STUDENT TRAINEE - USPTO INTERN PROGRAM

Patent and Trademark Office

San Jose, CA

JobSummary

This exciting internship opportunity will start early June and will not exceed 90 days. The position requires in-person reporting to the designated duty station. Imagine starting your career working side by side with intellectual property (IP) leaders as part of USPTO's Internship Program. Join us as part of a team that makes meaningful changes with a global impact across the IP Community.

LowGrade

HighGrade

PromotionPotential

PromotionPotentialAdditionalText

Selections will be made at the GS-4 OR GS-5 with no known promotion potential.

OrganizationCodes

CM/CM56

Relocation

False

HiringPath

fed-transition
student
public

MCOTags

AgencyMarketingStatement

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been serving the economic interests of America for more than 200 years. We are responsible for granting US intellectual property rights for patents and trademarks. The USPTO is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, and has over 12,000 employees. For more information about the USPTO, please visit the USPTO Jobs Website.

TravelCode

ApplyOnlineUrl

https://apply.usastaffing.gov/Application/Apply

DetailStatusUrl

https://apply.usastaffing.gov/Application/ApplicationStatus

MajorDuties

As a USPTO Intern, you will receive practical, virtual hands-on experience by engaging in a variety of diverse and challenging activities. This exciting opportunity is ideal for you if: You're inspired by innovative environments that allow you to contribute to the accomplishment of organizational goals. You're interested in engaging directly with agency leadership to gain insight into the USPTO mission by participating in regular senior level sessions. You desire to explore federal careers while completing your education. You enjoy learning through routine and recurring developmental assignments which will help acquire knowledge and understanding of functions, principles, practices, and methods used in the areas of innovation and intellectual property while completing your education. You're committed to training and development on various topics relating to the USPTO and government service. You're interested in getting experience in legal writing and analysis. You're excited about assisting with special projects and new initiatives. You're a relationship builder who finds enjoyment in participating in group/team assignments and assisting with research, analysis, statistics and reporting out your findings. You're an effective writer who finds interest in drafting various documents and reports, creating spreadsheets and charts, etc., to present a variety of data and information. You are excited to assist with IT projects that will change the way we do business. You're enthused and interested in observing appeal hearings, cases, and panels.

Education

Please note that if you are a Spring or Summer 2026 graduate, you will not be eligible for this internship opportunity unless you are accepted for enrollment at a qualifying educational institution seeking an additional degree (diploma, certificate, degree program, etc.) or an advanced degree. You must submit proof of acceptance along with your current transcripts for consideration. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to General Schedule Qualifications Policies for more information. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of coursework and the degree. A listing of services that can perform this evaluation is available at the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course-by-course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration. All education beyond high school must be accredited by an accrediting body or organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. A successful candidate must be enrolled as a full-time student as determined by the educational institution (including 4-year college or university, community college, or junior college).

Requirements

Evaluations

Applicants meeting basic eligibility requirements will be further evaluated based on the information provided in the Occupational Questionnaire. You will be rated based on your responses to the questionnaire. In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Your application will be evaluated under the Category Rating method based on your responses to the assessment questions. You will receive a score based on the responses to the assessment question(s). If, after reviewing your resume and or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities. If you meet basic requirements for the position, your application will be evaluated and placed into one of three categories:1. Gold/Best Qualified; 2. Silver/Well Qualified; or 3. Bronze/Qualified based on a complete review of experience, education, and training, as described in an applicant's responses to the assessment questions and resume. Candidates eligible for veterans' preference will be placed ahead of other candidates in the appropriate category for which they have been rated. Additionally, preference eligibles who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent and who meet Minimum Qualification Requirements will automatically be placed in the Best Qualified Category. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas: Interpersonal Flexibility Problem Solving Technology Application Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information). Please note that a complete application is required for consideration. (Please review the "Required Documents" section of this job announcement to see what must be included in a complete application).

HowToApply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 2 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. 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.

