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Focused Energy is a deep-tech company commercializing laser-driven nuclear fusion, with offices in Germany and the US. As Senior Software Engineer, you will be the primary software technical lead for the Laser team, providing technical leadership across software, hardware, and experimental-system interfaces.
You will help define the architecture and technology direction for a greenfield laser-software platform while remaining hands-on in development. Key responsibilities include:
- Serve as primary software partner for the Laser team, coordinating software activities across laser projects
- Provide technical leadership for software initiatives: planning, technical alignment, risk identification, and coordination with laser physicists, engineers, and systems-integration partners
- Define architecture, technology choices, development practices, and interfaces for a new laser-software platform
- Design and implement reliable software for critical laser projects, from system-level interfaces to user-facing applications
- Develop automated calibration software that improves repeatability and supports reliable laser operation
- Design human-machine interfaces, dashboards, and operational tools for monitoring and operating laser systems
- Develop software interfacing with laser devices, diagnostic systems, cameras, and experimental equipment for data acquisition, monitoring, control, and visualization
- Build data-processing pipelines and storage solutions for experimental and operational data
- Define robust interfaces between software, hardware, cameras, and experimental systems in an evolving environment
- Work with networked device and system interfaces (TCP/IP, REST APIs, webhooks, DDS, SCADA, or comparable)
- Write automated tests, technical documentation, and operational guidance
- Identify and address reliability, performance, integration, debugging, and maintenance risks
- Contribute to technical design discussions, code reviews, and knowledge sharing
- Mentor engineers and help establish engineering practices as the software team grows
This role does not initially include direct people-management responsibility but offers opportunity to develop toward technical leadership and project ownership.
REQUIREMENTS:
Required:
- Experienced software engineer comfortable solving complex, ambiguous technical problems and building systems from the ground up
- Ability to take ownership of technical direction while collaborating with software specialists, laser physicists, experimental experts, and systems-integration partners
- Capability to move between technical leadership, project coordination, architecture, and hands-on implementation
- Strong focus on quality, reliability, testability, and long-term maintainability
- Clear communication with both software specialists and technical partners from adjacent disciplines
- Sound technical judgment in design, implementation, and technology-selection decisions in evolving environments
- Curious, adaptable, and motivated to understand software-hardware interaction
- Experienced in debugging and testing complex software
- Values constructive feedback, knowledge sharing, and mentoring
- Interest in developing toward technical leadership and project ownership
Desirable:
- Strong programming experience in C++, Python, or comparable 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 technology choices in evolving requirements
- 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 experimental-system boundaries
- Experience with networked device communication or system interfaces (TCP/IP, REST APIs, webhooks, DDS, SCADA, or comparable)
- Familiarity with control systems or optics (ability to learn and collaborate across disciplines is more important than prior expertise)
- Previous experience mentoring engineers or leading technical design discussions
