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Find the best Test Automation Engineers in Germany in minutes from 15,000 CVs with AI-powered matching

Test automation for web apps, API suites, and CI/CD pipelines needs clean frameworks, stable test data, and strong debugging. FRATCH matches you with vetted, available freelancers who can join fast and work with your delivery setup.

About the role

What they do

Test Automation Engineers build and maintain the automated checks that protect release quality. They turn manual scenarios into repeatable test suites and keep them useful as the product changes.

  • Design automation for UI, API, regression, smoke, and end-to-end tests
  • Create stable test data and reusable fixtures
  • Run tests in CI/CD and report clear failures
  • Reduce flaky tests and keep suites maintainable
  • Support QA, developers, and product teams with fast feedback

Core skills

A strong test automation engineer understands both testing and software delivery. They write clean code, think in risks, and know how to choose the right test level for each case.

Common skills include:

  • Java, JavaScript, Python, or C# for test code
  • Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, or similar frameworks
  • API testing with tools like Postman or REST-assured
  • Git, CI/CD pipelines, and versioned test assets
  • Test design, debugging, and root-cause analysis

When to bring one in

Companies hire freelance test automation engineers when manual testing no longer scales, releases are delayed by repetitive checks, or automation quality has become inconsistent. They also help when a new product needs a test foundation or an existing suite must be cleaned up.

In Germany, they often support product teams in software, manufacturing, logistics, and enterprise IT. Remote work is common, but on-site sessions can help when the team needs workshop-style setup, access to internal systems, or close pairing with developers and QA.

What good looks like

A strong freelancer does more than write scripts. They make the suite reliable, readable, and easy for the team to own after the project ends.

  • Chooses tests that protect real business risk
  • Keeps locators, assertions, and waits stable
  • Documents the framework and handover clearly
  • Works well with developers, QA, and DevOps
  • Spots coverage gaps and fragile test design early

Typical specializations

Some projects need a QA automation engineer for web products. Others need an SDET profile that blends development and testing, or a specialist for API-first systems, mobile apps, performance checks, or legacy platform modernization.

The right expert can fit into your stack without forcing a rewrite. They adapt to your release process, coding standards, and reporting needs, then leave behind tests the team can keep using.

Why freelance works

Freelance support is useful when you need focused help for setup, recovery, or scale-up. It also fits short, urgent work such as framework stabilization, coverage expansion, or preparing a release train for a new product launch.

For freelancers, this role rewards clear thinking and clean code. The best test automation engineer profiles show practical delivery: fewer flaky tests, better feedback loops, and automation that actually supports shipping.

Meet FRATCH Test Automation Engineers

René Adam

René Adam

QA Lead / Test Manager / Test Engineer

Wiesbaden

Last position:

Test (Automation) Engineer at BWI GmbH

  • Introduced a unified test strategy to establish quality gates and define test activities for the 'ICaruS' subproject of the Bundeswehr

  • Built and implemented manual and automated tests, set up the test infrastructure, and introduced test management tools

  • Established KPIs and dashboards to present and distribute test metrics to project team members and stakeholders

  • Technologies used: Playwright, TypeScript, REST, PEGA Systems, Jira, HP ALM, GitLab Runner, Kubernetes, Git, VS Code, Angular, Scrum

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Ljubomir Obrenovic

Ljubomir Obrenovic

Senior Test Automation Engineer | QA Engineer

München

Last position:

Senior Software Test Engineer at Keil KTM GmbH

Temporary employment

  • System black-box integration tests (BBIT, IVVQ): Execution of regression, release, acceptance, and compliance tests for safety-critical brake control units in the rail industry
  • Software test application & integration: Runtime configuration of software components and libraries, validation of interfaces, configuration dependencies, and component interactions
  • Test automation (FEAT framework): Co-development and further development of an automated test framework for test execution, reporting, and result analysis
  • Functional safety (SiL4, FuSi): Ensuring compliance with safety requirements, traceability and coverage, as well as standards compliance according to EN50126/28/29
  • Test automation for communication components: Configuration and validation of fieldbus (CAN) and Ethernet-based TCMS data communication interfaces (TRDP and CIP)
  • Requirements analysis & shift-left (PTC Windchill ALM): Analysis of software and system artifacts to identify gaps, ambiguities, and redundancies early in the SDLC
  • Test design & test case development: Derivation of test conditions, coverage strategies, and implementation of data-driven test cases (DDT), including reusable test data fixtures
  • CI/CD & automation (Python, PowerShell, Jenkins, SVN): Automation of build, test, and HIL deployment processes as well as integration into CI/CD pipelines
  • Test data & configuration management (XML): Maintenance and adaptation of XML test vectors and system configurations with automated integration into test environments
  • Non-functional testing: Execution of performance and load tests to assess stability and system behavior
  • Agile development & defect management (JIRA, Confluence): Participation in Scrum teams, test coordination, review of test artifacts, as well as defect tracking and root-cause analysis
  • Error analysis & debugging (CANoe, CANalyzer): Analysis of errors and message flows across multiple system layers (application to bus)
  • Model-based analysis (UML, Enterprise Architect): Specification of SUT/SOW and support for systematic test control
  • Process & test documentation: Creation of integration and test documentation according to internal quality and certification requirements
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Anastasiia Komarenko

