Quick overview
Job description
About us
e184 is building technologies that go beyond biological limits: in vitro gametogenesis and ectogenesis,
and a non-invasive brain-computer interface. Much of what our scientists invent has
never been patented before - because it has never existed before.
Role overview
As an IP Lawyer and Patent Attorney at e184, you will be the person who turns that science into protected, defensible IP. Not someone who manages outside firms from a distance, but the lawyer who sits next to the bench, understands the experiment and writes the claims. You will be our in-house lawyer: patents come first, and as we grow you will also be the person the team turns to when a legal question comes up.
What you'll do
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Shape the strategy. Work with our scientists early and decide together what to patent, what to keep as a trade secret and what can be published.
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Write the patents. Judge what is patentable across our programs, then draft, file and prosecute the applications yourself - US first, then PCT and national phases.
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Know the landscape. Run prior-art searches, map the patents around our work, and tell us which third-party patents to watch, design around or challenge.
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Get inventorship right. Including the idea first sketched with an outside collaborator – and put the right assignments in place.
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Protect our IP in collaborations. Draft and negotiate the collaboration, sponsored research, material and data transfer agreements and NDAs behind our work with universities, hospitals and partners: who owns what, what gets published, how samples and data are used. Negotiate licenses when we need someone else’s IP.
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Keep ownership clean. Make sure every invention made in our US and UK companies belongs where it should - employment, consulting and advisor agreements included.
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Be the first legal eyes. Review the IP, confidentiality and liability terms of our commercial agreements; spot export-control, data-protection and research-regulation questions; and work with outside corporate and tax counsel on equity and group-structure matters.
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Run outside counsel well. Keep track of what we have signed and committed to, and get the best out of outside firms - on time and on budget.
Core requirements
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Hold a JD and are admitted to a US state bar. USPTO registration is strongly preferred (or you work closely with a registered practitioner).
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Have 5+ years of hands-on IP work for R&D-driven companies or research institutions, and have drafted and prosecuted patents yourself.
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Are at home with prior-art searches, inventorship questions, licensing and R&D agreements – NDAs, material transfer, sponsored research, collaboration and supplier agreements.
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Know your way around start-up equity – restricted stock, options, shareholder agreements – well enough to spot the issues.
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Know when a question needs outside counsel, and can explain the law to scientists without losing them.
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Enjoy being the only lawyer in the room in a small, fast-moving team, and are discreet with science nobody else has seen yet.
You'll stand out with
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A life-science background – especially cell, developmental or reproductive biology, or stem cells. Physics or engineering is welcome too: we build sensors as well as cells.
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Cross-border experience (US and UK), and exposure to export-control or research-regulation questions.
Why e184?
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Unrivaled impact: Your work directly enables technology that transforms human fertility and reproductive medicine.
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Full-spectrum growth: Gain exposure to the entire lifecycle of discovery. From screening to mechanistic validation.
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Best of both worlds: Experience the creative chaos of an early-stage startup with the stability of a well-capitalized company.
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Elite collaboration: Work alongside a world-class team who are as driven as you are.
The perks
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Competitive salary + equity participation is considered
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State-of-the-art facility in Portland metro area
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Comprehensive Medical, Dental, Vision, and 401(k) with company match
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20 days PTO + 11 paid holidays