
CANopen Experts in Germany
, matched quickly with vetted and available freelancersHire experts who configure CANopen device profiles, integrate CiA 301 communication and connect drives, sensors and PLCs across industrial systems. FRATCH finds a precise match quickly among vetted, available freelancers.
Meet FRATCH Experts in Germany, who have recently used CANopen
Volker F.
Last position:
Technical Lead | Software Architect | Embedded Software Engineer at Hydac
- Development of safety-related embedded software for a mobile machine on a Hydac TTC 2390 controller.
- Implementation in C with consideration of SIL 3 / ASIL D and MISRA-C:2025.
- Implementation of communication via CAN, CANopen, and J1939.
Standards, guidelines and norms: ISO 26262, IEC 61508, MISRA-C:2025
Technologies: C99, Hydac TTC 2390, Infineon TriCore Aurix TC397, Hightec C/C++ Compiler, PC-lint Plus, CAN, CANopen, J1939, MISRA-C:2025
Basel J.
Last position:
Senior Application Engineer / Product Manager at Altran Magnetics LLC
- Oversee development and optimization of key products, including DP contactors, EMI filters, and circuit breakers.
- Lead certification processes ensuring compliance with UL, TÜV, and VDE standards.
- Act as technical liaison between customers, sales teams, and manufacturing to deliver customized solutions.
Oleksii K.
Last position:
Software developer (freelance) at Sasse Elektronik GmbH
- Built custom Yocto Linux image with Docker support (NXP i.MX 6ULL)
- Developed distributed Python application (web interface, gas/temp control)
- Designed multiple docker containers for production and development
- Wrote documentation per IEC 62304
Hendrik W.
Last position:
Software Test and Maintenance Support at Anton Paar ProveTec GmbH
- Add/create test specifications
- Conduct regression tests
- Conduct release tests
- Analyze Jira tickets
- Identify software defects and fix them with C#
Eddy K.
Last position:
Project Manager at Jungheinrich Norderstedt AG & Co. KG
Project management for embedded software development (batteries & chargers)
Management of (sub-)projects for the development of embedded software for lead-acid batteries and Li-ion battery management systems (BMS) and chargers in industrial trucks
Coordinating the specialist departments involved and external service providers from the start of the project to series maturity. Planning internal and external field tests.
Ensuring project goals in terms of quality, costs and deadlines
Planning and managing the use of resources
Clarifying project-specific issues in direct contact with internal customers
Regular reporting to the client
Requirement engineering and system design
Coordinating customer specifications with the client and comparing with the system platform
Creating and managing system requirements and high-level system design
Technical review of requirements with software developers, hardware designers, test and validation engineers, and service technicians.
Karl S.
Last position:
Software Consultant, Architect, and Developer at Forklift Truck Manufacturer
Consulting in all areas of software development such as architecture, inter- and intra-process communication, end-to-end validation
Monitoring and measuring resources such as runtime and memory usage
Specification of interface and implementation patterns as well as high-level and detailed specifications
Design and implementation of functional and safety software
Specification of unit tests and support of the integration and software tests in the HIL test department as part of software validation
Development of platform-independent control and regulation software for a fuel cell system (multi-processor 16-bit and multi-core 32-bit)
Development/concept design of state machines
Development/concept design of control algorithms
Development/concept design of inter-process safety communication
Development/concept design of basic software components for parameter, characteristic curve, and error management
Development of vehicle communication based on CAN
Development/concept design of commissioning, maintenance, and service interfaces via CAN and UDS diagnostics
Conducting validation and supporting external validation
Creating specifications for testing
Alexander B.
Last position:
Owner at PEMA-TEC Alexander Bröcker
- Project to develop the complete software for a film roll warehouse at American Packaging Corporation, Story City, Iowa (warehouse vehicles SINATIC S7, warehouse management C#, Microsoft SQL Server, AGV interface C++, ERP system interface REST API)
- Development of a warehouse simulator for real machine processes aimed at optimized storage of film rolls (C#)
- Project to develop the complete software for a printing cylinder warehouse at Huhtamaki, Ronsberg (warehouse vehicles TIA Portal, warehouse management C#, Oracle, ERP system interface DB table)
- Further development of the warehouse simulator for improved programming of the movement planner
- Project to read and analyze QR codes on letters in the letter sorter at XPROMA GmbH, Salzhausen (program as a service for fast reading of QR codes via two Keyence barcode readers in C#, Microsoft SQL Server, TCP/IP; program for monitoring and parameterizing the barcode readers and triggering the data export in C#, Microsoft SQL Server, SFTP transfer)