Anastasiia Komarenko

Senior Test Automation Engineer

Hamburg

Last position:

Senior Test Automation Engineer at E.ON

  • Reviewing functional and technical requirements from a testing perspective
  • Creating test cases and automated tests to validate requirements
  • Performing manual and automated functional, end-to-end, and regression tests
  • Documenting test results and tracking defects
  • Using models like GPT-4, BERT, and Hugging Face Transformers for automated test case generation, analysis of test results, and improving test coverage, including bias checks and security reviews
  • Techs: MS Office, Jira, Zephyr, Confluence, Tosca, stakeholder communication, Agile, Kanban, Scrum, OpenAI API, Hugging Face, PyTorch, LangChain.
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Stéphane Tatuebu

Stéphane Tatuebu

Senior Test Analyst – Test Automation - Test Management

Darmstadt

Last position:

Senior Test Analyst – Test Automation - Test Management

  • Testing interfaces between various systems
  • Planning and coordinating test activities for features/improvements
  • Selecting and adapting suitable test methods and procedures based on the test strategy
  • Preparing and running test sessions
  • Analysis, design, implementation, and documentation of manual and automated software tests
  • Creating test cases and test scenarios using systematic test case specifications
  • Performing and documenting system tests, regression tests, and smoke tests
  • Monitoring and analyzing the executed test cases
  • Maintaining and supporting the infrastructure and test data
  • Analyzing and fixing error states related to test automation
  • Documenting and tracking deviations, as well as supporting root cause analysis
  • Analyzing errors and error tracking
  • Working closely with product management
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Aiman Ragab

Aiman Ragab

Test Manager and Test Automation Engineer

Hamburg

Last position:

Test Manager and Test Automation Engineer at Warehouse Management Company

  • Introduced test management with SolMan
  • Implemented test automation with TOSCA
  • Analyzed, created, and automated test cases
  • Built regression test portfolio
  • Stakeholder meetings and alignments
  • Financial management
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Martin Moser

Martin Moser

Test Automation for Stock Trading Software

Neuried

Last position:

Test automation for trading software at Martin Moser IT Consulting GmbH

  • Set up GUI test framework for testers and developers to easily create GUI tests
  • Implemented automated GUI tests with QF-Test for stock trading software and PDF file comparisons
  • Created comparison runs between different versions

Used technologies: QF-Test, Java, Jython

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Yannide Djache Ngangoum

Yannide Djache Ngangoum

Development Engineer Test Automation

Biebesheim am Rhein

Last position:

Development Engineer Test Automation at Vorwerk Elektrowerke GmbH & Co. KG

  • Project: Thermomix Online Mock
  • Manual execution of functional tests
  • Implementation of automated end-to-end tests
  • Execution of regression tests and analysis of results
  • Further development of the QA website on the server using Express.js, Handlebars, and Node.js
  • Further development of the test environment
  • Technologies: Agile software development Scrum, Robot Framework, Python, JavaScript, Git (GitLab), VS Code, Jira, Confluence, Express.js, Handlebars, Phoenix/Elixir
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Holger Guschigk

Holger Guschigk

Test Automation Engineer, Quality Assurance Consultant

Hamburg

Last position:

Test Automation Engineer, Quality Assurance Consultant at T-Systems

  • Poliks – State Police System for information, communication, and case management and other state variants (ViVa, Bravo, customs)
  • Developed a test framework for test automation to replace an existing proprietary test client for new developments, focusing on easy maintenance and simple extensibility for new technologies
  • Designed the architecture
  • Implemented the architecture
  • Created a proof of concept by migrating existing test cases into the new test framework
  • Platform: C#, .NET, Jira, XRay, Confluence, Playwright, Selenium, UI Automation, Appium, HTML, Git, VMWare, Windows 11, Linux
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Vitor Rodrigues

Vitor Rodrigues

Test Coordinator Automation

Garching bei München

Last position:

