“Success is a common denominator here... and what I like most
about working at the USPTO is that you can own your success.”
After meeting a team of USPTO recruiters on his campus at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico in 2002, Jorge quickly learned that the path to becoming a successful patent examiner took hard work, time, dedication and determination. He was immediately attracted to the agency for the exposure to the latest innovations (he wound up examining software applications that became what we know today as Blu-Ray), but also reveled in the idea of being in an environment where your personal best was the only thing standing in the way of promotions and awards. Jorge was up for the challenge.
Jorge is currently a Supervisory Patent Examiner. His favorite part of the job is coaching and mentoring the patent examiners in his art unit and guiding them through their career advancement.
He also served as a Patent Training Advisor Detailee to the Office of Patent Training. As an advisor, he was responsible for managing and overseeing the administration of Stakeholder Training on Examination Practice and Procedure (STEPP) education program. The STEPP program gives participants' insights to attorneys, agents, and inventors, to get a better understanding of how and why an examiner makes decisions while reviewing patent applications. During his time serving as advisor, he successfully developed and launched the first STEPP Agent/Attorney course in the virtual environment.
No matter what role he serves in, he expects the best, because he gives his best. And believes that across the agency, his peers do the same by giving their all to support the USPTO’s mission to protect American intellectual property rights at home and abroad.
“Success is a common denominator here,” he says. “And what I like most about working at the USPTO is that you can own your success.”
USPTO employees work hard to achieve their career goals and are provided with the information and tools that they need to succeed. Motivation, however, has to come from within. For example, any entry level patent examiner joining the organization can climb a non-competitive career ladder from a GS-7 up to a GS-14, one rung at a time at their own pace.
Throughout the agency, mentorship programs, leadership academies and custom training courses have all been established with the success of the individual employee in mind.
“The advice and training that USPTO and my immediate supervisors provided gave me a clear path to follow,” says Jorge. He adds, “I knew exactly what I had to do to reach new heights based on my individual ability, work performance and drive.”
Jorge also credits special assignments and details (which are opportunities for federal employees to “intern” in temporary positions at either their home agency or at another federal agency to gain valuable insight and experience) for providing the necessary tools and know-how to prepare for leadership.
What’s next for Jorge? “The sky’s the limit,” he says. With so many career opportunities to explore at USPTO, he’s not even close to completing his climb.