---
title: 'Vice President of Business Development and Patent Acquisition – Irvine, California (966-SLS) at Solutus Legal Search'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/vice-president-of-business-development-and-patent-acquisition-irvine-california-7zacq40wwqck'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-16'
---

# Vice President of Business Development and Patent Acquisition – Irvine, California (966-SLS) at Solutus Legal Search

- **Company:** Solutus Legal Search
- **Location:** Irvine, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-06-01
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-16
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/solutuslegal/e84a38fe-7844-4c87-9434-021d7ed68ddc

## Job description

Our client, a leading innovator in high-performance memory solutions and enterprise-class storage products, is looking for a Vice President of Business Development and Patent Acquisition to lead its patent acquisition efforts, with a strong focus on semiconductor technologies, particularly DRAM memory. This role requires legal expertise, technical fluency in semiconductor systems, and a proven track record successfully developing and implementing an aggressive patent acquisition program and successfully negotiating and closing high value deals.

As a key member of the legal leadership team, you will collaborate closely with executive leadership, legal, engineering, IP, and external counsel to add to the company’s existing patent portfolio of technology critical to high value memory solutions and storage products.

## Role and Responsibilities

- Business Development: Own and manage the Company’s business development and patent acquisitions function.
- Patent Sourcing & Acquisitions: Identify and develop new sources of patents for the Company through patent acquisitions, licensing partnerships, and other strategic activities.
- Build relationships with key stakeholders at prospective acquisition targets and business partners.
- Initiate conversations and build relationships by leveraging personal contacts, existing Company relationships, and other creative methods to open communications with potential acquisition targets.
- Establish trust and demonstrate leadership within the high-tech industry, acting in a highly professional, industry-leading manner, and in the best interest of the Company and its clients and partners.
- Maintain in-depth knowledge and awareness of the industry, including market trends, key players, technology trends, active patent litigation and licensing programs, and available patents for purchase.
- Deal Lifecycle Management: Lead acquisition negotiations throughout the deal lifecycle, including facilitating due diligence of the relevant patent portfolios, and negotiating high value patent acquisitions and related transactions to completion.
- Executive & Cross-Functional Collaboration: Closely collaborate with your legal and business colleagues to identify prospective acquisition targets.

Background

Required Qualifications

- 15+ years of business development and patent acquisition experience. Strong preference for candidates with experience in the semiconductor and/or memory industries.
- Extensive experience acquiring patents and patent portfolios.
- Extensive experience running and negotiating high value acquisitions.
- Semiconductor and/or memory industry experience.
- Demonstrated industry contacts within relevant companies.
- Must be a creative problem solver and able to model and demonstrate a results-oriented approach.  Must display a vision on how to move engagements through roadblocks to reach a successful conclusion.
- Ability to travel.

## Preferred Qualifications

- In-house counsel experience at a semiconductor or technology company.
- Technical understanding of DRAM memory and semiconductor design.
- Juris Doctor from an accredited law school and admission to the California Bar or eligible for RIHC.
- Advanced technical degree (e.g., Electrical Engineering, Computer Science) is a plus.

Compensation is targeted at an annual base salary of $400,000 to $450,000, plus equity, target bonus, and benefits. The total compensation package will vary and depend on the candidate’s level of seniority and number of years of directly relevant experience.

Solutus has been retained as the exclusive representative for this desirable search. Resumes submitted directly to our client will be forwarded to Solutus for review and evaluation. Ref. #966-SLS

## About Solutus Legal Search

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Solutus Legal Search is a concierge legal search boutique that specializes in the permanent placement of lawyers in corporations and law firms, offering tailored search strategies for each client’s unique hiring needs.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Bootstrapped)
- **Headquarters**: Redwood City, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2000
- **Founders**: Julie Q. Brush (Founder & CEO)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Legal Services (Legal Recruitment / Staffing)
- Target customers: B2B – corporations (in-house legal departments from emerging growth to public companies) and law firms (large firms and boutiques).
- Mission or purpose: Deliver premium legal search and consulting services with precision and a holistic, career‑focused approach for both clients and candidates.

## Products & Services
- **[In‑House Search]**: Retained search for corporate legal departments at all seniority levels (Corporate Counsel to General Counsel). Clients range from Series A startups to large public companies across all industries globally. Service type: Retained search / consulting.
- **[Law Firm Search]**: Lateral partner and associate placements, including individual and group partner moves, for large law firms and boutiques. Service type: Retained search.
- **[Candidate Services]**: Strategic career advisory for attorneys seeking job changes or ongoing career guidance, including job opportunities and personalized roadmaps. Service type: Career consulting.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue of $17.9M (estimated, as of latest available data) [linkedin.com](https://linkedin.com/company/solutus-legal-search)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: No external investors; privately held. Partners include a broad network of corporate legal departments and law firms.
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - 68% diversity placement rate
  - Average placement time of 38 days from start to offer
  - Offices in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle
  - Over 1,000 placements made since founding
  - 90 years of combined experience on the team
  - Year‑over‑year job postings increased 50% (though headcount declined 8.3% to 5 employees) [linkedin.com](https://linkedin.com/company/solutus-legal-search)

## Competitive Advantages
- All recruiters are former lawyers who practiced at top law firms, giving them deep legal market knowledge, candidate assessment expertise, and extensive networks.
- Holistic, career‑focused approach with candidates – they act as strategic advisors, not just placement agents.
- Boutique, concierge‑style service with a proven track record (68% diversity placements, 38‑day average placement cycle).
- Longevity and reputation: over two decades in the legal search industry.

## Strategic Focus
- Continue to provide premium, retained legal search and consulting services for both corporate and law firm clients.
- Maintain a strong emphasis on diversity hiring and holistic candidate career strategy.
- Expand reach across geographies (already covering multiple U.S. markets) and adapt to remote/hybrid work trends.

## Why Work Here
- Work with a small, experienced team of former lawyers who are deeply invested in candidate and client success.
- Culture emphasizes diversity (68% of placements are diverse) and long‑term career guidance.
- Remote and hybrid roles available; job postings include fully remote, hybrid, and on‑site positions (e.g., Senior Product Counsel – Hybrid San Francisco, Senior Commercial Counsel – Remote USA) [jobs.lever.co/solutuslegal](https://jobs.lever.co/solutuslegal).
- Opportunity to work with high‑profile legal departments and law firms across industries.
- The firm uses AI tools to support resume screening but retains human judgment in final hiring decisions.

## Sources
1. [solutuslegal.com](https://solutuslegal.com/)
2. [solutuslegal.com/about-us](https://solutuslegal.com/about-us/)
3. [linkedin.com/company/solutus-legal-search](https://linkedin.com/company/solutus-legal-search)
4. [jobs.lever.co/solutuslegal](https://jobs.lever.co/solutuslegal)
5. [solutuslegal.com/jobs](https://solutuslegal.com/jobs/)

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