WhatToExpectNext

Upon receiving application packages, we will conduct an initial review of your application and transcripts to confirm that you meet the basic requirements. All candidates will be invited for an On Demand interview. The hiring manager will only review interviews left by those marked qualified and referred on the certificate. You will receive a notice generated by the USAJobs System when you have successfully submitted your application. You will be notified of your application status through USAJOBS at four points during the hiring process, as applicable. You can check the status of your application by accessing the USAJOBS website at http://usajobs.gov/ and clicking on "Track Your Online Application." The four points of notification are: 1. Application Received or Application Incomplete; 2. Minimum Qualification Requirement Met or Minimum Qualification Requirement Not Met; 3. Eligible (Application Referred to the Selecting Official) or Eligible (Application Not Referred to the Selecting Official); and 4. Selected or Not Selected. After all application packages have been received, we will review your application and transcript(s) (if you are qualifying based on education) to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will evaluate each applicant who meets the basic qualifications on the information provided and you may be contacted for follow-up supplemental documentation. It is the applicant's responsibility to provide any supplemental documents or information requested by the Office of Human Resources within the allocated timeframes. You will be required to submit official documentation prior to appointment. The agency will then verify the information provided on your application (i.e., degree, veterans' preference, disability, etc.). You can check the status of your application by logging into USAJOBS. You may also sign up to receive automatic emails anytime the status of your application has changed by logging into your USAJobs Account, editing your profile and changing the "Notification Settings" to indicate that you want to be notified by email when the status changes. Information regarding the status of your application should be updated in the system within 2 weeks after the closing date of this job announcement.

RequiredDocuments

A complete application consists of: 1. A resume or any other written format you choose to describe your job-related qualifications; optional cover letter: Your resume should indicate your citizenship and should list your educational and work experience including job titles, salary, employment dates, duties and accomplishments, experience. Please note your resume must be limited to a maximum of two pages. Resumes exceeding this limit will not be considered eligible. Please submit only one resume. Only the document uploaded under the "Resume "section as the "Document Type" will be reviewed to assess your qualifications and for evaluation purposes. 2. Transcripts and/or an Official Letter for Proof of Enrollment for the upcoming semester at a qualifying educational institution: You MUST submit copies of your college transcripts for verification of the education requirements. Unofficial copies are acceptable when submitting your application package. If selected, you will be required to furnish official transcripts along with proof of current enrollment. It is your responsibility to provide adequate proof that you meet the above educational requirements. Inadequate or illegible information could result in non-qualification and loss of consideration. 3. Veterans' Preference Documentation: If you are a veteran with preference eligibility, you will be asked to submit a copy of your DD-214 containing your discharge disposition, dates of service, and rank. If you are a preference eligible claiming a service connected disability of 10 percent or more, you will be asked to submit documentation (i.e. a letter dated 1991 or later from the Department of Veterans Affairs or from a branch of the Armed Forces) certifying your present receipt of compensation. You must include dates of military service within the automated application process, and submit a copy of each Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, DD-214. For more information, please visit Special Appointing Authorities for Veterans. You can upload your documents when you register or update your information on the Department of Commerce application site which you access through the USAJobs site.

Benefits

OtherInformation

This is a student internship position under the Pathways Internship Program Background Investigation: If selected for this position, you may be required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306), to determine your suitability for Federal employment. Selectees will be on a trial period while on this appointment. The USPTO participates in E-Verify. For more information on E-Verify, please visit the Department of Homeland Security Website Relocation Expenses are not authorized and will not be paid. All federal employees are required to have federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice. More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued. All application materials become the property of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation), national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, retaliation for engaging in protected activity, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors. If you believe that you have been discriminated against and would like to file an EEO complaint, you must do so within 45 days of the date of the alleged discriminatory act. Claims of employment discrimination must be submitted to the attention of the USPTO's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity via email (oeeo@uspto.gov) or phone (571-272-8292).

KeyRequirements

WithinArea

False

CommuteDistance

ServiceType

AnnouncementClosingType

AnnouncementClosingTypeOption

150

AgencyContactEmail

SANDRA.ROBINSON@USPTO.GOV

AgencyContactPhone

571-272-0624