Duties

The physical worksite for this position is located in Alexandria, Virginia.This position is telework eligible per agency and business unit discretion/policy.

MAJOR DUTIES:
Playing a pivotal, professional role in promoting and facilitating excellence as a Patent Review Quality Assurance Specialist (RQAS) is your ideal next career step if . . .

• You possess strong, efficient techniques for reviewing patent work products, including evaluating searches performed, rejections made, and the clarity of Office actions to recognize high quality work and/or suggest improvements;
• You have developed the expertise to effectively perform searches in a variety of technical areas and are passionate about accurately formulating rejections to ensure claims' compliance with all patent statutes;
• You are detailed-oriented with an eye on deadlines and production goals;
• You want to champion quality efforts in the Technology Centers by (a) acting as a resource in appeal brief and pre-appeal brief conferences; (b) participating in signatory authority program reviews and panel discussions; (c) providing coaching and mentoring to examiners; (d) teaching classes for the TCs and/or the Office of Patent Training (OPT) and (e) supporting the development and implementation of quality action plans;
• You desire to participate in training material development, classroom teaching and/or one-on-one mentoring as a quality specialist;
• You have an aptitude for analyzing quality data to report quality metrics and trends;
• You want to support OPQA's continuous efforts to improve internal consistency and efficiency as well as Office-wide initiatives;
• You want to collaborate with stakeholders and regularly participate in quality assurance discussions with OPQA and/or Patents Operations management;
• You desire to be at the forefront of patent quality initiatives to help shape intellectual property in the future.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Applicants will only be accepted from United States Citizens and Nationals.
• Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related competencies.
• You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
• Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
• Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
• If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
• Time-in-grade/band requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
• Suitable for Federal Employment

Qualifications

You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. OPM Qualifications Standards are available at

Specialized Experienceis experience that has equipped applicants with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the federal service. For this position, the next lower grade level is a GS-14.

Specialized experience for this position includes: Experience as a Primary Examiner applying engineering and/or scientific concepts to the patent examining process; as well as analyzing and evaluating unique quality issues with respect to patent examination.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

Education may not be substituted for specialized experience at this grade level.

Additional information

If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information.

This is a Bargaining Unit position and represented by the Patent Office Professional Association (POPA)

Background Investigation - If selected for this position, you may be required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306), which includes a fingerprint and credit check, to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.

The USPTO participates in E-Verify. For more information on E-Verify, please visit the Department of Homeland Security Website .

All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice.

Relocation Expenses are not authorized and will not be paid.

CTAP candidates will be eligible for selection priority if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a "well qualified" rating of 85 out of 100. Information about CTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website at: OPM CTAP/ICTAP .

CTAP documentation requirements are listed in the 'Required Documents' section of this announcement.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued.

All application materials become the property of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

USPTO Job Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should request accommodation(s) from the USPTO at http://www.uspto.gov/accommodation .

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors. If you believe that you have been discriminated against and would like to file an EEO complaint, you must do so within 45 days of the date of the alleged discriminatory act. Claims of employment discrimination must be submitted to the attention of the USPTO's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity & Diversity via email ( oeeod@uspto.gov ) or phone (571-272-8292).