Mechanical Engineering Director (f/m/d)

Focused Energy LLC; Darmstadt; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

30 days vacation per year

Canteen lunch daily (Darmstadt)

Job summary

Focused Energy is seeking a Mechanical Engineering Director to design, build, and lead the Mechanical Engineering department. You will set up its structure, operating model, standards, and budget, overseeing end-to-end mechanical capability across delivery programs and coordinating with Systems Integration and Quality teams.

You will mentor Chief Mechanical Engineers and capability leads, scale five core mechanical areas, and ensure designs pass robust verification before delivery.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership of mechanical engineering teams and budgets.
• Experience in concept through integration handover lifecycle.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and executive communication.

Responsibilities

• Own the Mechanical Engineering department structure, headcount, budget forecasting, and capacity across programs.
• Lead peer Chief Mechanical Engineers and capability leads with clear accountability.
• Scale core mechanical capabilities in phased steps aligned to funded work.
• Enforce design review governance with verified load cases and tolerances.
• Establish early manufacturing and supplier capabilities for DFM, assembly, and test readiness.
• Collaborate with Systems Integration, Operations, Procurement, Quality and Facilities for smooth handovers.

Skills

Leadership

Engineering leadership

Budgeting

Staff development

Cross-functional

Executive communication

Tools

Autodesk Inventor

Autodesk Vault

Jama

Job description

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 the Mechanical Engineering Director at Focused Energy, you will design, build, and lead the Mechanical Engineering department, establishing its organizational structure, operating model, engineering standards, and budget. You will oversee end-to-end mechanical capability across key delivery programs, managing peer Chief Mechanical Engineers. Your leadership will ensure that mechanical subsystems are rigorously designed, manufactured, verified, and delivered on schedule to Systems Integration.

What You’ll Do

• Own the Mechanical Engineering department’s structure, headcount, budget forecasting, and capacity allocation across active delivery programs.
• Lead and develop peer Chief Mechanical Engineers and emerging capability leads, defining delegated technical authority frameworks and clear accountability.
• Scale and build out the five core mechanical capability areas in phased stages aligned with funded project workloads.
• Enforce robust mechanical design review governance, ensuring all released designs contain verified load cases, tolerances, and interface evidence.
• Establish manufacturing and supplier engineering capabilities early in the lifecycle to optimize design-for-manufacture, assembly, and test readiness.
• Partner cross-functionally with Systems Integration, Engineering Operations, Procurement, Quality, and Facilities to ensure seamless subsystem handovers at readiness gates.

Who You Are

• Must-Haves Extensive leadership experience building, structuring, and scaling engineering organizations, teams, and departmental budgets.
• Strong background across the full mechanical engineering lifecycle, spanning initial concept, supplier manufacturing, assembly, testing, and integration handover.
• Proven track record of establishing formal design review cadences, delegated authority models, and engineering release standards.
• Experience managing engineering resource allocation and resolving capacity trade-offs across concurrent, complex technical programs.
• Demonstrated capability in mentoring technical leads and creating distinct career progression pathways for both management and specialist individual contributors.
• Excellent cross-functional leadership skills with the ability to communicate project risks, trade-offs, and commitments transparently to executive stakeholders.

Nice-to-Haves

• Technical familiarity with high-complexity domains such as vacuum systems, cryogenics, thermal management, fluids, or precision mechanical systems.
• Working knowledge and governance fluency with configuration and release management tools such as Autodesk Inventor and Vault.
• Experience utilizing requirements traceability and verification platforms like Jama for complex systems.
• Prior experience establishing supplier-ready engineering package workflows in close collaboration with commercial Procurement and Quality teams.
• Background operating within high-tech, fusion energy, aerospace, or advanced hardware development environments.
• Experience transitioning early-stage specialist engineering groups into structured, high-volume development and manufacturing departments.

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.