Senior Patent Attorney — Intellectual Property Legal Team

At U.S. Bank, we’re on a journey to do our best. Helping the customers and businesses we serve to make better and smarter financial decisions and enabling the communities we support to grow and succeed. We believe it takes all of us to bring our shared ambition to life, and each person is unique in their potential. A career with U.S. Bank gives you a wide, ever-growing range of opportunities to discover what makes you thrive at every stage of your career. Try new things, learn new skills and discover what you excel at—all from Day One.

Job Description

U.S. Bank Law Division is seeking an experienced patent attorney to help lead and grow our strategically important patent portfolio, serving as a trusted partner to inventors from early idea development through patent issuance and long-term portfolio strategy. U.S. Bank's innovation revolves around artificial intelligence, data science, cryptography, cybersecurity, digital banking, quantum computing, and more.

This position rewards a curious, entrepreneurial, and self‑directed attorney who is eager to dive in, get to know our business and technology deeply, and then identify and solve problems with minimal supervision.

Primary Responsibilities

• Manage the patent portfolio: help set and then execute strategic priorities across patent families, prioritize filings, and make thoughtful decisions about continuations, divisionals, and long‑term family management.
• Oversee ongoing prosecution end‑to‑end, directing outside counsel in the drafting and prosecution of applications and ensuring consistent quality across the portfolio.
• Build deep, lasting relationships with a dedicated group of inventors, serving as their go‑to counsel from initial idea harvesting through disclosure, filing, prosecution, and issuance.
• Design and assist with invention‑harvesting and disclosure sessions, work with our strategic business partners to help inventors articulate their concepts and identifying the strategic value of each to the broader portfolio.
• Evaluate and continually improve the quality of patents and applications throughout the disclosure and prosecution process.
• Provide strategic IP counsel to research and development teams working on emerging technologies.
• Grow your practice into adjacent, high‑impact work – supporting matters related to AI governance, innovation initiatives, data management, licensing, technology contracts, and other IP and tech‑focused legal issues across the Law Division.

Location Expectations

The role offers a hybrid schedule with an in‑office expectation of 3 or more days per week and the flexibility to work outside the office the remaining days. May require occasional business travel to meet with inventors in other locations.

Basic Qualifications

• Licensed by and in good standing with the appropriate state bar association or other appropriate state attorney licensing authority.
• Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO registration number required).

Preferred Skills/Experience

• Eight or more years of patent experience, ideally a mix of firm and in-house time, including substantial patent prosecution, portfolio management, and direct inventor interaction.
• Demonstrated experience managing a patent portfolio and patent families over their full lifecycle, including continuation strategy.
• Strong technical background and understanding of software and development, with specific familiarity with the technical aspects of digital banking, AI, blockchain, and modern technology infrastructure.
• Proven ability to direct and manage outside counsel effectively.
• Experience with patent litigation is a plus.
• Experience with trade secrets, licensing, and technology transactions is a plus.
• Strong internal client‑development skills to reach out to, earn the trust of, and collaborate with inventors and teams doing cutting‑edge work.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision and exercise independent judgment and discretion.
• A curious spirit excited to shape and lead a specialized legal practice in a corporate setting.
• Ability to assess risks and provide thoughtful advice in a fast‑paced environment.
• Excellent written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills, and a strong commitment to client service.

Our Values

Successful candidates for a position in the U.S. Bank Law Division support U.S. Bank's core values, which guide what we do every day:

• We do the right thing.
• We power potential.
• We stay a step ahead.
• We draw strength from diversity.
• We put people first.

We are proud that U.S. Bank has been recognized as a World’s Most Ethical Company® by the Ethisphere Institute, and has been named the #1 Most Admired Superregional Bank by Fortune magazine.

In the U.S. Bank Law Division, we honor those values through our mission: "we guide our clients to remarkable results with expert legal counsel." Our commitment is evident in the work we do, not only for the bank, but for our communities. The Law Division has received several awards for its pro bono contributions, including the Minnesota Corporate Pro Bono Council’s “Excellence in Pro Bono Award,” and we encourage our legal professionals to contribute time and expertise to pro bono work as part of their role.

If there’s anything we can do to accommodate a disability during any portion of the application or hiring process, please refer to our

disability accommodations for applicants

.

Benefits

Our approach to benefits and total rewards considers our team members’ whole selves and what may be needed to thrive in and outside work. That's why our benefits are designed to help you and your family boost your health, protect your financial security and give you peace of mind. Our benefits include the following:

• Healthcare (medical, dental, vision)
• Basic term and optional term life insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability
• Pregnancy disability and parental leave
• 401(k) and employer-funded retirement plan
• Paid vacation (from two to five weeks depending on salary grade and tenure)
• Up to 11 paid holiday opportunities
• Adoption assistance
• Sick and Safe Leave accruals of one hour for every 30 worked, up to 80 hours per calendar year unless otherwise provided by law

Review our full benefits available by employment status here.

U.S. Bank is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or veteran status, and other factors protected under applicable law.

E-Verify

U.S. Bank participates in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program in all facilities located in the United States and certain U.S. territories. The E-Verify program is an Internet-based employment eligibility verification system operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Learn more about the E-Verify program.

The salary range reflects figures based on the primary location, which is listed first. The actual range for the role may differ based on the location of the role. In addition to salary, U.S. Bank offers a comprehensive benefits package, including incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase 401(k) contribution and pension (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). Pay Range: $149,515.00 - $175,900.00

U.S. Bank will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment. U.S. Bank conducts background checks consistent with applicable local laws, including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act as well as the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. U.S. Bank is subject to, and conducts background checks consistent with the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA). In addition, certain positions may also be subject to the requirements of FINRA, NMLS registration, Reg Z, Reg G, OFAC, the NFA, the FCPA, the Bank Secrecy Act, the SAFE Act, and/or federal guidelines applicable to an agreement, such as those related to ethics, safety, or operational procedures.

Applicants must be able to comply with U.S. Bank policies and procedures including the Code of Ethics and Business Conduct and related workplace conduct and safety policies.

Posting may be closed earlier due to high volume of applicants.