Patent Examiner Trainer / Instructor
Alexandria, VA · HybridFull-timeSeen 1 day agoSeen in employer's feed 1 day ago
See where you stand before you apply. No sign-up to start.
You apply on the posting's application page, with no Olive account needed.
Watch jobs like this. New roles like this one near Alexandria, VA, by email.
Don't just apply. Show up ready.
Olive works from this exact posting.
At a glance
Olive focuses on jobs in the United States, including remote roles you can work from there.
Requirements
Credentials this posting asks for.
Job overview
Carney seeks experienced Patent Examiner Trainers/Instructors to train newly hired examiners at the USPTO Patent Training Academy. The role delivers legal, procedural, and technical instruction through lectures, labs, virtual sessions, and hands-on practice. Instructors teach patent examination and search techniques, assess learners, and collaborate with government subject matter experts and curriculum modernization staff. The position is based at USPTO Headquarters in Alexandria and uses a hybrid on-site modality.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Full job description
Patent Examiner Trainer / Instructor
Alexandria, VA
Full Time
Experienced
Location:Alexandria, VA (USPTO Headquarters)
Work Modality:Hybrid On-site
Security Clearance:Ability to obtain a Public Trust Clearance
About Team Carney
Carney delivers high-reliability educational services, professional training, and academic administration for elite federal agencies and military training academies. We specialize in instructional systems design (ISD), curriculum modernization, and interactive eLearning development to ensure federal workforces gain mission-critical operational capabilities.
Position Overview
Carney is seeking highly technical, experiencedPatent Examiner Trainers / Instructorsto deliver comprehensive, professional training for newly hired patent examiners within the USPTO Patent Training Academy (PTA). This role focuses on preparing approximately 900+ new examiners annually across 8 cohorts (with up to 150 students per cohort and multiple concurrent training sessions). The instructor will deliver university-style instruction, including large lectures and small-group lab sessions, using a mix of in-person, virtual (via MS Teams), and hands-on practice tools. They will ensure examiners acquire the legal, procedural, and technical competencies necessary to successfully examine patent applications in their respective Technology Centers.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities
-
Deliver professional, highly engaging instruction on complex patent examination processes, legal procedures, and Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) standards.
-
Conduct training across multiple modalities, including in-person classroom instruction, lecture hall presentations, and interactive virtual sessions utilizing agency collaboration tools (e.g., MS Teams).
-
Facilitate small-group laboratory sessions and practical exercises using simulated training applications to help new examiners apply classroom concepts.
-
Teach hands-on search techniques using USPTO in-house and foreign patent search tools to enable examiners to conduct prior art searches and draft official correspondence.
-
Maintain rigorous, consistent training coverage to prevent canceled or rescheduled classes, adhering to demanding academy schedules (including alternating 8-hour and 9-hour training days over a 10-week curriculum).
-
Incorporate advanced adult learning theories and modern engagement strategies to maximize learner motivation, participation, and knowledge retention.
-
Provide structured feedback, assessment evaluations, and recommendations to the PTA curriculum modernization team to help refine course materials.
-
Collaborate closely with Government Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), patent examiners, and attorneys to ensure all delivered instructional material remains legally and procedurally accurate.
Required Minimum Qualifications
-
Instructional Experience:Minimum of three (3) to five (5) years of experience delivering highly technical, legal, regulatory, or intellectual property (IP) training to adult learners.
-
Subject Matter Expertise:Proven proficiency and technical knowledge in patent-examination, patent-prosecution, or MPEP procedures.
-
Platform & Delivery Skills:Demonstrated experience conducting high-volume, professional training both in-person and virtually (via MS Teams) for cohort-based structures.
-
Volume Capacity:Experience delivering instruction to large student volumes (supporting programs with up to 100–150 students per cohort and concurrent training tracks).
Preferred Qualifications
-
Direct prior experience as a USPTO Patent Examiner, Supervisory Patent Examiner (SPE), or Patent Attorney.
-
Specialized experience teaching in-house USPTO search tools and case management applications.
-
Demonstrated experience collaborating with instructional designers on transitioning traditional, instructor-led materials into modern, gamified, or eLearning formats.
-
Advanced degree in Engineering, Computer Science, physical sciences, or a Juris Doctor (JD) with an intellectual property focus.
How this job compares
Set against the 3,752 open Instructor jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 13, 2026.
- Pay
- This postingNot listed
- Virginia median$73–148K/yr40 salary ranges
- US median$25–30/hr922 hourly ranges
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 80 open Instructor jobs in Virginia and 3,752 across the US. 2% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in Virginia
- Leidos9 open
- Management Concepts9 open
- CACI International8 open
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 3 years of experience; Instructor postings that state a minimum ask for 3 years at the median (1,309 postings).
- Education
- 1,610 of the 3,752 open Instructor jobs (43%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 13, 2026. Figures based on too few postings are left out.
Prepare for this role
You've read the whole posting — now see how you match it.
