Director of Engineering Operations

About Focused Energy

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.

Your Role

As Director of Engineering Operations, you will build structured, repeatable operating capability across Mechanical, Electrical and Controls. You will own engineering planning and capacity reporting, configuration and release administration, supplier engineering readiness, and end-to-end engineering and supplier quality. This is a functional leadership role: you will set the processes that engineering must follow, while authorised engineers keep design approval, Systems Engineering keeps requirements governance, and Commercial Procurement keeps contracts.

What You'll Do

• Own engineering planning, workload and capacity reporting so that commitments reflect real capacity.

• Lead configuration and release administration, including Inventor licensing, Autodesk Vault and Jama administration, as a controlled and auditable capability.

• Define and drive the planning, configuration, release and quality processes that Mechanical, Electrical and Controls are required to follow.

• Ensure suppliers receive controlled, revision-correct technical information through readiness coordination with the Supply Chain Engineer.

• Build a functioning supplier-quality and nonconformance process, and stand up the Engineering Quality Lead and Supplier Quality Engineer capability as it is approved.

• Partner with Systems Engineering, the Systems Integration team, Commercial Procurement and the PMO to keep cross-functional handoffs clean and to give Integration trustworthy readiness evidence.

Who You Are

Must-Haves

• Experience in engineering configuration management, release control and change control in a hardware engineering environment.

• Hands-on knowledge of engineering data and release tools such as Jama, Autodesk Vault or Inventor, or comparable PLM/PDM systems.

• Experience running supplier technical coordination and quality or nonconformance processes, including auditable conformity records.

• Proven ability to plan and manage engineering capacity and workload across multiple disciplines.

• Leadership experience managing managers or senior specialists, and building process ownership within a team.

• Clear, candid communication with senior leaders, with the judgement to escalate only genuine cross-functional trade-offs.

Nice-to-Haves

• Background in systems engineering or systems integration on complex hardware programmes.

• Experience standing up a new quality function from a small base, including supplier quality engineering.

• Familiarity with capacity-based planning methods and planning tools.

• Working knowledge of German engineering and supplier environments, and fluency in German.

• Experience with Autodesk licensing administration or enterprise engineering tool administration.

• Experience reporting engineering readiness and risk to Integration or programme leadership.

What We Offer

• Innovative Technology & Mission: Be part of a cutting-edge company working on groundbreaking research in clean energy and scientific discovery.

• Career Development: We invest in our people. This is an opportunity to join an early, growing company at the forefront of new technology, where you’ll have the opportunity to develop and grow your career.

• Collaborative Culture: Work with great people in a dynamic, international environment with top-tier scientists, engineers and professionals passionate about solving global challenges.

• 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: We offer a competitive salary and company ownership in the form of stock options, giving you a direct stake in our success and ownership in what we build together.

• Vacation Days: We support your work-life-balance by granting you 30 days of vacation per year.

• Snacks and Drinks: Our office fridges are never empty. Enjoy our healthy snacks and drinks. Our Darmstadt office even offers a canteen with delicious lunch options daily.

• Retirement Plan: If you decide for a private pension plan, we will finance 20% on top of your monthly contributions, plus loyalty incentives.

• Equipment: We offer state-of-the-art Windows or Apple Laptops. In addition, you will receive a keyboard, mouse and headset so you are fully equipped from day 1.

• Events: We organize regular events to foster team bonding, encourage collaboration, and build a strong, supportive company culture. Connect with colleagues across departments, share ideas, and have fun together, both in and outside of the workplace.

• Mobility with NAVIT: We partner with NAVIT to support your flexible commuting needs whether it’s a public transportation ticket, taxi rides or car-sharing you choose what fits your lifestyle.

• Fitness with Wellhub: We care about your health. Get access to a wide range of gyms, fitness studios and wellness services across Europe through our partnership with Wellhub.

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.