Department of Commerce

Legal Instruments Examiner

Alexandria, Virginia Full time

Legal Instruments Examiner

Department: Department of Commerce

Location(s): Alexandria, Virginia

Salary Range: $57164 - $74318 Per Year

Job Summary: Imagine starting your career as a Legal Instrument Examiner working in an office that is on the cutting edge of planning, developing, implementing and evaluating all initiatives needed to support the examination and registration of trademarks throughout the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This position is waiting for you to bring your technical expertise to our agency.

Major Duties:

  • The physical worksite for this position is located in Alexandria, Virginia.This position is telework eligible per agency and business unit discretion/policy. This role is the ideal next career step for you if: You conduct detailed review of request and supporting legal documents to ensure that information is complete, requirements have been met, and correct fees have been paid. Use your problem-solving skills to conduct research in an automated system to determine ownership information. You are excited to respond to customer inquiries regarding processes and procedures in navigating through an online system. The individual selected for this position will... Provide review and recordation services for documents sent into organization by the owners of patents and trademarks. Process requests for changes in assignment and other information for numerous types of legal documents in accordance with regulatory requirements.

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 Legal Instrument Examining Series 0963 Specialized Experience is 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-06. Specialized experience for this position includes: 1. Experience providing review and recordation services for documents sent into organization by the owners of patents and trademarks. 2. Experience processing requests for changes in assignment and other information for numerous types of legal documents in accordance with regulatory requirements. 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.

How to Apply: You MUST apply online. If you experience difficulties with the application process or do not have access to a computer, please contact the HR Specialist listed as the point of contact before the closing date of this job announcement. If you are a new user to the USAJobs Site and have never registered for an account; you will first need to create an account profile with your basic contact information and a resume to begin applying. You must be a registered USAJobs user AND you must be signed-in to your account in order to apply for this position. For help setting up an account or for general help using USAJobs, go to USAJobs Help Page. Once you have gathered all of the required information and are ready to begin the application process, click the "APPLY" button at the right side of the page. You will then be directed away from USAJobs to the Department of Commerce application site for USPTO. You must click "Submit" at the end of the application process to send your application for consideration. To return to your saved application, log in to your USAJOBS account at http://www.usajobs.gov/ and click on "Applications." Click on the position title, then select "Update Application." If you experience any difficulties with the application site, help is available! OPM has a Help feature on each page. Use this option when you need assistance. All required supporting documents will be collected electronically via the USAJobs "Saved Documents" feature. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is defined as information that can be traced back to a specific individual and potentially compromise their security or privacy. Examples of PII include: date of birth, Social Security Number, and place of birth. Please ensure that you have removed all Personally Identifiable Information from all documents prior to submitting or uploading your applications material.

Application Deadline: 2026-01-13