Hire the best Heads of Engineering in Munich matched in minutes from 15,000 CVs with the power of AI
Need a Head of Engineering for platform rebuilds, team scaling, delivery rescue, or cloud-native product work? Find senior leaders who can align architecture, people, and process, then step in fast with vetted, available freelancers.
About the role
What they do
A Head of Engineering sets the technical direction and keeps delivery moving. They translate product goals into an execution plan, shape team structure, and remove bottlenecks before they slow the build.
- Set engineering priorities and delivery focus
- Align architecture, product, and roadmap decisions
- Coach engineering managers and senior engineers
- Improve code quality, release flow, and team ownership
- Support hiring, onboarding, and team scaling
Core skills
Strong Heads of Engineering combine technical depth with clear leadership. They understand software architecture, cloud platforms, agile delivery, and the trade-offs behind speed, quality, and maintainability.
They are often comfortable with backend and frontend teams, DevOps, data-heavy products, and security-conscious environments. Common backgrounds include engineering management, CTO advisory work, and senior software engineering leadership.
Tools and stack
The tools depend on the product, but the work usually touches modern delivery and engineering systems.
- Jira, Confluence, Linear, or similar planning tools
- GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket workflows
- Cloud and platform stacks such as AWS, Azure, or GCP
- CI/CD pipelines, observability, and incident routines
- Architecture reviews, technical roadmaps, and delivery metrics
When companies bring one in
Companies hire a freelance Head of Engineering when they need senior leadership without a long permanent search. This is common during restructures, product pivots, replacement gaps, post-merger integration, or when engineering output has stalled.
In Munich, demand often comes from software product companies, industrial tech firms, mobility businesses, and scale-ups that need experienced leadership for hybrid teams in German and English.
What strong leaders deliver
The best candidates do more than manage people. They make engineering easier to run and easier to trust.
- Clear ownership across teams and services
- Better delivery predictability and fewer last-minute surprises
- Cleaner technical decisions and less dependency chaos
- Stronger hiring, onboarding, and retention
- A calm presence in high-pressure moments
How to judge fit
A strong Head of Engineering can explain how they improved team performance, not just what technologies they know. Look for examples of turning vague goals into workable delivery plans, handling conflict between product and engineering, and making architecture decisions that teams can sustain.
For freelance work, ask how they join a team quickly, how they communicate with founders or directors, and how they handle the handover when the assignment ends. The best fit is someone who can lead without creating extra layers.
Meet FRATCH Heads of Engineering
Shiqing Fan
Vehicle Software and OS Expert
Last position:
Technical Director at EmotionPool GmbH
- Spearheaded the EU market entry strategy for L3/L4 autonomous logistics vehicles, driving the technological localization and deployment of the parent company’s smart robotics portfolio.
- Orchestrated technical alignment between top-tier autonomous driving suppliers across China and Europe, translating complex client requirements into precise engineering specifications compliant with EU standards.
- Cultivated strategic joint R&D initiatives with leading European universities, research institutes, and enterprises, accelerating the transition of cutting-edge robotic concepts into commercial products.
- Directed the end-to-end architecture of intelligent warehousing solutions, guiding cross-functional teams in optimizing hardware integration for autonomous vehicles & robots, and overall system performance.
- Led the R&D of high-fidelity simulation and AI algorithms using NVIDIA Isaac Sim & Lab, establishing robust "Sim-to-Real" pipelines to train and validate dynamic path planning optimization, intelligent obstacle avoidance, and complex navigation stacks prior to physical deployment.
- Maintained hands-on oversight of the core system architecture, focusing on bottom-level performance tuning, AI model inference acceleration with TensorRT/ONNX Runtime, and sensor integration.
