About this role
Overview:
The IP & Commercial Counsel will support Inertia’s legal needs with a primary focus on intellectual property, while also acting as a generalist attorney for commercial matters. This role is ideal for a hands-on legal professional with experience in hardware and laboratory-based organizations.
This is an incredible opportunity to join Inertia at an early stage, and play a key role in shaping and executing the company’s long-term IP strategy. Reporting to Interia’s Head of Business, the Corporate Counsel role is a full time in-office position, located in our Livermore, CA office.
Primary Responsibilities:
Intellectual Property
Develop, implement, and manage Inertia’s intellectual property strategy in alignment with business and R&D objectives.
Manage relationships with outside counsel.
Coordinate invention disclosures and patent filings in partnership with engineers, scientists, and outside counsel.
Support IP risk assessments, freedom-to-operate analyses, and competitive landscape reviews.
Educate internal teams on IP best practices, confidentiality, and protection of proprietary information.
Commercial & General Legal
Draft, review and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements, including NDAs, MSAs, SOWs, vendor and collaboration agreements.
Provide practical, business-oriented legal advice to support day-to-day operations.
Identify and help mitigate legal and contractual risks while enabling business velocity.
As a fast growing startup, there are corporate matters that will arise, and the IP & Commercial Counsel will need to act as a conduit to outside counsel for more these areas to ensure priority focus on IP & Commercial.
Qualifications:
JD from an accredited law school; active bar membership.
6–8 years of legal experience with IP and commercial contracting.
Experience supporting technology, hardware, energy, or R&D-driven organizations preferred.
Familiarity with patent prosecution processes and working with outside counsel.
Ability to operate independently in a fast-paced, evolving environment and balance legal rigor with practical business judgement.
Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across technical and non-technical teams.
Salary & Benefits:
We offer market-competitive compensation and an excellent benefits program, including Medical, Dental, and Vision plans, company-paid holidays, matching 401k, and more!
About Inertia:
Inertia is taking the most direct, scientifically-proven path to commercializing fusion, leveraging the only successful achievement of fusion ignition, using a process that was pioneered at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). With groundbreaking innovation, transformative technology, and multi-year investment, Inertia is committed to commercializing fusion energy in the next decade.
Other facts
About Inertia
Inertia is a trusted collaborator for start-ups and innovative companies who need expert help to research, design, engineer, manufacture, and launch their new product ideas.
We support customers through the product development process from idea stage all the way to delivering a manufactured product - and all points in between. We not only excel at the fun stuff like inventing, designing, and prototyping, but also with the critical details such as design for manufacturing, and supply chain management - the detailed work that is often overlooked but can make or break the success of a hardware product development project.
What does a new frontier look like in our business? It’s a blank sheet of paper or a laptop screen glowing with potential. It’s this ‘nothingness’ from which ‘somethingness’ will come. That’s what excites us at Inertia. We recognize the genius in our partners and our team and we believe our destiny is to actualize it. Whatever ‘it’ is that hasn’t been before. And driven by our boundless curiosity, we set out to research, design and develop not just what has never been, but what we need, what will make life easier, what will make us smile. And we have the confidence to get there. With our vision and our expertise, we believe, we know, we can go anywhere.
Inertia. We realize the new.
Inertia is a certified Great Place to Work®
Inertia is also ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 Certified.
Learn more about us at www.inertiapd.com
What you'll do
- The IP & Commercial Counsel will develop and manage Inertia's intellectual property strategy and handle commercial legal matters. This includes drafting agreements, providing legal advice, and coordinating with outside counsel.
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