Design Patent Examining

What the Numbers Say About Design Patent Examining

Federal agencies employ 392 people in the Design Patent Examining occupation (OPM code 1226), accounting for 0.0% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472 for the March 2025 reporting window. Headcount in this occupation moved up by 4.3% versus the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend.

The average salary for Design Patent Examining is $124,327 per year, placing it 13.2% above the overall federal civilian average of $109,869. Salaries moved up by 1.2% from the prior period, a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement. Average length of service in this role is 7.4 years, a comparatively short average tenure, which can reflect faster turnover, a competitive private-sector alternative, or a newer program still building up its workforce.

Design Patent Examining sits inside the Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family (code 12), which contains 5 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Design Patent Examining postings should also review these sibling occupations, since federal hiring managers often cross-post positions across closely related codes when recruitment is difficult. All figures here come directly from OPM FedScope Employment Cubes, the same official source referenced in federal workforce planning, budget justifications, and GAO reports.

Design Patent Examining makes up 3.6% of the 10,875 employees across the Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family, ranking #4 of 5 occupations in that family by headcount.