Test Coordinator Automation at Pro4all

  • Designed and built from scratch the automation framework using Playwright, Typescript, JavaScript, Gherkin, Cucumber, BDD, Maven, IntelliJ IDEA
  • Defined, developed and maintained test plans, test scripts, reports and other QA documentation in Confluence
  • Created and maintained test data with SQL Server Management Studio, Toad and Faker.js
  • Performed web services and API testing using Swagger Open API, SoapUI, JSON, HTML and XML
  • Executed functional, smoke, regression, black box, GUI, cross-browser, UAT and E2E testing using CrossBrowserTesting and Safari Web Inspector
  • Integrated and maintained automated scripts within sprints following Kanban, CI/CD, GitHub, Docker, Azure Pipelines, Agile, Scrum, Kafka and Kibana
  • Raised and managed defects in Azure DevOps
  • Conducted mobile testing with Robot Framework and Appium
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Ayhan Gezer

Ayhan Gezer

Senior QA Engineer / Test Automation Engineer / SDET

Cologne

Last position:

Senior QA Engineer / Test Automation Engineer / SDET at Rewe digital

Consulting, designing, and implementing the software testing lifecycle for multiple Android apps and backends Introducing test automation with Appium, SpringBootTest, RestAssured Setting up and managing emulators Developing an E2E library, an integration library, a Testcontainers library, and other libraries Developing, implementing, and advising on CI strategies Building the test environment with Testcontainers and virtualization Developing and implementing test cases for integration tests and end-to-end tests Establishing a maintainable test architecture with low entry barriers to simplify the creation of automated tests Some tools and technologies used: JUnit, RestAssured, Testcontainers, Kubedock, Appium, Android emulator, Jira Xray, Mockito, WireMock, Spring Framework, Kotlin

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Youssef Ahmed Rawy Baghdady

Youssef Ahmed Rawy Baghdady

Test Automation Engineer

Munich

Last position:

Test Automation Engineer at IAV GmbH

  • Executed standard/complex test cases using ECU-test and Python, improving test throughput by 30%.
  • Performed validation and execution of ECU test cases on HiL benches for ADAS to ensure functional quality before release.
  • Worked closely with customers to align test activities with project requirements and provide regular validation updates.
  • Coordinated with subcontractors to track defects, ensure timely issue resolution, and maintain test quality.
  • Ensured testbench stability and maintenance before executing test plans, identifying and resolving issues proactively.
  • Developed Python-based automation scripts for reporting and workflow automation.
  • Managed test issues and documentation via Jira in coordination with QA and development teams.
  • Used CANPE for measuring signals of CAN, FlexRay, Ethernet, and IP using Vector CAN tools.
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Predrag Perovic

Predrag Perovic

Test Developer | Test Automator

Leverkusen

Last position:

Test Developer | Test Automator at CreditReform

Technologies: Java 25, Selenium, Insomnia, SSO, GitLab, Jenkins, Docker, Kubernetes, Jira, IntelliJ, Nexus, Oracle, MariaDB, Spring Boot, Grafana, Concept Board, Vue.js, OpenAPI, Kotlin. Implementation, maintenance, and extension of automated end-to-end regression tests for UI and API interfaces. Appropriate and targeted test automation across multiple software products, including Java-based Windows applications. Automating business processes with Selenium, reset jobs, and DB import jobs, as well as creating test concepts, test case descriptions, and structured bug reporting.

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Dimitri Simon

Dimitri Simon

Fullstack Developer, Integrator

Bremen

Last position:

Fullstack Developer, Integrator at Generali Deutschland Versicherung AG

  • Developing automated build and deployment processes for the exclusive front office systems
  • Integrating the front office systems into the IT infrastructure
  • Developing innovative, user-friendly sales software for financial advisors
  • Ensuring quality and flexibility through automation and working with CI/CD
  • Working according to DevOps principles
  • Operating the software together as a team in the AWS cloud and Azure cloud
  • Deploying software artifacts to testing and production environments
  • Maintaining the test environments
  • Performing error analysis and providing information for further root cause analysis
  • Maintaining and supporting the build pipeline
  • Supporting load testing
  • Coordinating the batch execution schedule with batch automation
  • Creating concepts to further develop the software packaging process
  • Building and delivering components to partners
  • Developing GitLab and Jenkins pipelines for building, deploying and integrating components
  • Automating processes with Spring Boot applications with a GUI (Thymeleaf, Angular 19)
  • Developing RESTful Spring Boot applications with Kotlin and Angular 19, JDBC and REST accesses, data exchange via SFTP, XML (JAXB)
  • Designing components using Domain-Driven Design (DDD)
  • Replacing cmd and bash scripts with Spring Boot applications with a GUI
  • Replacing Java 8 applications with JSP by Spring Boot 3 applications (Thymeleaf, Angular)
  • Implementing frontend and backend authentication via Keycloak
  • Writing JUnit tests with Mockito
  • Increasing code coverage for SonarQube analysis
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Thomas Wittek

