[5] Chen received a scholarship from United Technologies to study at the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

[6] From 1996 to 1998, he served as a technical assistant at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, performing the functions of a staff attorney.

[6] He represented the USPTO before the Federal Circuit, personally arguing twenty cases, including In re Bilski, In re Nuijten, and In re Comiskey.

[8][1] On February 7, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Chen to serve as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, to the seat vacated by Judge Richard Linn who assumed senior status on October 31, 2012.

[12] Chen's wife, Lisa Kuang-ling Hsiao, was an associate attorney at the law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand.