Specialist – IP (Patents)

Overview

The Specialist – IP (Patents) supports Haleon's R&D organisation and Cross Category IP initiatives with patent intelligence, analysis and strategic insight across the innovation lifecycle, working under the direction of the Patent Attorneys.

What you'll do

• Proactively engage with scientists, innovation teams and project stakeholders to identify emerging technologies, invention opportunities and potential external partnerships at the earliest stages of development.
• Develop and deliver patent landscapes, white space analyses and technology assessments to support innovation strategy and investment decisions.
• Identify emerging technologies, scientific developments, competitor activities and patent filing trends relevant to Haleon's strategic priorities.
• Conduct analyses to support "where-to-play" decisions for R&D programmes.
• Integrate patent, scientific, technical and commercial information to identify opportunities, risks and areas for strategic focus.
• Monitor evolving technology areas and provide regular intelligence updates to stakeholders.
• Translate complex datasets into concise, actionable recommendations for technical and business audiences.
• Support the evaluation of external innovation opportunities, including universities, start-ups, technology companies and other potential collaboration partners.
• Conduct IP due diligence and assess the strength, quality and strategic relevance of third-party patent portfolios.
• Identify opportunities, risks, ownership considerations and potential freedom-to-operate issues associated with prospective partnerships and licensing opportunities.
• Provide analytical support to the Patent Attorney in developing IP strategies and portfolio roadmaps.
• Identify opportunities for patent protection and portfolio development arising from R&D activities.
• Contribute to the assessment of potential IP risks and support the development of risk mitigation strategies.
• Help ensure alignment between innovation objectives, commercial priorities and IP strategy.
• Design and execute sophisticated patent searches using a range of commercial and public databases.
• Conduct prior art, patentability, state-of-the-art, validity and invalidity searches.
• Analyse patent portfolios and competitor patent activity.
• Develop search methodologies and analytical frameworks to support complex research questions.
• Prepare clear reports and presentations communicating search findings and their commercial implications.
• Support invention harvesting and facilitate invention disclosure generation across the innovation portfolio.
• Work directly with inventors and project teams to identify, capture and develop patentable inventions.
• Prepare patent application materials, invention summaries and supporting documentation for Patent Attorney review and filing.
• Support delivery of annual patent filing objectives through proactive identification and development of patent opportunities.
• Support the Patent Attorney in patent drafting, filing and prosecution activities as required.
• Conduct and support freedom-to-operate analyses and investigations.
• Assist with evidence gathering, prior art evaluation and technical analyses relevant to patent prosecution and portfolio management.
• Support ongoing portfolio reviews and maintenance activities.
• Contribute to IP risk assessments associated with research, development and commercialisation activities.
• Communicate complex IP concepts and analyses clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.

What you'll need

• Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Information Science, Library and Information Science, or another relevant scientific, technical or information management discipline.
• 5 - 7 years' experience in patent searching, patent information, IP intelligence or a related intellectual property role.
• Experience supporting front-end innovation, breakthrough innovation, technology development, technology scouting and/or early-stage R&D programmes.
• Demonstrated experience conducting patent landscapes, white space analyses and technology trend assessments.
• Experience supporting freedom-to-operate, patentability and prior-art analyses.
• Experience assessing patent portfolios and conducting IP due diligence.
• Proven ability to synthesise large and complex datasets into clear business-focused recommendations.
• Demonstrated experience applying information science principles and methodologies to the collection, organisation, analysis and synthesis of patent, scientific, technical and commercial information.
• Experience developing complex search strategies across multiple information domains and translating diverse datasets into actionable business intelligence.
• Strong understanding of patent systems, patent searching methodologies and intellectual property principles.
• Expertise in developing and executing advanced search strategies across multiple information sources.
• Strong analytical and information science capabilities, including data gathering, interrogation and synthesis.
• Knowledge of patent portfolio analysis, competitor intelligence and technology trend assessment.
• Understanding of freedom-to-operate considerations and patent lifecycle management.
• Strong grounding in information science principles, including information retrieval, search strategy design, taxonomy development, knowledge organisation, analytical methodologies and insight generation.
• Ability to integrate and synthesise information from patent, scientific, technical and commercial sources to support strategic decision-making.

Nice to have

• Experience within FMCG, consumer health, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices or broader life sciences sectors.
• Experience supporting external innovation, licensing, collaboration or technology acquisition activities.
• Experience working closely with patent attorneys, scientists and senior innovation leaders.

Details

• Location: Bengaluru Campus 31.
• Job posting end date: 2026-10-14.