- Project for the development and programming of a low-cost management system for automated guided vehicles with Egemin Automation Inc. and American Packaging Corporation (C++, C#, Microsoft SQL Server, TCP/IP)
- Project for the test stand development and automation of SYS.5 tests for the climate actuator at ETO GRUPPE TECHNOLOGIES GmbH, Stockach (test stand software LabVIEW, C#; test evaluation DIAdem, C#; databases Microsoft SQL Server)
Michael B.
Last position:
Developer/Consultant at Fresenius Medical Care
- Development of automated end-of-line tests (functional tests) for dialysis machines on a PLC test bench in a production environment
- Introduction of new technology based on Vector vTestStudio, CANoe, and Siemens S7 PLC
- Creating test concepts
- Implementing test cases and libraries in CAPL and C#
- Touch screen emulation and proprietary RPC (Remote Procedure Call) via CAN
- Connecting to the PLC (Siemens Simatic)
- Defining interfaces for device communication (vCDL)
- Defining user interfaces and linking to the frontend (JSON)
- Agile work using DevOps (Azure)
- Skills: CAPL, .NET, C#, vCDL, CANOpen, DevOps, PLC
- Tools used: Vector CANoe 18, vTestStudio 4, MS Azure DevOps, MS Visual Studio 2022, Mosquito MQTT, Git, Siemens TIA Portal
Alexander W.
Last position:
Freelance Head of Development / Strategy Consultant at LabMaker GmbH
- Consulting on a wide range of open science hardware projects in the fields of electronics, mechatronics, and optoelectronics
- Comprehensive system analysis and DFM optimization of a novel open hardware miniaturized two-photon microscope
- Exchange with scientists from renowned academic institutions to align the customer’s work in the best possible way
- Production coordination with local and international partners for PCB assembly, CNC machining, and optics
- Process analysis for product design, production planning/execution, product lifecycle, and product data management
- Coaching employees from all departments on the requirements that complex technical products place on business processes
- Development of a comprehensive PLM & PDM concept tailored to the needs of development and manufacturing
- Initiating intensive and direct cross-departmental exchange to identify improvement potential
- Planning shopfloor layout improvements with the production team and supporting the implementation process
- Quick onboarding of two new English-speaking colleagues in technical product management and development
- Ad-hoc and in-depth training of employees in the use of software tools such as KiCad or Autodesk Inventor
- Consulting on long-term development into a scalable, even stronger partner for the open science hardware community
Ronny E.
Last position:
IT Consultant at MINT Kooperative eG
- GUI test automation with Squish
- Requirements management with DOORS
- Code reviews according to MISRA and AUTOSAR
Daniel C.
Last position:
Founder & Managing Director at BotCraft GmbH
- Building the company with a focus on connectivity for IIoT and Industry 4.0, iRPA/process automation, advanced robotics and smart systems, sensors and services
- Project management and software architecture for IoT gateway development (since 2020) with protocol translation, IT/OT convergence and GRC
- Developing RPA bots for automating and monitoring industrial processes with an agent-based AI approach (since 2020)
- Implementing unsupervised clustering and anomaly detection for time series data in big data streaming pipelines (since 2021)
- Introducing a Docker-based release train for OTA updates with DevSecOps and CI/CD (since 2018)
Ilhan C.
Last position:
Senior Battery Systems Expert at Freelancer
400V 50A LFP (LiFePO4) 20 kWh home PV solar hybrid ESS energy storage system with inverter, MPPT, charger and battery pack
ESS systems testing and battery systems consultancy for Senec GmbH – Leipzig, Germany
48V 100A and 60V 120A Li-Ion battery pack design and BMS integration project with direct liquid immersion cooling technology for industrial mobile machinery battery pack at HyperX GmbH – Kornwestheim, Germany
Mostafa S.
Last position:
Embedded Firmware Engineer at Esko-Graphics Imaging GmbH
- FPGA code conversion from AHDL to Verilog and SystemVerilog (Altera Cyclone)
- IDE: Intel Quartus Prime (Altera)
- Code simulation: QuestaSim
- Timing analysis
Tilmann S.
Last position:
Technical Expert, Software Architect at Rolls Royce Power Systems / MTU
- Created concepts and architecture for ECU diagnostics over CAN-Bus using UDS, PDX, ODX and safety paradigms
- Designed system deployment for EMS and documented using UML, Draw.io, MS Word, MS Visio and Confluence
- Developed process flows for development, planning, logistics, test & diagnostics in Scrum with Jira and MS Planner
- Communicated across multiple customer teams, conducted knowledge transfer
Last position:
Software Developer - Building Automation
- Testing controller ECUs
- Implementing test environment
- Implementing virtual nodes
- Commissioning CANopen network
- Defining and automating test cases
- Designing and implementing LSS automation
- Implementing data exchange between tools
- Porting requirements to XML format for vTestStudio
- Products: CANoe, vTestStudio, Playwright, Cypress, Robot, .NET
- Skills: CAPL, C++, CANopen, concept creation, Python, JavaScript, XML, C#
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
Statistics of experts using CANopen
Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.
Experience
23 years

