfort using— or eagerness to learn — AI tools and workflows
Core Competencies: Strategic Translator: You convert shifts in patent law and the competitive landscape into concrete filing decisions that move fast enough to matter
Embedded Partner: You build trust with scientists and engineers, making invention capture feel like a natural part of how R&D works rather than a legal obligation
Operational Owner: You run a tight ship — docket, budget, outside counsel, and IDS discipline — without losing sight of the bigger strategic picture

Compensation & Benefits

At Insitro Our target starting salary for successful US-based applicants for this role is $255,000 - $312,000. To determine starting pay, we consider multiple job-related factors including a candidate's skills, education and experience, market demand, business needs, and internal parity. We may also adjust this range in the future based on market data. This role is eligible for participation in our Annual Performance Bonus Plan (based on company targets by role level and annual company performance) and our Equity Incentive Plan, subject to the terms of those plans and associated policies. In Addition, Insitro Also Provides Our Employees 401(k) plan with employer matching for contributions
Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage as well as mental health and well-being support
Open, flexible vacation policy
Paid parental leave of at least 16 weeks to support parents who give birth, and 10 weeks for a new parent (inclusive of birth, adoption, fostering, etc)
Quarterly budget for books and online courses for self-development
New hire stipend for home office setup
Monthly cell phone & internet stipend
Access to free onsite baristas and daily lunch for employees who are either onsite or hybrid
Access to a free commuter bus network that provides transport to and from our South San Francisco HQ from locations all around the Bay Area
insitro is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. We believe diversity, equity, and inclusion need to be at the foundation of our culture. We work hard to bring together diverse teams–grounded in a wide range of expertise and life experiences–and work even harder to ensure those teams thrive in inclusive, growth-oriented environments supported by equitable company and team practices. All candidates can expect equitable treatment, respect, and fairness throughout the interview process.