--- title: 'Patent Agent or Junior/Patent Associate (Biology) at Scismic' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/patent-agent-or-junior-patent-associate-biology-scismic-boston-cyjgvhs7at0d' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-16' --- # Patent Agent or Junior/Patent Associate (Biology) at Scismic - **Company:** Scismic - **Location:** Boston, MA - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2025-07-03 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-16 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/scismic/8fd5e0cf-71df-4abd-8f55-c5edabfed859 ## Job description Scismic is supporting the growth of a Boston-based law firm. Their clients extend across the US and many foreign countries and include Fortune 500 companies, public and private companies, PE/VC firms, financial institutions and wealthy individuals. We are seeking the following: - Experienced patent agent (level I and level II) with a strong technical background in biological sciences - 1st to 4th-year associate with a strong technical background in biological sciences Job Functions / Responsibilities - Drafting patent applications. - Prosecuting patent applications in the US (including replies to Office actions, examiner interviews, and appeals to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board) and directing prosecution worldwide. - Conducting freedom-to-operate searches and analyses. - Conducting IP landscape analyses. - Conducting IP due diligence in the context of an asset purchase or securities offering. - Conducting invalidity and non-infringement analyses. - Counseling clients on prosecution strategy. - Surveilling competitor patent applications and filing observations at the US Patent Office. - Assisting with contested cases at the US Patent Office (e.g., inter partes review, post-grant review) or in US district court. - Assisting with agreements (e.g., for licenses, research collaborations, research services). ## Qualifications - Advanced degree (Ph.D. preferred; will consider a master’s degree with substantial industry experience); strong technical background in biological sciences. - 3-6 years of experience as a patent agent or patent associate. - Prior firm experience and registration with the USPTO. - An excellent academic record and superior organizational and communication skills (written and oral). - A demonstrated commitment to providing exceptional client service and a creative and entrepreneurial perspective on IP. - Experience in litigation and/or post-grant proceedings is a plus. Schedule The Firm is currently operating in a hybrid model, with the requirement that everyone should be in the office at least four days per week. This schedule is subject to change dependent on Firm, department, and client needs, and will be routinely evaluated. Work Authorization Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for sponsorship by the Firm (either now or in the future). ## About Scismic ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Scismic is a digital STEM ecosystem that uses explainable AI and skills-based matching to connect life science, deep tech, and manufacturing employers with qualified talent, while also providing workforce development tools for educators and economic organizations. - **Entity Type**: Private (NIH-funded) - **Headquarters**: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (with offices in Boston, London, and Singapore) - **Founded**: Not publicly disclosed - **Founders**: Dr. Danika Khong, PhD (CEO & Co-Founder) ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: HR tech / talent platform for STEM (Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Deep Tech) - **Target customers**: B2B (employers in pharma, biotech, medtech, AI/ML, robotics), B2C (STEM job seekers), B2G (economic development organizations, professional associations), B2E (universities and training providers) - **Mission**: "Put the right scientists in the right roles to help drive innovation forward" and address the broken connection between academia and industry [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/about) ## Products & Services - **Scismic Connect**: AI-powered hiring platform for employers. Provides gender- and race-blind skills matching, guarantees 3 interview-ready candidates, 97% first-year retention, and free replacement if a hire leaves within 12 months. Reduces time-to-hire by 80% [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/employers) - **Skills Locker**: Skills intelligence solution for education institutions. Maps curriculum to labor market demand, tracks emerging skills by region, and improves graduate employment outcomes [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/?hsLang=en) - **SMARTBoard EDU**: White-label technology for economic development organizations and professional associations to build skills-first communities, map regional talent supply/demand, and coordinate multi-stakeholder initiatives [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/?hsLang=en) - **Job Seeker Platform**: Free platform for STEM