Position duration
1.9 years

Positions per freelancer
16

Top business areas
Product Development, Information Technology, Quality Assurance

Top industries
Manufacturing, Automotive, Information Technology

Certification focus areas
Quality Assurance, Logistics, Information Technology
Bachelor's degree or higher
88%
Master's degree or higher
65%
Doctorate
12%

Certifications per freelancer
1

Most common languages
German, English, French

Speak two or more languages
100%
Based on our profile pool as of 19 Sep 2026.
Daily rate distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers in this technology in Germany 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.
Average rates of experts in Germany using CANopen
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.
Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 19 Sep 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
CANopen experts industry focus
See which industries our matched freelancers work in most often — every figure is calculated live from the freelancers on FRATCH.
- Manufacturing (95%)
- Automotive (75%)
- Information Technology (55%)
- Healthcare (45%)
- Energy (40%)
- Telecommunication (40%)
- Education (35%)
- Utilities (20%)
Please note that freelancers can work across multiple industries, so percentages overlap.
About the technology
CANopen in automation
CANopen is a communication protocol built on Controller Area Network for embedded and industrial control systems. It provides structured data exchange between controllers, drives, sensors, actuators and other devices. Its object dictionary, standardized device profiles and real-time capabilities make machine communication predictable and maintainable.
Core communication model
CANopen organizes devices through node IDs, object dictionaries and well-defined communication services. Process Data Objects carry time-sensitive values, while Service Data Objects support configuration and diagnostics. Network Management controls device states, and heartbeat or node guarding mechanisms help detect failures.
Ecosystem and tooling
Professionals work with CiA specifications, electronic data sheets and vendor-specific device profiles. Common tasks include:
- Mapping PDOs and configuring SDO parameters
- Integrating drives, I/O modules, encoders and safety-related devices
- Diagnosing bus timing, termination and node-state problems
- Connecting CANopen networks to PLCs, gateways and higher-level software
Tooling may include CAN interfaces, bus monitors, protocol analyzers, PLC environments and embedded CAN stacks. Strong specialists understand both the protocol rules and the hardware behavior behind them.
Where companies use it
CANopen appears in industrial machinery, robotics, mobile equipment, medical devices, building systems and laboratory automation. It suits systems that need deterministic communication, distributed control and interoperability between components from different suppliers. In Germany, it is especially relevant to manufacturers and integrators working across factory automation and specialized equipment.
When expertise matters
Companies bring in freelance expertise when a machine retrofit must communicate with existing CANopen devices, when a new control cabinet needs validated network behavior or when field failures are difficult to reproduce. Remote work can cover configuration, software integration, documentation and trace analysis; commissioning and electrical troubleshooting may require on-site collaboration in Germany.
- Existing devices do not exchange process data reliably
- Vendor profiles or object dictionaries are unclear
- A gateway, PLC or embedded controller needs integration
- Acceptance tests require repeatable diagnostics and records
What strong professionals deliver