Kyung Park
Senior Semiconductor Technical Leader
Last position:
Expert, Design-to-Mask Preparation at Robert Bosch Semiconductor Manufacturing Dresden
- Led end-to-end tape-out and photomask preparation for a 300mm automotive semiconductor program, ensuring manufacturability, data integrity, and compliance with automotive quality standards, frame generation, multi-die placement
- Identified and mitigated manufacturing-readiness risks during technology transfer (TI / TSMC 45nm) by implementing reticle, kerf, and alignment optimizations, reducing re-spin exposure, creating alignment, overlay markers, metrology targets, CD-control features, PDM cell
- Coordinated cross-functional stakeholders across design, lithography, manufacturing, and mask vendors to deliver a production-ready mask set under strict schedule constraints
- Performed and calibrated model-based OPC for the 110 nm node, leveraging RET strategies in collaboration with the photolithography modeling team
- Impact: Enabled on-time production release of a safety-critical automotive semiconductor by mitigating tape-out and manufacturability risks under strict quality and yield
Stephan Sahm
Senior Data/ML Consultant & Technical Lead
Last position:
Senior Data/ML Consultant & Technical Lead at Jolin.io
Role: Software Engineer & Applied Mathematician (Mathematical optimization for scheduling; duration: 1 months; team setting: Team of 2, remote; technologies: JuMP, Julia, Pluto, Svelte, JavaScript, TypeScript, JetBrains Space, Terraform, Nomad)
Role: Software & Cloud & Web Engineer (Building scalable data science compute cluster from scratch; duration: 11 months; team setting: Team of 1, on-site; technologies: Terraform, Kubernetes, k8s ingress, k8s services, k8s RBAC, k8s networking, k3s, etcd, S3, DNS, certificates, Julia, Pluto, JavaScript, Tailwind, Astro, npm, Parcel, Preact, MUI, JWT, AWS SQS, AWS RDS, Python, GitLab, GitHub)
Role: AI & Web Engineer (Custom ChatGPT service; duration: 1 months; team setting: Team of 2, remote; technologies: Python, Poetry, LangChain, Tailwind, ChatGPT API, Flask, FastAPI)
Role: Architect & Data Engineer (Central datalake setup and ingestion; duration: 9 months; team setting: Team of 5, remote; technologies: Infrastructure-as-code, AWS CDK, Python, Boto3, PySpark, AWS Glue, IAM, S3, ECS, Fargate, Lambda, Apache Hudi, DeltaLake, Databricks, GitHub, Jira, Miro)
Role: Software Engineer (PoC Julia migration of scikit-decide; duration: 1 months; team setting: Team of 2, remote; technologies: Python, Julia, GitHub)
Oussama El Allam
Head of R&D
Last position:
Head of R&D at eXagotec GmbH
- Spearheading multidisciplinary engineering teams in the development of next-generation medical devices
- Orchestrating research initiatives and technology roadmaps to deliver innovative medical solutions
- Overseeing R&D budget and managing project portfolios from concept through to commercialisation
- Establishing strategic collaborations with clinical partners for technology validation
Rajan Kumar
Technical Lead/BTV
Last position:
Technical Lead/BTV at BMW, Daimler (Mercedes), VW Group, Hella, Ficosa, Cariad (Audi/Porsche/Skoda)
- Directed full lifecycle of embedded software projects including LiDAR, BMS, OCU, and Cybersecurity systems.
- Coordinated internal and external stakeholders including suppliers like Bosch, Bertrandt, Magna, Continental and IAV.
- Managed cross-country teams of 12–15 engineers, conducting project onboarding and role-based training.
- Implemented change control and risk registers for safety-critical automotive platforms.
- Oversaw project schedules using MS Project, JIRA, and Azure DevOps to ensure milestone alignment and transparency.
- Extensive hands-on expertise in test planning and execution for ECUs in compliance with Automotive SPICE (SWE.4–SWE.6) and ISO 26262.
- Led digital transformation project with a cross-functional team of 15+, ensuring successful integration of systems and workflows.
- Maintained project overviews and tracking in tools like Milestones (Daimler) and MS Project, and managed status reporting to senior stakeholders.
- Coordinated with third-party transformation partners and ensured timely delivery of decision templates and risk assessments.
- Applied PRINCE2 methodology for structured delivery; facilitated agile ceremonies and maintained Confluence-based documentation.
- Strong leadership in cross-functional teams and working in agile environments (SAFe, Scrum).
- Successfully led and supported IT and transformation projects, including those in regulated sectors (e.g., KRITIS or energy sector).
- Represented or supported overall project leadership in large-scale transformation programs.
- Maintained and updated complex project plans (Gantt charts, milestone tracking, and resource allocation).
- Coordinated workstreams and interdisciplinary teams; ensured timely delivery of all work packages.
- Acted as central communication point between project team, senior management, external vendors, and transformation partners.
- Prepared and delivered concise status reports, steering committee presentations, and decision memos.
- Identified project risks, maintained risk registers, and led mitigation planning.
- Assessed resource needs and supported reallocation based on project priorities and constraints.
- Proficient in JIRA, Milestones, Confluence, MS Project, MS PowerPoint, and Excel.
- Used both Agile (Scrum) and Waterfall (PRINCE2, PMI) methodologies.
- Created and tracked action lists, meeting protocols, and backlog items.
- Conducted critical analysis of project progress, resource bottlenecks, and deliverable timelines.
- Ensured alignment of transformation goals with enterprise IT architecture and business objectives.
Ilja Weber
Software Expert
Last position:
Software Expert at Siemens Betriebskrankenkasse
- Technical consulting and support for business units
- Strategic consulting and development of the overall software landscape
- Product ownership
- Onboarding and mentoring of junior developers
- Advising non-technical management
- Analysis and evaluation of existing systems
- JavaScript code reviews
- Development in the Java tech stack with Spring Boot and Clean Code
- Docker
- OpenShift & GitLab as CI/CD
Ilian Sapundshiev
Project Manager
Last position:
Project Manager at AutoScout24 GmbH
- Successfully migrated over 150 BI dashboards (Jira, Microstrategy, AWS QuickSight) as project lead of 4 developers, ensuring a smooth transition and maintaining data integrity.
