Director of Laser Engineering (Fusion Energy)

Location: Darmstadt, Germany. A consistent presence in the Darmstadt area is required; the onsite cadence can be agreed with the team. Approximately 20% travel. Full relocation to Germany is welcome but not required.

Company

hirify.global is building the engineering organization and laser systems required for laser-driven fusion energy.

What you will do

• Own and maintain the laser technology and functional roadmap, linking critical work to long-term fusion-machine and system goals.
• Lead five direct reports and a broader organization of 15+ indirect FTEs and students; coach managers and scale the team by 2–3x within 12 months.
• Establish ownership, decision rights, technical review processes, and operating rhythms as the organization scales.
• Manage technology maturity, dependencies, gate reviews, technical risks, and risk-retirement actions.
• Lead system-level architecture discussions and represent Laser Engineering in fusion-machine technical reviews and executive forums.
• Coordinate with Systems Engineering, Program, Lab Infrastructure, Digital Twin, Supply Chain, Reactor, Legal, and Business Development teams on delivery and IP strategy; steer technology partnerships and outsourcing.

Requirements

• Relevant degree or equivalent experience in engineering, physics, photonics, or a related technical discipline.
• Proven experience leading managers or senior technical leaders and developing leadership capacity.
• Experience building and delivering technology or engineering roadmaps in a complex environment.
• Strong first-principles reasoning, including constructive challenge of expert views, separation of evidence from assumptions, and decision-making with incomplete information.
• Experience managing technical risks, dependencies, and cross-functional delivery.
• Clear, concise, outcome-focused communication with senior and technical audiences.
• High EQ, adaptability, and comfort working in an organization with evolving priorities and structures.
• Fluent English; German is not required.
• Willingness to maintain a consistent presence in the Darmstadt area and travel approximately 20%.

Nice to have

• Experience in laser engineering, photonics, complex hardware, or building structure in a scaling organization.
• German language skills.

Culture & Benefits

• Work on a complex, long-term laser-driven fusion-energy challenge.
• Collaborate across laser engineering and adjacent technical functions.
• Inclusive equal-opportunity environment.
• Compensation may include incentive compensation, equity, and benefits depending on the role and individual factors.