The assignment for Development & Innovation is to find new opportunities and turn them into value for the many. Guided by the Range & Communication strategy, we lead transformation programs to develop new business capabilities as well as range innovation and development projects for a growing business, lower costs and a more sustainable offer.

In the Patent Team we work in close collaboration with the business owners to protect new inventions and designs, make sure we don't infringe any third party IP rights and support our legal department in alleged infringement cases. We are an energetic team of five colleagues with a very open, compassionate, and inclusive culture. Together, we support all business areas.

Job description
You will be part of the patent team at IKEA, which belongs to the Development and Innovation department, where your focus area will be to handle and support the growing IKEA patent portfolio. We hope that you are passionate about technology and that you have a solid understanding of intellectual property. You will meet inventors from a variety of technologies - everything from new materials to assembly solutions and furniture construction. You will in close collaboration with the inventors and the business team capture the invention, understand its business potential and work with external consultants to draft patents to protect it. You will also spend time making sure our products do not infringe third-party rights by making risk assessments and give recommendations. Our prototype shop is just a door away from the office, so you will have plenty of opportunities to interact directly with prototypes and future products. 
 
Collaboration and a focus on products and business is really key to the job. IKEA is a large and sometimes scattered organisation so in this role you will have to find your own ways, build a large network of contacts and lean in and take initiatives on what needs to be done. It's important to have a mindset that it's your responsibility to do what's best for the company as a whole, to be energized by this responsibility and to have a drive and curiosity for the bigger picture. You will spend more time explaining, discussing, and creating an understanding by working with others than you will reading and writing. You will however never be alone in this work. One of our core values is Togetherness and even if we have different roles and responsibilities in the team, we always support each other and do things together – your headache is the team’s headache. 
 
Qualifications
In order to successfully manage this position, it is important that the IKEA values reflect upon your values and that you share the IKEA vision and business idea. 
You are preferably a qualified European Patent Attorney and have a minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience. You are comfortable in building relationships with stakeholders at different levels in the organisation, from engineers to management.

Furthermore, we see that you have:

• Confidence in dealing with complex technical and legal situations together with internal and external stakeholders.
• An engineering background with a broad technical understanding 
• In-depth understanding of how intellectual property affects and influences the conditions for the business
• A passion for intellectual property as a business asset
• An ability to see the big picture combined with analytical skills and an eye for details
• Experience of navigating in a patent-intense fields and managing freedom to operate work

We offer a fast-paced, growth-oriented and international environment where roles and responsibilities are not always fully set and it is therefore important to always strive to see the full picture and take responsibility as needed. You will have the chance to grow with us professionally and individually. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with and support stakeholders and colleagues with many different backgrounds as well as share your knowledge with people in a global and dynamic context.

The position is based at IKEA of Sweden’s office in Älmhult and it does offer flexible working hours, but requires minimum 50% presence on site. 

You Application

If you have any questions regarding this position, please contact recruiting manager Carl Ervér at [email protected]. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Recruitment Specialist Jonas Levin at [email protected]

Please submit both your CV and motivational letter in English. The last day to send in your application is the 29th of November. We look forward to receiving your application.