Senior Intellectual Property Specialist

IP Specialist

Kubota's North American Headquarters is seeking a highly skilled IP Specialist to support and advance the company's intellectual property strategy. This role plays a critical part in protecting innovation, strengthening Kubota's competitive position, and enabling successful commercialization across diverse product lines.

The IP Specialist leads execution of Kubota's intellectual property initiatives, including invention harvesting, patent portfolio development, competitive intelligence, commercialization support, and cross-functional collaboration. The role partners closely with engineering, R&D, product teams, and outside counsel to ensure Kubota's IP assets are strategically developed, protected, and leveraged.

Partner with engineering, R&D, and product teams to identify patentable innovations aligned with business objectives.

Lead creation, evaluation, and strategic growth of Kubota's patent portfolio.

Conduct patentability, freedom-to-operate (FTO), landscape, and competitive intelligence analyses to support portfolio decisions, commercialization, and risk management.

Track emerging technologies and competitor IP activity.

Support invention disclosures, filing strategy, prosecution, docket oversight, and maintenance decisions.

Contribute to licensing, litigation, enforcement, IP agreements, and due-diligence activities through technical analysis and stakeholder coordination.

Advise teams on patent, trade secret, and trademark strategy; deliver IP awareness training.

Other duties as assigned.

Bachelor's degree in a technical discipline or equivalent experience; advanced degree in engineering or law preferred.

8+ years of industry experience in patent portfolio development, patent searching, analytics, competitive intelligence, commercialization support, or related IP functions.

Experience leading invention harvesting and strong working knowledge of patent and trade secret practices; experience supporting licensing, litigation, or enforcement preferred.

Demonstrated ability to conduct patentability, FTO, and landscape analyses, manage outside counsel, and use patent search/analytics tools.

Proven ability to independently manage complex IP matters with strong technical, analytical, and communication skills.

Experience in vehicle autonomy and/or connectivity (telemetry, communication systems, data integration) preferred.

Requires sufficient personal mobility and reflexes to function effectively in a general office environment and perform the duties outlined above.

The information provided reflects the general nature and level of work expected for this role. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, qualifications, or working conditions. Management reserves the right to modify responsibilities or designate other functions as essential at any time.

Kubota is an equal opportunity at will employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of age, race, religion, color, disability, sex, sexual orientation or national origin.