Thomas Reiners
Rainmaker
Last position:
Rainmaker at MetaCity
- Evangelizing and pushing the message through the world for MetaCity's mission - being the capital of the Metaverse.
Stephan Menzel
Head of Development
Last position:
SAP
- Consulting and development for VR usage scenarios in industrial contexts
- Digital Twin, Unreal Engine VR deployments, Multi-user networking, Cloud infrastructure
- Technologies: AWS, Google Cloud, other Cloud Services; C++; Unreal Engine 5; Android, Meta Quest
Fabian Ehringer
Technical Lead
Last position:
Technical Lead at 21bitcoin
- Building a scalable and robust financial service based on Bitcoin and paving the way for a truly digital financial world.
Valentina Fuerlinger
Discovering the right people for the future of lifescience
Last position:
Head of Department Engineering at Invenda GmbH
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Heads of Engineering statistics
Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.
Experience
18 years
Position duration
3 years
Positions per freelancer
8
Top business areas
Product Development, Information Technology, Quality Assurance
Top industries
Information Technology, Automotive, Healthcare
Certification focus areas
Project Management, Business Intelligence, Product Development
Bachelor's degree or higher
89%
Master's degree or higher
33%
Doctorate
11%
Certifications per freelancer
1
Most common languages
German, English, Spanish
Speak two or more languages
100%
Daily Rate Distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers in this role are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows how many freelancers charge within that range. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
Average rates for Heads of Engineering & Seniority distribution
Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.
The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.
The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.
Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
Frequently Asked Questions
Curious about FRATCH? Find the answers you need
A Head of Engineering owns the engineering side of delivery and team leadership. That can include roadmap planning, team structure, technical decision-making, hiring support, and removing delivery blockers. In a freelance setup, the scope is usually defined around a clear business problem, such as stabilising a product team or guiding a technical transition.
A Head of Engineering usually sits between strategic leadership and day-to-day execution. Compared with a CTO, the role is often more focused on delivery, teams, and operational leadership than on company-wide technology strategy. Compared with an Engineering Manager, the scope is broader and usually includes cross-team alignment, architecture decisions, and senior stakeholder management.
Bring in a Head of Engineering on a freelance basis when you need senior leadership quickly or for a defined period. This works well during a vacancy, a reorganisation, a launch, a migration, or a delivery recovery phase. It is also useful when you need experienced guidance before committing to a long-term hire.
Look for a Head of Engineering who combines technical judgement, people leadership, and structured delivery habits. They should understand software architecture, team design, quality practices, and how to work with product and business leaders. Good candidates can explain trade-offs clearly and stay effective under pressure.
Freelance Head of Engineering work is a strong fit for platform redesigns, cloud migrations, team scaling, and product delivery rescue. It also fits situations where several engineering teams need one clear lead across priorities, process, and architecture. If the assignment has a clear beginning, middle, and handover, freelance leadership often makes sense.
Yes, many Heads of Engineering can work remotely, especially when the team already has solid communication routines. For Munich companies, a hybrid setup is common when the role needs regular contact with founders, product leaders, or on-site teams. The best arrangement depends on how much change the assignment requires and how the team already works.
Ask the Head of Engineering to walk through a real example where they improved delivery, resolved technical disagreement, or rebuilt a struggling team. Strong answers are specific and show how they made decisions, not just what outcome they wanted. You should also check how they communicate with non-technical stakeholders, because that is central to the role.
A freelance Head of Engineering will want clarity on scope, reporting lines, team size, technical stack, and the main problem to solve. They also need to know who makes decisions, how success will be measured, and whether the company expects hands-on leadership or advisory support. Clear expectations make it easier to start fast and avoid drift.
The average hourly rate for Heads of Engineering in Munich is 101 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 812 € based on an 8-hour working day.
Of the freelancers working as Heads of Engineering in Munich, 89% hold at least a Bachelor's degree, 33% hold at least a Master's degree, and 11% hold a doctorate.
On average, freelancers working as Heads of Engineering in Munich have 18 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 3 years.
The most common languages among freelancers working as Heads of Engineering in Munich are German (100%), English (100%), and Spanish (27%).
The most common industries among freelancers working as Heads of Engineering in Munich are Information Technology (82%), Automotive (64%), and Healthcare (45%).
The most common business areas among freelancers working as Heads of Engineering in Munich are Product Development (100%), Information Technology (91%), and Quality Assurance (73%).
FRATCH Heads of Engineering main locations
Our freelancers and interim experts are at home across the DACH region — available on-site in the major business hubs or fully remote. Choose a location to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.
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