Senior Intellectual Property Counsel

Job Description

About the Role

In this senior Corporate Counsel role, you will manage complex legal matters to protect FIS’ intellectual property assets, with an expanded leadership focus on patent strategy, patent portfolio development, and the rapidly evolving domain of AI law and governance. You will partner closely with business leaders, technologists, and product teams to guide innovation pathways, ensuring alignment between business objectives, patent filings, and responsible AI practices.

Your core responsibilities will include leading patent prosecution strategy; identifying high‑value innovations; and advising on AI‑related risk, compliance, data governance, and other legal considerations. You will also continue to support the business on traditional IP matters, including software licensing, open-source use, trade secrets, and related litigation.

About the Team

The FIS Legal team consists of approximately 200 attorneys and paraprofessionals worldwide who collaborate closely with business units to advance enterprise goals. We work pragmatically and efficiently, providing actionable legal guidance to support innovation, operational execution, and sound governance practices.

What You Will Be Doing

Patent Strategy & Prosecution Leadership

• Direct, lead and refine the company’s patent strategy, ensuring alignment between innovation priorities and filing decisions.

• Identify patentable inventions through close collaboration with engineering, R&D, data science, and product teams.

• Lead and oversee partnerships with outside counsel for drafting, filing, and prosecuting patent applications.

• Build and manage a strategic patent portfolio covering emerging technologies—including AI, machine learning, and advanced software platforms.

AI Law & Governance

• Advise on AI intellectual property issues, governance structures, risk assessments, and documentation.

• Provide legal oversight on responsible AI practices, including data usage, algorithmic risk, model audits, and safety evaluations.

• Counsel product teams on integrating AI technologies in a compliant, responsible manner aligned with global legal and ethical standards.

General Intellectual Property Responsibilities

• Counsel on issues involving patents, trade secrets, copyrights, open-source software, software licensing, and related litigation.

• Conduct legal research and analysis on emerging IP and AI legal issues, trends, and regulatory developments.

• Provide practical, solution-driven legal advice to executives and business colleagues.

• Support complex, cross-functional initiatives in a fast-paced, global environment.

What You Bring

Required Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (or equivalent) and admission to practice law in the relevant jurisdiction.

• Admission to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

• 7-15+ years of legal experience, with substantial focus on patent prosecution and patent portfolio strategy in a law firm or in-house environment.

• Strong knowledge of U.S. and international patent laws, AI-related legal frameworks, and emerging global regulatory trends.

• Experience advising on AI/ML compliance, or responsible technology frameworks.

Desired Skills

• Deep experience evaluating patentability, responding to office actions, and managing global patent filings.

• Expertise working with engineers, developers, and data scientists to translate complex innovations into protectable IP.

• Strong communication, writing, and analytical skills.

• Ability to independently manage multiple complex matters and drive projects to completion in a dynamic environment.

• Experience counseling leadership within a large, matrixed organization.

Privacy Statement

FIS is committed to protecting the privacy and security of all personal information that we process in order to provide services to our clients. For specific information on how FIS protects personal information online, please see the Online Privacy Notice.

EEOC Statement

FIS is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, genetic information, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other protected characteristics. The EEO is the Law poster is available here supplement document available here

For positions located in the US, the following conditions apply. If you are made a conditional offer of employment, you will be required to undergo a drug test. ADA Disclaimer: In developing this job description care was taken to include all competencies needed to successfully perform in this position. However, for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) purposes, the essential functions of the job may or may not have been described for purposes of ADA reasonable accommodation. All reasonable accommodation requests will be reviewed and evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Sourcing Model

Recruitment at FIS works primarily on a direct sourcing model; a relatively small portion of our hiring is through recruitment agencies. FIS does not accept resumes from recruitment agencies which are not on the preferred supplier list and is not responsible for any related fees for resumes submitted to job postings, our employees, or any other part of our company.

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