Principal Systems Engineer

Fusion Energy Base; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 201,450 - 237,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Equity participation

Company 401(k)

Paid holidays

Paid time off

Job summary

Xcimer Energy seeks a Principal Systems Engineer to lead the integrated technical baseline across IFE and defense programs. You will define interfaces, ensure bidirectional traceability, and collaborate with team leads to craft the framework for design, build, test, and activation of facilities and systems.

The role emphasizes leadership, architectural oversight, and hands-on engineering with a mandate for high-quality documentation and stakeholder alignment on complex, large-scale systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related technical field.
• 15+ years of Systems Engineering/Software Engineering experience.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and stakeholder collaboration.
• Proven ownership of integrated technical baselines across SE lifecycle.
• Background on large, complex systems or facilities (fusion/energy/aerospace/defense).

Responsibilities

• Provide technical guidance to ensure successful system functionality.
• Architect scalable verification and validation frameworks across dashboards and engineering tools.
• Define and maintain traceability across requirements, architecture, documentation, and analysis products.
• Collaborate with program teams to integrate new development and legacy systems.
• Carry out systems engineering activities per tailored standards and practices.
• Drive technical decisions and risk mitigation.
• Coordinate between teams to optimize the holistic system.
• Develop strategies for operability, reliability, maintainability, and supportability.

Skills

Systems Engineering

Software Engineering

Team Leadership

Stakeholder Collaboration

Communication

Traceability

Risk Assessment

Project Management

Education

B.S. in Engineering or technical field

Tools

Atlassian Jira

Confluence

Job description

Principal Systems Engineer – Denver, CO – Engineering – Systems Engineering / Full-Time / On-site

Xcimer Energy leverages decades of research on Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) combined withgroundbreaking new laser architecture. Our mission is to deploy fusion power plants to meet global decarbonization goals as fast as possible. Xcimer has assembled a team of leaders in tough tech, fusion science, and manufacturing with a track record of rapid execution. Supported by leading investors, Xcimer is uniquely positioned to deliver limitless, clean, fusion power to combat climate change. Join us in powering a better world with inertial fusion! This is a full-time, onsite role based at our headquarters in Denver, CO. As a Principal Systems Engineer, you will be a thought leader in Xcimer influencing and educating technical leads to capture, organize, and track the integrated technical baseline for our IFE Programs, and our Defense Programs. The successful candidate will perform leading and supporting roles in establishing and maintaining bidirectional traceability across our requirements, architecture, documentation, and analysis products. The candidate will define and maintain infrastructure, define relationships between internal and external interfaces, and communicate system-level use cases and relationships to a diverse group of stakeholders. The candidate will work with team leads across the organization to craft the key framework and documents needed to define, design, build, test, and activate our facilities and systems. We are looking for engineers to apply their technical expertise, problem solving skills, and dedication to quality to positively impact the future of energy!

Responsibilities

• Provide technical guidance and oversight to ensure the successful development and implementation of system functionality.
• Implement engineering knowledge management strategies and tools to minimize process overhead for engineering teams.
• Architect scalable verification and validation frameworks across data dashboards, engineering tools, and Atlassian suite (Confluence & Jira).
• Implement the processes, traceability, and documentation necessary to support defense programs.
• Collaborate with program teams, including new development and legacy systems, to identify opportunities for integration and support the development of updated releases.
• Carry out systems engineering activities in accordance with tailored system engineering standards and practices.
• Drive and coordinate technical decision making.
• Conduct risk assessments to ensure risk mitigation plans are developed and implemented.
• Act as the negotiator between multiple teams to make sure the holistic system is optimized.
• Develop strategies, approaches for specialty engineering (operability, reliability, maintainability, supportability) integration, analysis and verification.

Qualifications

• Minimum of a B.S. degree in engineering or other technical field (e.g. mechanical, electrical, chemical, etc.).
• 15+ years of Systems Engineering/Software Engineering experience.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional teams and collaborating with stakeholders to drive technical innovation and growth.
• Proven experience owning the integrated technical baseline for complex systems through the full Systems Engineering Lifecycle.
• Experience working on development programs for large, complex, integrated systems or facilities – preferably from the fusion/energy, aerospace, or space and defense industry.
• Strong technical experience in simulation, software, and data analysis, with an understanding of industry trends and emerging technologies.
• Fluent with Atlassian suite tools (Confluence, Jira).
• Experience with rapid technology development, integration, and testing.
• Great communication skills, ability to work effectively in teams, demonstrated execution and coordination skills.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.
• Desired Experience with defining, designing, and activating large facilities for assembly, integration, and testing for large complex systems.
• Experience with high energy laser systems, optics or fusion energy systems.
• Project management skills including labor estimating and schedule management.
• Demonstrated configuration management experience.

$201,450 - $237,000 a year.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Xcimer Energy is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and is committed to attracting, retaining, and developing a highly qualified, diverse, and dedicated work force. Xcimer Energy hires and promotes people on the basis of their qualifications, performance, and abilities. We support the establishment and maintenance of a workplace that fosters trust, equality, and teamwork, in which all employees recognize and appreciate the diversity of individual team members. We provide all qualified applicants for employment and employees with equal opportunities for hire, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment, regardless of their race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin/ethnicity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, and/or local law. Xcimer Energy will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

For more information on “EEO Is the Law,” please see here and here.

Benefits

Xcimer offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support employee health, well-being, and long-term success.

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Basic and supplemental life insurance.
• Short- and long-term disability.
• Paid parental leave for employees at the time of birth or adoption.
• 401(k) with a company match of up to 6%.
• Eligible employees also receive equity, allowing them to share in the company’s long-term success.
• Paid sick time.
• 13 company-paid holidays.
• Annual paid company shutdown.
• Flexible Paid Time Off (ATO) approach.

Benefits are available to regular employees, including part-time and fixed‑term roles, as well as interns, with eligibility varying by benefit.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.