A capable CANopen professional can read device documentation critically, verify EDS files and distinguish application faults from physical-layer issues. They define clear object mappings, sensible startup sequences and recovery behavior instead of relying on trial and error. Quality work includes tested configurations, trace evidence, precise interface documentation and practical guidance for the team that will maintain the system.
Frequently asked questions
The facts hiring teams ask for most often when it comes to CANopen.
CANopen is used to connect controllers, drives, sensors, actuators and other embedded devices over a Controller Area Network. Companies use it for machine control, diagnostics, configuration and coordinated motion where predictable communication is important.
CANopen is often chosen for compact distributed control systems that benefit from standardized device profiles and CAN’s robust physical layer. Modbus can be simpler for register-based communication, while EtherCAT is better suited to high-throughput synchronized systems; the right choice depends on timing, topology, hardware and existing equipment.
A strong CANopen specialist should understand embedded C or PLC programming, CAN physical-layer basics, industrial I/O, motion control and network diagnostics. Experience with EDS files, CiA specifications, gateways and vendor configuration tools is also valuable.
The required depth depends on the assignment. A configuration task may need familiarity with object dictionaries and device profiles, while a new machine network or difficult field issue calls for a professional who has handled startup sequencing, timing analysis, fault recovery and hardware commissioning with CANopen.
Yes, much of CANopen integration can be handled remotely, including PDO mapping, software changes, trace review, documentation and test planning. On-site work in Germany is useful for wiring checks, commissioning, device replacement and faults that cannot be reproduced on a test bench.
Ask how the professional approaches EDS validation, PDO design, node-state handling and bus diagnostics. Request examples of clear network documentation and ask how they separate protocol problems from termination, wiring, timing or application faults.
Yes, CANopen remains suitable when the required data volume, timing and device ecosystem fit CAN-based communication. It is especially practical when proven drives, I/O modules or controllers already support the protocol, though newer designs may also weigh CANopen FD or Industrial Ethernet options.
High-quality CANopen work produces a verified object map, correct device configuration, repeatable startup behavior and documented recovery paths. The professional should support conclusions with bus traces, test results and concise instructions that the maintenance team can use after handover.
The average hourly rate of freelancers in Germany who have used CANopen in their recent projects is 93 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 742 € based on an 8-hour working day.
Of the freelancers in Germany who have used CANopen in their recent projects, 88% hold at least a Bachelor's degree, 65% hold at least a Master's degree, and 12% hold a doctorate.
On average, freelancers in Germany who have used CANopen in their recent projects have 23 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 1.9 years.
The most common languages among freelancers in Germany who have used CANopen in their recent projects are German (100%), English (100%), and French (20%).
The most common industries among freelancers in Germany who have used CANopen in their recent projects are Manufacturing (95%), Automotive (75%), and Information Technology (55%).
The most common business areas among freelancers in Germany who have used CANopen in their recent projects are Product Development (100%), Information Technology (95%), and Quality Assurance (95%).
Main locations of FRATCH Experts, who have recently used CANopen
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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