Sr Manager, Business Development & Tech

Join the leader in collaborative licensing and help us advance inclusive and efficient new patent licensing approaches to drive innovation globally. Via Licensing Alliance is dedicated to accelerating global technology adoption, fostering participation, and generating return on innovation with balanced IP licensing solutions for innovators and manufacturers of all sizes around the globe. Via administers dozens of patent licensing programs in audio, video, broadcast, power, and more for a variety of technologies, consisting of 25,000 patents in over 130 countries, with nearly 100 current patent holders and over 3,000 current licensees.

Via Licensing Alliance, a subsidiary of Dolby Laboratories, is an independently managed company owned by industry-leading participants with over 25 years of intellectual property licensing leadership. We are the world's largest patent pool administrator. We aggregate patents around key innovations and offer licensing solutions that give companies streamlined access to standardized technologies. For decades, we have served as a trusted bridge between our licensors and licensees, driving a strong and efficient IP licensing environment that yields better products and technologies for people around the world.

As Senior Manager, Business Development & Technology, you will play a key role in identifying, evaluating, and advancing new patent pool and licensing program opportunities at the intersection of emerging technology, intellectual property, standards development, and market adoption. This role will focus on developing actionable market insights, building business cases, engaging with ecosystem stakeholders, and supporting the formation and growth of new licensing programs.

The ideal candidate will bring strong business development instincts, analytical rigor, technical curiosity, and a solid understanding of intellectual property and technology markets. This individual must be comfortable working across legal, licensing, finance, program management, and technical teams, while also engaging externally with patent owners, technology companies, standards participants, industry associations, and prospective strategic partners.

This is a highly collaborative and externally focused role that requires the ability to translate complex technology and market dynamics into clear commercial strategies. The Senior Manager will help Via identify where collaborative licensing solutions can address market inefficiencies, support broader technology adoption, and create value for innovators and implementers. This hybrid role is based in San Francisco and requires in-office presence three days per week, Tuesday through Thursday.

• Identify, evaluate, and develop new business opportunities for patent pools and other collaborative licensing programs across emerging and established technology markets, including artificial intelligence, data center infrastructure, semiconductors, connectivity, media, power, and other standards-based technologies.
• Monitor emerging technology trends, standards activity, market adoption patterns, patent ownership dynamics, and competitive licensing models to identify opportunities before they mature into established licensing markets.
• Develop market landscapes and opportunity assessments covering technology adoption, addressable markets, value chains, key patent holders, implementers, standards organizations, industry associations, competitive dynamics, and commercialization pathways.
• Build business cases for new licensing opportunities, including market sizing, adoption forecasts, revenue considerations, potential licensing models, target licensors and licensees, stakeholder maps, implementation risks, and recommended go-to-market approaches.
• Translate complex technical, legal, and market information into clear, commercially actionable recommendations for senior management and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Support the creation, development, and launch of new patent pool programs and strategic initiatives by helping define the opportunity, value proposition, participation model, commercial framework, and stakeholder engagement strategy.
• Lead or support outreach to prospective licensors, strategic partners, technology companies, standards participants, and other ecosystem stakeholders to assess market interest and build alignment around potential licensing solutions.
• Develop and maintain trusted relationships with patent owners, implementers, industry participants,…