Senior Software Engineer (f/m/d)
Level inferred from job title
Job description
Senior Software Engineer acting as the primary software partner for the Laser team, providing technical leadership and hands-on development for a greenfield laser-software platform covering calibration, operation, human-machine interfaces, and experimental data processing.
At a glance
- Work mode
- Remote · Darmstadt, Germany
What you'll do
- Act as the primary software partner for the Laser team and coordinate software activities across laser projects.
- Provide technical leadership for software initiatives, including planning, technical alignment, risk identification, and coordination with laser physicists, engineers, and systems-integration partners.
- Help define the architecture, technology choices, development practices, and interfaces for a new laser-software platform in a greenfield environment.
- Design and implement reliable software for critical laser projects, from system-level interfaces to user-facing applications.
- Develop and maintain automated calibration software that improves repeatability, reduces manual effort, and supports reliable laser operation.
- Design and build clear, dependable human-machine interfaces, dashboards, and operational tools for monitoring and operating laser systems.
- Develop software that interfaces with laser devices, diagnostic systems, cameras, and experimental equipment to support data acquisition, system monitoring, operational control, and visualization.
- Develop data-processing pipelines and data-storage solutions for experimental and operational data, including diagnostic and camera data where appropriate.
- Define robust interfaces between software, hardware, cameras, and experimental systems in an environment where requirements and technologies are still evolving.
- Write automated tests, technical documentation, and operational guidance to support long-term maintainability and safe, reliable operation.
- Identify and address reliability, performance, integration, debugging, and maintenance risks in software that interacts with real-world systems.
- Contribute to technical design discussions, code reviews, and knowledge sharing across the Software Department.
- Mentor engineers and help establish engineering practices as the software team grows.
What we're looking for
- Experienced software engineer who enjoys solving complex, ambiguous technical problems and building systems from the ground up.
- Comfortable taking ownership of technical direction while collaborating closely with software specialists, laser physicists, experimental experts, and systems-integration partners.
- Can move effectively between technical leadership, project coordination, architecture, and hands-on implementation.
- Takes ownership of the quality, reliability, testability, and long-term maintainability of the systems built.
- Communicates clearly with both software specialists and technical partners from adjacent disciplines.
- Applies sound technical judgment when making design, implementation, and technology-selection decisions in an evolving environment.
- Curious, adaptable, and motivated to understand how software interacts with hardware, cameras, diagnostics, and experimental systems.
- Experienced in debugging and testing complex software and understands their importance in senior-level engineering work.
- Values constructive feedback, knowledge sharing, and mentoring other engineers.
- Interested in developing toward technical leadership and project ownership; formal people-management responsibility is not required at the outset.
Nice to have
- Strong programming experience in C++, Python, or comparable programming languages.
- Experience designing, implementing, testing, debugging, and maintaining complex software systems.
- Knowledge of software architecture, code review practices, automated testing, technical documentation, and engineering best practices.
- Experience with greenfield development, platform or architecture definition, and making technology choices where requirements are still evolving.
- Experience with automated calibration, control-adjacent software, laboratory systems, automation, or physical-device interfaces.
- Experience developing human-machine interfaces, dashboards, or software for operating technical equipment.
- Experience with camera integration, image processing, diagnostic data, or experimental data-processing pipelines.
- Experience developing data-storage solutions for high-volume, time-series, experimental, or operational data.
- Familiarity with software-hardware integration and working across experimental-system boundaries.
- Experience with networked device communication or system interfaces, such as TCP/IP, REST APIs, webhooks, DDS, SCADA, or comparable technologies.
- Familiarity with control systems or optics is beneficial, but not required.
- Previous experience mentoring engineers or leading technical design discussions.
Your team
Darmstadt Software Department
Software Department based in Darmstadt; the role is the primary software point of contact for the Laser team.
Benefits
Innovative Technology & Mission: Be part of a cutting-edge company working on groundbreaking research in clean energy and scientific discovery.
Career Development: opportunity to join an early, growing company at the forefront of new technology, with opportunities to develop and grow your career.
Collaborative Culture: Work with great people in a dynamic, international environment with top-tier scientists, engineers and professionals.
Ownership: Take ownership from day 1 and drive impact by making decisions, solving challenges and shaping the future of our company.
- Your Success is our Success: competitive salary and company ownership in the form of stock options.
- Vacation Days: 30 days of vacation per year.
- Snacks and Drinks: healthy snacks and drinks; Darmstadt office offers a canteen with lunch options daily.
- Retirement Plan: 20% financed on top of monthly contributions for a private pension plan, plus loyalty incentives.
- Equipment: state-of-the-art Windows or Apple Laptops, plus keyboard, mouse and headset.
- Events: regular events to foster team bonding and collaboration.
- Mobility with NAVIT: support for flexible commuting needs (public transportation ticket, taxi rides or car-sharing).
- Fitness with Wellhub: access to gyms, fitness studios and wellness services across Europe.
Apply
About Focused Energy
Focused Energy is building the future of clean energy through laser-driven inertial fusion. Backed by a $240M Series A - the largest fully secured Series A in the global fusion industry - it is scaling rapidly across multiple geographies. Based in Germany and the US, it has brought together top scientific and engineering minds using proven technologies to unlock fusion power at commercial scale.
Mission
Building the future of clean energy through laser-driven inertial fusion to deliver a clean, sustainable and abundant source of power globally.
Key facts
- Fusion energy
- $240M Series A - the largest fully secured Series A in the global fusion industry
- Based in Germany and the US
- Working to realize scientific innovation for clean, sustainable and abundant power globally
Partners & customers
What they value
- Collaborative Culture
- Ownership
- Knowledge sharing
- Constructive feedback