Software Engineer (f/m/d)

Focused Energy is building the future of clean energy through laser-driven inertial fusion. Backed by our $240M Series A — the largest fully secured Series A in the global fusion industry — we are scaling rapidly across multiple geographies.

Based in Germany and the US, we have brought together the top scientific and engineering minds using proven technologies to unlock fusion power at commercial scale. Focused Energy is working to realize game-changing scientific innovation that promises to deliver a clean, sustainable and abundant source of power globally.

Focused Energy’s Software Department builds the internal applications, data workflows, system integrations and automation that help our scientists, finance, legal, people and executive teams work faster and more reliably. As a Software Engineer in our forward deployed model, you will join projects where Focused Energy has an important technical or operational need, understand the context, build and deliver a reliable solution, complete a clean handover, and then move on to the next priority.

You will quickly learn several project domains across fusion systems, finance, legal and executive work, and you will own moderately complex features from design to deployment. You will be a go-to engineer for turning cross-functional needs into maintainable software, raising the standard for internal tools, and helping us reuse shared platforms and patterns.

You will see your work directly shape how fusion research and company operations run. You will gain broad exposure to scientific, hardware, operational and business problems, and you will take ownership from day one.

• Own moderately complex, well-scoped features from technical design through testing, deployment and handover.

• Work directly with scientists, the people team, legal, operations, IT and other specialists to understand their goals and turn them into practical software.

• Build internal applications, data workflows, system integrations, APIs, automation and engineering tools based on each project’s needs.

• Add automated tests, logging, metrics, error handling and basic operational guidance to the software you deliver.

• Move between projects after delivering agreed outcomes, leaving software tested, documented, maintainable and ready for its long-term owner.

• Improve code quality, remove small areas of technical debt, contribute to code reviews, and reuse shared platforms and patterns where they fit.

• Learn several project domains quickly, deliver your first end-to-end features, and establish a reliable routine for testing, documentation and handover.

• Take on broader and less clearly defined projects, help standardize how internal software is built, secured and operated, and become a trusted partner for teams across the company.

• You can independently own well-scoped work, with support available for broader architecture or highly unclear decisions.

• Strong software engineering fundamentals, including readable code, data structures, debugging, automated testing, version control and code review, with evidence of delivered working software.

• Ability to build and maintain software in a modern typed language such as TypeScript or JavaScript. Strong experience with a similar language is also relevant.

• Experience building web applications with a component-based frontend framework such as React, Vue or Angular.

• Understanding of relational databases and SQL, including schemas, migrations, permissions and data modeling.

• Experience integrating software through REST APIs, events, scheduled jobs or similar communication patterns.

• Understanding of authentication, authorization, role-based access and secure data handling.

• Familiarity with CI/CD, package management, basic infrastructure configuration and automated build, test and deployment workflows.

• Ability to use tests, logs, metrics and traces to find problems and confirm that software works as expected.

• Ability to use AI-assisted development tools responsibly for learning, prototyping, testing, documentation and delivery, reviewing output to the same quality and security standard as other work.

• Ability to learn new languages, frameworks, systems and technical domains, and a willingness to move between projects after completing agreed work.

• Ability to turn the needs of non-software specialists into clear technical requirements and to explain software decisions in simple language.

• Clear communication: you raise risks and blockers early, make realistic commitments, and take full ownership of handover, leaving no undocumented code.

• Understanding of maintainability, documentation, security, access control and operational readiness.

• Experience with TypeScript, React, SQL, PostgreSQL, serverless functions or Azure services.

• Experience with cloud platforms such as Azure, AWS or Google Cloud, including serverless or managed application platforms.

• Experience working in a monorepo or with shared packages, reusable components and common engineering tooling.

• Experience with database security, row-level permissions, identity providers, single sign-on or role-based access control.

• Experience with infrastructure as code, CI/CD systems, cloud observability or secure secret management.

• Experience building internal tools, technical dashboards, data pipelines, search systems, automation or third-party service integrations.

• Experience working with scientists, hardware engineers, research teams, industrial systems or other technical domain experts.

• Experience supporting a project through handover, production use or transfer to a long-term owner.

• Familiarity with AI-assisted development workflows, used without lowering review, testing, security or maintainability standards.

Focused Energy is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive environment. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, or disability status.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Focused Energy will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for incentive compensation, equity, benefits.