professionals to find jobs, receive personalized career pathway recommendations, and access upskilling opportunities [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/?hsLang=en) ## Market Standing - **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not disclosed - **Key Metric**: Over 80,000 scientists and engineers screened; 8,000+ skills mapped (NIH-awarded taxonomy); 97% employee retention beyond 12 months [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/employers) - **Notable Investors / Partners**: Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to reduce bias in candidate evaluation; also partners with economic development organizations and professional associations [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/scismic-llc) - **Growth Signals**: Headcount of 9 employees (-22.2% YoY, -4 people) per LinkedIn; LinkedIn followers 11,609 (+18.9% yearly). The company is expanding into workforce development and education verticals with white-label solutions [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/scismic-llc) ## Competitive Advantages - **NIH-awarded skills-matching technology** that is gender- and race-blind, reducing bias in candidate screening - **Specialized focus on STEM** (life sciences, manufacturing, deep tech) – not a generalist platform - **Strong retention guarantees**: 97% first-year retention, free replacement within 12 months - **Plug-and-play ecosystem** for multiple stakeholders (employers, educators, workforce boards) – not just a job board ## Strategic Focus - **Skills-first hiring** – moving away from pedigree-based evaluation to verified skills data - **Bridging the academia-industry gap** – helping translate STEM education into commercial innovation - **Workforce development at scale** – white-label solutions for regional economic development and professional associations - **Expanding education partnerships** – aligning curriculum with real-time labor market demand ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Mission-driven team of PhD scientists and engineers who understand the rigor of research and the importance of talent in STEM. Rated 4.5/5.0 on LinkedIn (6 reviews) with high scores for Work-Life (4.7) and Culture (4.6), but lower for Compensation (2.4) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/scismic-llc) - **Remote/Hybrid/Office**: Not explicitly stated; headquarters in Cambridge, MA with global offices (Boston, London, Singapore). Likely hybrid or remote-friendly given 9 employees across multiple countries. - **Notable Perks**: Opportunity to work on NIH-funded technology that directly impacts diversity and innovation in STEM. Small team offers high autonomy and impact. Focus on career development and upskilling for employees as well. - **Engineering Culture**: Building explainable AI and skills-matching algorithms; team is composed of researchers, product innovators, and commercial strategists [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/about) ## Sources 1. [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/?hsLang=en) – Company homepage and ecosystem overview 2. [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/about) – About page, founders, mission, team 3. [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/employers) – Employer solutions and metrics 4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/scismic-llc) – LinkedIn company page, employee count, followers, reviews 5. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/scismic) – Built In profile, description ## Other roles at Scismic - [Team Leader, Critical Time Intervention (CTI)](https://feeny.ai/job/team-leader-critical-time-intervention-cti-scismic-new-york-city-r2vr8c1k6xj1) — New York City, NY - [R&D Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/r-d-engineer-scismic-somerset-291znhp45amb) — Somerset, NJ - [Speech Language Pathologist (SLP or CF)](https://feeny.ai/job/speech-language-pathologist-slp-or-cf-scismic-oakland-99svctjwc4vv) — Oakland, CA - [Sr. Continuous Improvement Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-continuous-improvement-manager-scismic-geneva-e671dhzyf5zm) — Geneva, Switzerland - [Quality Assurance Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/quality-assurance-manager-scismic-indianapolis-z1shqwsr65y0) — Indianapolis, IN - [Microbiology Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/microbiology-manager-scismic-springfield-g62fth1252zr) — Springfield, MO - [Senior Data Scientist - NLP/LLM Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-data-scientist-nlp-llm-specialist-scismic-san-diego-zrh3pmnd8pws) — San Diego, CA - [Manager, Grants and Contracts Administration](https://feeny.ai/job/manager-grants-and-contracts-administration-scismic-phoenix-5wva3f0dvsgj) — Phoenix, AZ - [Speech Language Pathologist (SLP or CF)](https://feeny.ai/job/speech-language-pathologist-slp-or-cf-scismic-oakland-jn8kby8e0yj8) — Oakland, CA - [R&D Engineers – Optical Fiber (Preform Assembly)](https://feeny.ai/job/r-d-engineers-optical-fiber-preform-assembly-scismic-somerset-ja79eyx3zfah) — Somerset, NJ