Patent Attorney / Trainee Patent Attorney (Software, AI & Bioinformatics)
Location: Oxford, UK (Hybrid)
Department: Intellectual Property
Reporting to: Head of IP / Senior IP Counsel
About Oxford Nanopore Technologies
Oxford Nanopore Technologies is a leading biotechnology company with a mission to enable the analysis of anything, by anyone, anywhere. Our pioneering nanopore sensing technology is transforming how researchers, clinicians, and industry partners access and interpret biological data.
From advancing genomics research and clinical applications to supporting environmental monitoring and infectious disease surveillance, our innovative technology is driving scientific discovery across the globe. As we continue to grow, protecting and leveraging our intellectual property portfolio remains critical to our continued success.
The Role
We are looking for a Patent Attorney / Trainee Patent Attorney to join our growing Intellectual Property team in Oxford.
This is an exciting opportunity for a part-qualified, newly qualified, or junior patent attorney to develop a rewarding in-house career within a world-leading biotechnology company. You'll work alongside experienced IP professionals, gaining exposure to patent prosecution, freedom-to-operate (FTO) analysis, portfolio management, and strategic IP support across a range of cutting-edge technologies, including software, artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, machine learning, and data processing.
As part of a collaborative and highly innovative environment, you'll receive mentoring and development support while taking on increasing responsibility within a global patent portfolio.
Key Responsibilities
Identify and protect patentable innovations in collaboration with inventors and R&D teams.
Manage global patent filing and prosecution activities through external patent counsel.
Draft and review patent applications, invention disclosures, and responses to patent office communications.
Support freedom-to-operate (FTO) assessments and competitor patent landscape analyses.
Provide practical and commercially focused IP advice to research, software, product, and commercial teams.
Assist with licensing activities, research collaborations, due diligence projects, and strategic transactions.
Support IP enforcement, opposition proceedings, and risk management activities.
Contribute to the development and execution of Oxford Nanopore's wider patent strategy.
About You
To be successful in this role, you will be:
A qualified or part-qualified UK, European, or US Patent Attorney; or
Working towards qualification with significant progress already made.
You will also have:
A strong technical background in software engineering, algorithms, artificial intelligence, machine learning, bioinformatics, data processing, computer science, or a related discipline.
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to explain complex technical and legal concepts clearly.
Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
A commercial mindset and pragmatic approach to intellectual property strategy.
The ability to build effective working relationships across technical and business functions.
Why Oxford Nanopore?
This is a unique opportunity to gain broad in-house intellectual property experience while working on technologies that are reshaping the future of biological analysis and data science.
You'll have the opportunity to work closely with scientists, engineers, software developers, business leaders, and external advisors, gaining exposure to global patent strategy, freedom-to-operate assessments, portfolio management, and business-focused IP counselling.
In return, you'll join an innovative and collaborative organisation that is committed to supporting your professional growth while enabling you to make a meaningful impact on the protection and commercialisation of world-leading technologies.
If you're looking to advance your patent career at the intersection of software, AI, bioinformatics, and biotechnology, we'd love to hear from you.
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#LI-Hybrid
Oxford Nanopore Technologies: Our goal is to bring the widest benefits to society through enabling the analysis of anything, by anyone, anywhere. The company has developed a new generation of nanopore-based sensing technology for faster, information rich, accessible and affordable molecular analysis. The first application is DNA/RNA sequencing, and the technology is in development for the analysis of other types of molecules including proteins. The technology is used to understand and characterise the biology of humans and diseases such as cancer, plants, animals, bacteria, viruses, and whole environments. With a thriving culture of ambition and strong innovation goals, Oxford Nanopore is a UK headquartered company with global operations and customers in more than 125 countries.
Skills Required
- Qualified or part-qualified UK, European, or US Patent Attorney
- Working toward patent attorney qualification with significant progress already made
- Strong technical background in software engineering, algorithms, artificial intelligence, machine learning, bioinformatics, data processing, computer science, or a related discipline
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to explain complex technical and legal concepts clearly
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities
- Commercial mindset and pragmatic approach to intellectual property strategy
- Ability to build effective working relationships across technical and business functions
Oxford Nanopore Technologies Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Oxford Nanopore Technologies and has not been reviewed or approved by Oxford Nanopore Technologies.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered good to above average across many roles, with employer-provided ranges visible for several U.S. commercial and applications positions and company materials emphasizing market‑competitive base pay. Commercial and some senior technical posts, particularly in the U.S., are positioned as competitive and often paired with strong variable components.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — All‑employee share plans in the UK and a U.S. employee stock purchase plan indicate broad access to equity as part of total reward. Company communications highlight attractive bonus and share plans that add meaningful upside beyond base pay.
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Healthcare Strength — U.S. roles indicate strong health insurance and core protections, while official materials and country overviews reference private medical coverage and wellbeing support. These elements position the health package as a notable strength alongside cash compensation.
Oxford Nanopore Technologies Insights
What We Do
Our goal is to enable the analysis of anything, anywhere, by anyone. We have developed the world’s first and only nanopore DNA and RNA sequencing platform. It’s a new generation of sequencing technology — the only one to offer: scalability to portable or ultra-high throughput formats, real-time data delivery, and the ability to elucidate rich biological data. We are aiming to disrupt the way that biological analyses are currently performed, and open up new applications that have a profound, positive impact on society. Our devices offer real-time analysis, for rapid insights, in fully scalable formats — from pocket to population scale — and the technology is being used in more than 100 countries worldwide. Founded in 2005 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford, the company now employs more than 600 people from multiple disciplines including nanopore science, molecular biology and applications, informatics, engineering, electronics, manufacturing and commercialisation. The management team, led by CEO Dr Gordon Sanghera, has a track record of delivering disruptive technologies to the market.
