About Fondazione Chips-IT

The Foundation “Italian Center for the Design of Semiconductor Integrated Circuits,” also known as the Chips-IT Foundation, is a nonprofit research and technology organization under the supervision of the Ministries of Industry.

The Foundation is Italy's first RTO (Research and Technology Organization) vertically focused on semiconductor research and stands as a center of excellence in frontier research on semiconductor design, as well as a pivotal center of the Italian semiconductor ecosystem and expertise.

Missions of the Foundation:

• Promote the design and development of integrated circuits
• Strengthen the system of professional training in the field of microelectronics
• Ensure the establishment of a network of universities, research centers and enterprises that fosters innovation and technology transfer in the field

Fondazione Chips-IT is seeking a Senior Legal Specialist – Intellectual Property & Industrial Property to act as the legal backbone of the Fondazione’s research collaborations, technology transfer activity and intellectual property portfolio. As industrial partnerships and research results grow, this role ensures that every collaboration, licence and spin-off rests on solid, negotiated and enforceable legal ground.

The core of the position is transactional. The Senior Legal Specialist drafts and negotiates the agreements through which the Fondazione works with industry, universities, start-ups and consortia — from non-disclosure and material transfer agreements to collaborative research, joint development, licensing and spin-off arrangements — and owns the intellectual property architecture within them: ownership and allocation of background and foreground, access rights, confidentiality, publication and exploitation.

Alongside the transactional mandate, the role supports, within the team, the management of the Fondazione’s IP portfolio from both a legal and strategic perspective : managing the relationship with external patent firms, taking part in the process that leads from an invention disclosure to a filing decision, and overseeing prosecution, deadlines and budget.

The position is part of the Fondazione’s Legal function and works in close partnership with the Industrial Partnerships & Technology Transfer Directorate, which provides functional direction and operational priorities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Draft, review and negotiate the Fondazione’s contractual instruments with industrial and academic partners: NDAs, MTAs, collaborative and contract research agreements, joint development agreements, framework partnership agreements, consortium agreements, and service and infrastructure-access agreements.
• Own the intellectual property terms of every agreement — ownership, background and foreground allocation, access rights, improvements, confidentiality, publication and exploitation rights — and ensure consistency across the Fondazione’s contractual portfolio.
• Support the structuring and negotiation of technology transfer transactions: licence and option agreements, assignments, term sheets and royalty structures, working with the Technology Transfer function on commercial terms and valuation.
• Provide the legal architecture for spin-off and start-up creation: IP assignment and contribution, founder and researcher arrangements, equity and conflict-of-interest management.
• Support the management of the IP portfolio: take part in the invention-disclosure-to-filing decision process together with the Technology Transfer function and the inventors, and steer external patent firms on filing strategy, prosecution, deadlines, maintenance and budget.
• Commission and interpret freedom-to-operate, patentability and prior-art analyses, translating outcomes into clear guidance for research and business decisions.
• Manage the legal aspects of third-party technology used and produced by the Fondazione, including EDA tool licences, foundry and PDK confidentiality arrangements, semiconductor IP core licensing, and open-source compliance.
• Design and maintain the Fondazione’s internal IP framework: IP regulation, invention disclosure procedure, inventor reward scheme, trade secret and confidentiality management, contract templates, clause libraries and negotiation playbooks.
• Deliver training and day-to-day advisory to researchers and staff on intellectual property, confidentiality and contractual practice, supporting the Technology Transfer unit in building IP awareness across the organisation.
• Monitor legal and regulatory developments in intellectual property relevant to research organisations and to the semiconductor sector.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Master’s degree in Law (admission to the Italian Bar is considered an asset).
• At least 7 years of experience in intellectual property and technology contracts, gained in-house at a technology-intensive company, in a research and technology organization or university technology transfer office, or in a law firm with a strong IP and technology transactions practice.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and close negotiations of research, development and licensing agreements autonomously, in both Italian and English.
• Solid command of the Italian Industrial Property Code, the European patent system, and the intellectual property rules applicable to publicly funded research, including EU framework programmes.
• Practical understanding of how intellectual property is created, protected and exploited in a research environment, and the ability to work fluently with scientists and engineers.
• Excellent drafting skills and the judgement to distinguish material risk from acceptable risk in a fast-moving partnership environment.
• Full professional proficiency in Italian and English (min. CEFR C1).

NICE TO HAVE:

• Familiarity with the semiconductor, microelectronics or hardware sector, or with another deep-tech domain with a comparable IP intensity.
• Qualification as Consulente in Proprietà Industriale or European Patent Attorney, or equivalent technical patent training.
• Experience with EU-funded consortium agreements and with the IP provisions of Horizon Europe or Joint Undertaking programmes.
• Experience supporting spin-off creation and early-stage company formation.
• A technical or scientific background alongside legal training.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Competitive compensation and contract type, to be negotiated based on qualifications and experience
• Lunch tickets
• Private health care coverage depending on your role and contract
• Structured growth path, with ongoing access to training and updates
• Networking opportunities with industry-leading professionals
• International environment
• Hybrid work policy
• Tax deductions: Candidates from abroad, comprising Italian citizens, who have carried scientific research activity abroad and meet specific requirements, may be entitled to a taxable income deduction up to 90% for a period of 6 to 13 years
  

In conformità con le normative vigenti, il range retributivo lordo annuo previsto per questa posizione è compreso tra Euro 40.000,00 e 70.000,00. L'ampiezza del range è finalizzata a valutare candidature con diversi livelli di seniority; l'offerta finale sarà strettamente commisurata all'effettiva esperienza e alle competenze del candidato, e sarà integrata dai benefit aziendali previsti per il ruolo.

In accordance with applicable regulations, the gross annual salary range for this position is between €40,000 and €70,000. The breadth of this range reflects our intention to consider candidates with different levels of seniority; the final offer will be commensurate with the candidate’s actual experience and qualifications and will be complemented by the benefits package associated with the role.