Thomas Wittek

Test Automation Specialist

Harrislee

Last position:

Test Automation Specialist at diamondcode GmbH

  • Implementing automated test strategies led to an average test duration reduction of 40%
  • Improved defect detection rate by 20%
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Jan Zinserling

Jan Zinserling

Test Automation Engineer

Reisbach

Last position:

Test Automation Engineer at Dentsply Sirona

  • Automation of existing manual tests from XRay with Cucumber/Gherkin in Cypress.io
  • Testing the company application on different medical devices
  • Tech Stack: JavaScript, Cypress.io, Confluence, IntelliJ, XRay, JIRA, Cucumber/Gherkin, Git
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Discover over 15,000 top freelancers

Test Automation Engineers statistics

Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.

Experience

20 years

Position duration

2 years

Positions per freelancer

13

Top business areas

Information Technology, Quality Assurance, Product Development

Top industries

Information Technology, Banking and Finance, Automotive

Certification focus areas

Quality Assurance, Information Technology, Project Management

Bachelor's degree or higher

92%

Master's degree or higher

48%

Doctorate

4%

Certifications per freelancer

4

Most common languages

German, English, French

Speak two or more languages

100%

Daily Rate Distribution

0 5 10 15 20
<€320 €320-480 €480-640 €640-800 €800-960 €1120+

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 Test Automation Engineers & Seniority distribution

Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.

800
600
400
200
Rate comparison chart
Daily rate avg. 674 €

The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.

800
600
400
200
Rate comparison chart
Median rate 680 €

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.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have questions? Here you can find further information about FRATCH

A Test Automation Engineer typically delivers automated test cases, framework improvements, and stable pipelines for running tests in CI/CD. The work often includes UI, API, regression, and smoke coverage, plus fixes for flaky tests and poor test data. Good handover matters, so the team can keep the suite running after the assignment ends.

A Test Automation Engineer writes code to automate testing, while a manual tester focuses on executing checks by hand and reporting results. QA analysts may define test strategy or coordinate quality work, but they do not always build the automation itself. In practice, this role sits closer to software development than classic manual QA.

A freelancer makes sense when you need help quickly, for a defined scope, or to fix a specific automation problem. That is common when a team needs a framework from scratch, better release confidence, or support during a product change. If the need is ongoing and broad across many products, a permanent hire may be a better fit.

The best test automation engineer candidates know one or more programming languages and a modern automation stack. Common tools include Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, API testing tools, Git, and CI/CD systems. Exact tool choice matters less than whether they can build maintainable tests in your environment.

Yes, most Test Automation Engineers can work remotely, especially when test access, repositories, and pipelines are already set up. For companies in Germany, remote collaboration is often enough for daily delivery, while on-site time can help at the start of a project or during workshops. German or English communication may be needed depending on the team and documentation.

Common signs are unstable tests, slow release cycles, duplicated scripts, or a framework that only one person understands. If the team spends more time fixing automation than using it, a test automation engineer can reset the approach. Outside help is also useful when coverage is too thin for the product risk.

Look for practical evidence, not just tool names. A strong Test Automation Engineer can explain test design choices, show how they reduce flakiness, and describe how the suite fits into delivery. Ask for examples of framework structure, maintainability decisions, and how they work with developers when tests fail.

They overlap a lot, and many teams use the terms interchangeably. An SDET often implies broader software development skills, while a Test Automation Engineer title may be more focused on building and maintaining test suites. In hiring, the real question is whether the person can write solid automation and fit your delivery process.

The average hourly rate for Test Automation Engineers in Germany is 84 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 674 € based on an 8-hour working day.

Of the freelancers working as Test Automation Engineers in Germany, 92% hold at least a Bachelor's degree, 48% hold at least a Master's degree, and 4% hold a doctorate.

On average, freelancers working as Test Automation Engineers in Germany have 20 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 2 years.

The most common languages among freelancers working as Test Automation Engineers in Germany are German (97%), English (97%), and French (22%).

The most common industries among freelancers working as Test Automation Engineers in Germany are Information Technology (94%), Banking and Finance (59%), and Automotive (56%).

The most common business areas among freelancers working as Test Automation Engineers in Germany are Information Technology (100%), Quality Assurance (100%), and Product Development (72%).

FRATCH Test Automation Engineers 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.

Berlin Hamburg Munich Cologne Frankfurt Stuttgart Dusseldorf Leipzig Dortmund Essen Bremen Dresden Hanover Nuremberg

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FRATCH CEO

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