People Business Partner (f/m/d)

Focused Energy is the leading laser-driven fusion company, pursuing the most promising path to clean, limitless fusion power. With locations in Darmstadt, Germany, and the San Francisco Bay Area, we bring together top scientific and engineering minds to unlock commercially viable fusion energy using proven technologies. We are driving the next chapter of economic growth and scientific innovation through the widespread adoption of clean, abundant fusion energy.

Focused Energy is growing fast, and the demand on our People function only increases as the company continues to scale. We’re seeking a People Business Partner that will be a reliable, business-facing People partner for our HQ-based teams. Focused on supporting managers and employees through a period of strong growth, while helping establish the foundations of how Business Partnering works at Focused Energy alongside the global PBP team.

This impactful add to the team will have the ability to be an internal champion for those in need of guidance and help, while helping drive continuous improvement-based projects across the following areas: onboarding, performance cycles, offboarding, along with other meaningful challenges that come into our horizon.

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  Serve as the day-to-day People partner for assigned areas at Darmstadt HQ, building trusted relationships with managers and being their first point of contact for people matters.

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  Handle employee relations cases end-to-end, including performance management and conflict resolution, ensuring consistency, fairness, and compliance with German employment law.

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  Coach and upskill line managers on core people processes - feedback conversations, probation reviews, team dynamics - reducing escalations and building manager confidence over time.

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  Support company growth in close partnership with the wider People function and business managers - covering workforce planning, headcount tracking, talent reviews, succession planning, and hiring, while also driving onboarding quality and early retention for new joiners.

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  Support the rollout and continuous improvement of people processes (onboarding, performance cycles, offboarding) across HQ teams, in close coordination with the senior PBP.

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  Contribute to building out the BP operating model — documenting how we work, identifying gaps in current processes, and proposing practical solutions that can scale.

• Min 5 years in People/HR, combining a solid generalist foundation across ER, talent, and people processes with hands-on business partnering experience

• Working knowledge of German employment law and HR practice

• Experience managing employee relations cases independently

• Familiarity with career frameworks and compensation structures

• Ability to advise and coach managers on everyday people matters

• Comfortable working with HR data and using it to inform decisions

• Strong relationship-building skills, able to earn trust quickly across levels

• Clear and direct communicator, written and verbal, in both German and English

• Self-driven, solutions-focused and collaborative, excited by the opportunity to build

• Comfortable with ambiguity; able to make progress without a fully defined playbook

• High level of discretion sound judgment in sensitive situations

• Experience in a scale-up, deep tech, or high-growth environment

• Exposure to org design or workforce planning processes