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Senior Vice President, Licensing
WiLAN
Ontario, Canada
Posted on Jan 17, 2026
JOB DESCRIPTION
JOB TITLE Senior Vice President, Licensing
REPORTS TO President & CEO
KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
Internal: Licensing Teams; Business Development; Patent Counsel; Legal Counsel; Finance; Program Development; President & CEO.
External: Licensees, Patent Owners, External Technical Consultants; Prosecution Counsel; Litigation Counsel.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Senior Vice President, Licensing manages and oversees one of the licensing teams of WiLAN’s technology portfolios. This is a hands-on, multifaceted role spanning patent acquisition, licensing, and litigation, as well as budgeting, forecasting, and the management of internal and external technical and legal professionals.
The role also includes supporting patent prosecution, patent portfolio analysis, mining for new assertion opportunities, evaluation of patent acquisition opportunities, and negotiation of patent acquisition and licensing agreements, and related intake activities.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
• Degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Science
• Strong knowledge of US & international patent law
• Extensive experience licensing and litigating patents around the world gained either in private practice or in-house
• Strong track record of closing licenses
• Ability to manage internal and external engineers and counsel
• Strong presentation skills and ability to develop presentation materials/reports by using standard MS Office tools
• Strong interpersonal and leadership skills
• Solid negotiation and contract drafting skills
• Outstanding research and organizational skills
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills
• Innovative problem-solving skills combined with a thorough analytical approach
• Excellent team player, able to prioritize and multi-task on multiple high-priority projects, and deliver results to schedule
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Drive licensing revenue through considered assertions
• Manage the patent prosecution and acquisition teams with determinations of patentability and use in the industry
• Oversee and identify patent portfolio acquisitions, including searching, due diligence and recommending patents and portfolios to acquire
• Manage prosecution and continuation practice in support of litigation and licensing programs for business unit’s projects
• Manage all technical support for licensing, business development and litigation for business unit’s projects
• Manage technical team in the analysis of patents for infringement and create claim charts
• Manage patent acquisition and licensing negotiations by providing advice in response to substantive patent questions such as claim construction, infringement, and validity
• Analyze patents in WiLAN’s portfolio for potential applicability to products and/or standards
• Manage budgets and resources
• Find and retain external counsel and experts to support the business
WiLAN is committed to treating all people in a way that allows them to maintain their dignity and independence. We believe in integration and equal opportunity. Accommodations are available upon request for all applicants with a disability throughout the recruitment process. Please contact Human Resources hr@wilan.com if you require accommodation. We will work with all applicants to accommodate their individual accessibility needs.
We use automated tools, including artificial intelligence, to support aspects of our candidate screening process.
All hiring decisions are made by humans, and we are committed to fair, equitable, and compliant hiring practices.