The ideal candidate will advise Harman’s divisions, including its engineering, product marketing, sales, IT and operations teams on a wide variety of matters related to Harman products, including technology development, licensing, intellectual property, and regulatory compliance. This position will work hands-on with the business to provide counseling and solutions on a wide range of issues, including draft and negotiate complex commercial agreements, software technology development agreements, technology acquisitions and intellectual property licenses, as well as advice clients on day-to-day technology-related legal matters plus related matters such as competition law and privacy/security.
This position requires the ideal candidate to have extensive transaction and licensing experience, business knowledge and expertise at the intersection of contracts law, computer law and intellectual property law. You will also work as a member of the broader legal team supporting Harman’s products and services. Strong substantive skills (particularly in intellectual property licensing and risk-shifting), an aptitude for understanding complex technologies and relaying solutions in clear and concise business terms, an ability to work as a member of a team and across a multi-layered matrix organization, plus exemplary project management skills are all a must for this position. You must have very strong communication and analytical skills, superior business acumen, and the ability to resolve complex issues in creative and effective ways. Best suited for a self-starter who loves technology and thrives in a fast- paced, dynamic environment.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
None.
Job Responsibilities:
- Provide advice and counsel to the business on intellectual property-related matters.
- Act as leading counsel on technology-driven transactions across Harman’s business divisions.
- Act as the lead legal contact for procurement and other businesses on technology, licensing, development, and engineering services agreements and for providing counseling and guidance on IP issues in commercial and customer transactions.
- Draft, review and negotiate agreements that involve all types of intellectual property supporting all aspects of the organization, including; negotiating intellectual property licenses (including patent and trademark licenses); joint development, collaboration and other strategic alliance agreements; technology licenses and services agreements (including software as a service agreements); OEM sales agreements; distribution agreements (including OEM and VAR and other reseller agreements) as well as performing intellectual property and technology transaction due diligence for corporate transactions and technology transfers;
- Conduct and lead IP and technology transaction due diligence and lead on IP terms reviews for mergers and acquisitions and technology transfer agreements;
- Have familiarity with open source and standards body policies and procedures.
- Manage high volume of transactions
- Develop process for early identification of contract needs throughout product development process
- Develop best practice and training materials for IP transactions and provide training to management, general attorneys, and procurement specialists
- Engage in collegial and collaborative discussions with internal clients including technology leaders, product development, business and sales teams to counsel and obtain alignment on positions concerning a variety of IP terms and issues;
- Identify issues in product development and technology transactions that may impact our global IP strategy;
- Have experience with IP monetization efforts, including transfer of intellectual property assets (electronics, software, cloud, telecommunications, internet companies preferred);
- Implement IP strategy throughout a wide range of agreements, such as, NDAs, partnership, marketing, joint development, patent license, service, standards organization membership, employment and M&A purchase agreements etc.; and
- Strategically manage outside counsel and budgets.
- Create standard work.
Basic Qualifications
- Law Degree from a reputable law school.
- 10+ years of previous IP, technology and commercial law experience, both in-house and at a law firm.
- Previous experience working as an in-house counsel at a technology company, including experience with software, cloud and connected services.
- Ability to work well in a Global multi-layered organization.
- Ability to provide senior management legal advice.
- Ability to work independently and cross-functionally.
- Ability to prioritize and appropriately manage risk in a corporate legal environment.
- Desire and ability to work in a fast-paced and challenging environment.
- Flexibility and a positive attitude.
- Excellent work ethic.
- Work well in a team environment.
- Very good organizational skills and attention to detail, including the ability to prioritize and multi-task and keep everything going smoothly without dropping any balls.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, including presentations to senior business, technical and legal personnel
Preferred Qualifications & Desired Competencies:
Leadership:
- Build environment of trust, high performance and engagement by establishing clear goals and a commitment to feedback, development and recognition
Change Orientation:
- Apply original thinking and continuous improvement to processes, products, systems or services and manage change to better serve customer needs
Collaboration:
- Encourage open expression of ideas; communicate effectively at all levels and build strong relationships
Judgment:
- Demonstrate critical thinking to take appropriate risk and make sound and timely decisions
Results-Driven:
- Take initiative to achieve superior, quality results against internal or external standards of excellence