Ascension is seeking an experienced Senior Patent/IP Subject Matter Expert / Technical Instructor to support the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s modernization of its Patent Training Academy curriculum.

The selected professional will serve in a dual role as a:

• Patent and intellectual property subject matter expert;
• Legal and technical content validator;
• Advisor to instructional designers and eLearning developers; and
• Instructor for patent examiner training delivered in person and virtually.

This position is important to ensuring that approximately 125 Patent Training Academy courses—and at least 25 courses planned for conversion to eLearning—remain legally accurate, technically sound, instructionally effective, and aligned with USPTO patent examination processes.

The ideal candidate has direct experience with patent examination, patent prosecution, intellectual property law, or closely related legal and technical work. Former USPTO Patent Examiners, Supervisory Patent Examiners, Patent Training Academy instructors, registered Patent Agents, and Patent Attorneys are strongly encouraged to apply.

Position Summary

The Senior Patent/IP SME / Technical Instructor provides authoritative patent-domain guidance throughout curriculum review, course redesign, eLearning development, assessment development, and training delivery.

The contractor works collaboratively with instructional designers, eLearning developers, program leadership, and other subject matter experts to translate highly technical legal and patent examination concepts into accurate, accessible, and engaging learning experiences. The contractor reviews learning objectives, course activities, instructional scenarios, assessments, and supporting materials for consistency with applicable patent laws, regulations, examination procedures, USPTO practices, and professional standards.

The contractor also prepares for and delivers instructor-led training in classroom and virtual environments. Training may cover patent examination processes, patent prosecution, legal concepts, examination procedures, patent-search tools, case-management tools, correspondence with applicants, and other systems or processes used by patent examiners.

Successful candidates are confident instructors and credible technical authorities. They must be able to explain complex legal and scientific concepts clearly, respond appropriately to learner questions, recognize when an issue requires escalation, and work effectively in an evolving environment with limited guidance. They should be organized, responsive, collaborative, and comfortable managing multiple course-review and training assignments concurrently.

Anticipated Day-to-Day Activities

The contractor will:

• Review existing Patent Training Academy courses, learning objectives, lesson plans, exercises, assessments, job aids, and instructor materials for technical and legal accuracy.
• Validate course content against patent examination practices, patent prosecution processes, applicable legal authorities, and USPTO procedures.
• Advise instructional designers and eLearning developers on how to present complex patent, legal, scientific, and examination concepts accurately and clearly.
• Collaborate with instructional designers to align learning objectives, course content, practice activities, scenarios, and assessments.
• Evaluate proposed curriculum changes to identify inaccuracies, omissions, inconsistencies, learner risks, or potential misunderstandings.
• Recommend improvements to course sequencing, instructional examples, technical scenarios, learner activities, and knowledge checks.
• Develop or refine patent-examination scenarios, case studies, exercises, examples, assessment questions, and instructor guidance.
• Verify that eLearning scripts, storyboards, simulations, interactive exercises, and multimedia content correctly represent legal and technical subject matter.
• Support the conversion of instructor-led patent training into accessible, learner-centered eLearning modules.
• Prepare instructor notes, presentation materials, demonstrations, exercises, and responses to anticipated learner questions.
• Deliver engaging patent and intellectual property training in classroom, lecture, small-group, and virtual formats.
• Use Microsoft Teams and other USPTO-authorized collaboration and instructional technologies to conduct virtual training.
• Explain patent examination processes, procedures, search methods, examiner tools, applicant correspondence, and case-management concepts.
• Facilitate learner discussions, practical exercises, demonstrations, knowledge checks, and question-and-answer sessions.
• Apply adult-learning and learner-engagement practices while maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the technical material.
• Assess learner understanding and provide constructive clarification and feedback.
• Document learner questions that require additional research, validation, or Government clarification.
• Escalate unresolved or policy-sensitive questions to the designated USPTO authority rather than providing unsupported interpretations.
• Provide feedback on training content, delivery methods, classroom technology, course schedules, and opportunities to improve learner engagement.
• Coordinate with other instructors to maintain instructional consistency and continuity and help prevent class cancellations or rescheduling.
• Participate in content-review meetings, course-development checkpoints, instructor preparation sessions, rehearsals, and quality-control reviews.
• Maintain version control, review comments, source references, and content-validation records for assigned materials.
• Travel to USPTO-designated training locations when in-person instruction or working sessions are required.