Science Advisor – Patent Information Specialist

Job Opportunity: Science Advisor/Patent Information Specialist

We are on the lookout for a professional who will assist our attorneys in reviewing and understanding scientific documents for the development of the company’s intellectual property strategy and execution thereof.

The Team

The Intellectual Property (IP) group consists of 6 highly collaborative and motivated professionals who are responsible for the company’s IP strategy development and execution. The successful candidate will report to the Senior Director of the IP group and this position will be based at our office in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Your Role

The role will be responsible for facilitating information flow between inventors, experts, attorneys, and outside consultants. As a Science Advisor or Patent Information Specialist, you will develop solid working relationships with our European Patent Attorneys and IP Directors, and with members of the scientific and management teams. You will also help these teams to keep finding new and better ways of performing research and improving processes through new technologies. Your main tasks and responsibilities include the following:

• Facilitating new IP capture by participating in and memorialization of technical planning sessions and R&D meetings with scientific staff
• Assisting in all aspects of the factual development and investigation of IP cases, including how they relate to patent prosecution, due diligence, landscape review, literature, and prior art searches
• Assisting the attorneys in their analysis and synthesis of research work conducted in house and by third parties that is relevant to case-specific IP inquiries
• Assisting the attorneys during document review processes; assisting with witness preparation and potentially attending depositions and opposition proceedings to offer guidance and clarity on technical matters
• Reviewing and aligning draft and proposed public disclosures and collaboration work product to secure confidential materials and IP/trade secret matters

Your Profile

The successful Science Advisor or Patent Information Specialist should have a keen interest in learning about new technology and performing in-depth research in emerging fields. You must be able to present scientific and technical data both to people without a scientific background and to people with a scientific background but not necessarily in the specific technical subject matter at issue. This will be backed up by the following:

• A master's or PhD degree in immunology or closely related field
• A demonstrated ability to perform research and investigations, and to analyze specialized data and documents from the perspective of your field of study
• An ability to review peer-reviewed publications, study plans, patent applications etc. and to answer questions clearly and succinctly regarding the scientific content
• Good writing skills and ability to explain scientific concepts in layman’s terms

Why Merus?

We offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with some of the best and brightest in the biotech industry. As part of Merus, you’ll experience a steep learning curve from your very first day on the job. And you’ll get to interact with a great international team of people who love what they do! To top it all, we offer a competitive salary, flexible working hours, an excellent pension scheme, a company bonus, and 30 days’ annual leave (based on a full-time position). Most importantly, you’ll have the chance to help us close in on cancer – everything you do matters at Merus.