Sr. Director, Intellectual Property Lead

The Opportunity
Reporting to the General Counsel, Seqirus, as the Intellectual Property Lead, you will have significant responsibility and impact. You will be instrumental in forming strategic partnerships with the respective business leads/TA leads. You will lead and oversee the global management of intellectual property matters (including patents, trademarks, copyright, contentious IP matters, regulatory exclusivities and, as relevant, trademarks and other IP rights) as well as provide strategic guidance to advance the IP assets and create commercial business value, commercial security and confidence. In this role, you will be integral to developing, defending and enforcing Seqirus’ global patent and trademark portfolio, developing and enforcing the Seqirus’ Regulatory exclusivities’ portfolio, and ensuring compliance with intellectual property laws, thereby supporting the company's broader business objectives. You will lead and support all IP aspects of deals planned and executed by Seqirus. You will partner with the business stakeholders on developing life‑cycle management and life‑cycle initiatives that involve IP among other things. You will be the primary point of contact for Seqirus management, including the Seqirus General Counsel for all IP related matters (if required).

This is a hybrid role, which offers a combination of an onsite and remote work schedule.

The Role

Lead the Seqirus IP function, managing a team of patent and trademark professionals and technical specialists supporting products, platform technologies, and innovation pipelines. This role will report to the Seqirus General Counsel.

Strategic oversight of IP litigation and contentious matters relating to Seqirus products, including coordination of strategy, evidence, and settlement positions with internal stakeholders and external counsel across key jurisdictions.

Provide guidance and high‑level oversight on trademark and brand protection strategy for Seqirus products, including clearance and use counseling, coordination of filings and maintenance with external counsel, and potential enforcement actions and disputes.

Responsible for developing, managing and delivering on IP strategy for Seqirus, including relating to clinical development, commercial activities, parallel import, exclusivities (regulatory data exclusivity, orphan drug exclusivity, pediatric exclusivity, PTE/SPC), labeling, life‑cycle management, country support, communications, patent listings, and LoE preparedness.

Oversee and support the prosecution and defense of Seqirus intellectual property, including identifying and safeguarding inventions related to Seqirus products and activities, and managing the IP portfolio with respect to pending applications and granted IP rights, taking into account national and international law and guidelines.

Act as a key business partner for senior leadership, commercial and R&D divisions in assessing, leading, and strategically managing potential IP challenges related to Seqirus development and commercial products. Provide oversight and input for IP disputes, including IP office challenges and court litigations (infringement and revocation lawsuits) relating to Seqirus products; advise Seqirus General Counsel.

Lead and support IP aspects of Seqirus' deals, including licensing, collaborations, partnerships, supply and distribution agreements, and M&A.

Drive cross‑functional collaboration across R&D, Commercial, Regulatory, Clinical, Manufacturing, Strategy, and Legal.

Manage external counsel relationships and direct strategy for disputes, oppositions, litigations, and enforcement matters.

Your Skills & Abilities

Master’s degree in a life‑sciences discipline (chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology) or a related field, preferably a PhD, or equivalent experience in scientific research.

Qualified Patent Attorney or IP lawyer admitted to practice in the US, Europe or Australia, or with equivalent legal qualifications and experience in Intellectual Property.

At least 12 years' post‑qualification experience in Intellectual Property.

At least 5 years of experience with life‑science technologies and operations of in‑house IP teams with a background in a technical field relevant to Seqirus.

Experience managing or supervising IP litigation (e.g., patent and/or trademark disputes, oppositions, and related proceedings), including instructing and overseeing external counsel.

Experience with trademark matters (e.g., clearance and use advice, portfolio strategy, filings/maintenance managed via outside counsel, and enforcement or dispute resolution) is strongly preferred.

Proven experience in managing an in‑house IP team, preferably in the pharmaceutical or biotech field.

Proven experience in due diligence, life‑cycle management, IP challenges and/or negotiations.

This role may require travel, especially to Seqirus sites in Europe, the US and Australia, and will involve working across different time zones.

Equal Opportunity Employer
CSL is an Equal Opportunity Employer. If you are an individual with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, please visit https://www.csl.com/accessibility-statement.

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