Patent Agent/Counsel

Oxy is an international energy company with assets primarily in the United States, the Middle East and North Africa. We are one of the largest oil and gas producers in the U.S., including a leading producer in the Permian and DJ basins, and offshore Gulf of Mexico. Our midstream and marketing segment provides flow assurance and maximizes the value of our oil and gas. Our chemical subsidiary OxyChem manufactures the building blocks for life-enhancing products. Our Oxy Low Carbon Ventures subsidiary is advancing leading-edge technologies and business solutions that economically grow our business while reducing emissions. We are committed to using our global leadership in carbon management to advance a lower-carbon world. Visit oxy.com for more information.

Occidental strives to attract and retain talented employees by investing in their professional development and providing rewarding opportunities for personal growth. Our goal is to meet the highest employer standards by ensuring the health and safety of our employees, protecting the environment and positively impacting our communities where we do business.

TerraLithium is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oxy that has know-how and technology to efficiently extract lithium from brines and convert it to battery-grade products. TerraLithium is leveraging Oxy's expertise in subsurface and chemical engineering alongside proven success in technology scale-up and major project development to commercial its technology at global scale. Visit TerraLithium.com for more information.

Our greatest asset has been, and will continue to be, our people. We are looking for an experienced and motivated individual to fill the position of Patent Agent or Patent Counsel in our Low Carbon Venture (LCV), TerraLithium Business Unit in San Diego, California under the general direction of the Director of Low Carbon Ventures Services.

The Patent Agent or Patent Counsel will be responsible for the development and support of TerraLithium's intellectual property portfolio. The successful candidate will contribute in developing the IP strategy as TerraLithium's business grows and expands. The role will be based out of San Diego but will require frequent travel (2-3 times per month) to the field office in Brawley, CA. The determination of the precise title, either Patent Agent or Patent Counsel, will depend upon the qualifications of the successful candidate.

Core Responsibilities:

• Patent portfolio management: prosecute existing patent applications to issuance, and grow the portfolio by filing new applications
• Interfacing with inventors for invention disclosure activities
• Drafting patent applications
• Reviewing and preparing office action responses
• Managing the invention disclosure process, including generating and reviewing IDFs for patentability or other protection
• Managing intellectual property assets, including docketing deadlines and maintaining patent filing lists
• Managing external IP counsel on patent & trademark matters
• Supporting Legal and Technical teams with IP and Confidentiality provisions associated with NDAs, contracts, licensing and government funding activities
• Critically review the existing patent portfolio and identifying gaps to guide R&D activities to close gaps
• Supporting patent legal activities (litigation, as well as validity, FTO, and infringement opinions), both at the PTO and before District Courts
• Patent landscaping of other entities in the technical space, including their patent filings, to identify gaps in the patent portfolio worldwide and opportunities to leverage it
• Managing the sharing of trade secrets and sensitive technical information with internal or external parties
• Providing IP training to employees, new hires and other stakeholders
• Technology and IP document control
• Updating and executing IP Protocols
• Project Management of internal and external projects relating to the above technical fields
• Occasional travel to other locations in Southern California and Houston

Technical Responsibilities:

• Technical Analysis, Writing and Presentations of:
  • Patents - including but not limited to drafting, and prosecution
  • Freedom to Operate activities
  • Patent Infringement and Validity activities
• Creation and management of technical documentation for:
  • Patent Landscape Analysis
  • IDFs and patent applications
  • Technology licensing updates and reports
  • Due diligence activities
  • IP updates to management

Education and Experience:

• At least an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering, preferably, or Process Engineering, with a focus on inorganic chemistry. Consideration will be given to candidates with an undergraduate degree or higher in Chemistry (inorganic) or the Applied Sciences
• Registered as a Patent Agent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Attorneys registered with the USPTO will also be considered, if they have the requisite experience in directly drafting and prosecuting patent applications
• At least four (4) years' experience in drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the field of chemical processes and systems, or a related field, with corporate in-house experience preferred
• Demonstrated experience conducting inventor interviews, including fleshing out an invention disclosure, identifying the essential elements and alternate embodiments of an invention, and helping inventors identify patentable vs. non-patentable features.
• Claim drafting experience preferred in mineral or brine (e.g. lithium) extraction and refinement, or a related field
• Ability to distinguish a party's background IP from a new invention, and to claim an invention accordingly
• Ability to distill complex problems into simple solutions
• Ability to quickly understand a patent portfolio, including issues with specific families and key filings, in view of business priorities
• Ability to collaborate in a fast-paced multi-disciplinary team environment; including the ability to effectively communicate and navigate through the interfaces between technical, business, legal and administrative teams
• Ability to present on a variety of IP topics to the business unit and management
• Experience preparing patent applications, determining correct inventorship, and managing inventor-derived disclosures from inventors across different corporate entities
• Experience managing invention disclosures and records from inventors across different corporate entities

Key Competencies:

• Experience and comfort working in a fast-paced commercial and/or R&D environment
• Insatiable curiosity - you bring a desire to learn about a company's key technologies and how best to protect them
• Be the IP ambassador and promoter in TerraLithium
• High level of independence and self-motivation - ability to come to the table ready with solutions
• Comfort being supervised and working remotely, and willingness to exchange in collaborative feedback virtually to establish best practices, including taking direction on patent drafts and Office Action responses
• Passionate about innovation and its application to addressing climate change
• Thrive on doing things that have not been done before (explorer mindset) and tackling challenging problems

Safety:

• Demonstrate a positive safety culture within TerraLithium
• Identify, report, and resolve unsafe conditions, processes, or actions within the workplace
• Ensure that all safety-related incidents, accidents, and near misses are reported and investigated in line with company policy

Confidentiality:

• Maintain the strict confidentiality of all TerraLithium proprietary information including any information learned or created during employment with TerraLithium
• Demonstrate and prioritize a strong understanding of cybersecurity. Employees must exercise caution and utilize secure practices while handling sensitive data and accessing company systems

Recruitment Fraud

It has come to our attention various individuals and/or organizations are contacting people falsely pretending to recruit on behalf of Oxy. Please be aware that these recruiting scams and communications do not originate nor are they associated with our recruitment process. All Oxy job postings and offers will require a completed application through our company website.

Oxy does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruiting process. We will never:

*Ask you to pay for applications, interviews, meetings, processing, training or for any other fees

*Use recruiting or placement agencies that charge candidates an advance fee of any kind or

*Request personal information such as passport and bank account details at an early stage of our recruitment process.

We recommend against responding to unsolicited business propositions or offers from people you don't know. Do not disclose your personal or financial details. If you believe you have been the victim of a recruiting scam, please contact your local police department.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status or any other basis as protected by federal, state, or local law.