IEC 61508 Experts in Germany
matched in minutes from over 15,000 CVsHire experts who define safety lifecycles, perform hazard and risk analysis, and create compliant safety cases for industrial automation, machinery and process systems. FRATCH matches you quickly and precisely with vetted, available freelancers.
Meet FRATCH Experts in Germany, who have recently used IEC 61508
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
Stephan J.
Last position:
Technical Writer at pro-beam
Technical writer at a special-purpose machine manufacturer, implementing the requirements of the EU Machinery Regulation in the technical documentation and moderating FMEAs. Role: Technical Writer and FMEA Moderator
Nagaraj N.
Last position:
Manager, Functional Safety at Eaton Industries GmbH
- Lead functional safety strategy and ISO 26262 compliance across the full lifecycle for a high-voltage electronic switching device that safely connects/disconnects the HV battery in EVs, enabling fast fault isolation and high-current interruption.
- Own the Functional Safety Management Plan (FSMP) and Development Interface Agreement (DIA), acting as the primary safety governance authority across program stakeholders.
- Architect system safety concepts — developing FSC, TSC, and system safety architecture — and define the safety manual with complete user instructions.
- Direct verification and confirmation reviews per ISO 26262 independence requirements.
- Lead safety analysis activities (FTA, FMEA, FMEDA, DFA) and chair vehicle/system integration reviews across cross-functional engineering teams.
- Define methods, templates, and processes that establish best-in-class FuSa practices organization-wide.
- Conduct SEooC assessments and audits, representing the safety organization to internal leadership and external stakeholders.
Rüdiger S.
Last position:
Consultant in Functional Safety: I3 Confirmation Reviews according to ISO 26262:2018 at VW
Conducting I3 Confirmation Reviews for all work products at item (system) level that require I3 review, in accordance with ISO 26262:2018: Impact Analysis, Safety Plan, Functional Safety Concept, Technical Safety Concept, FMEA, FTA, DFA, Integration and Test Strategy, Safety Validation Specification, Safety Case
Creating/updating review criteria for conducting I3/I2 Confirmation Reviews for all work products based on ISO 26262:2018
Discussing findings with the specialist departments as needed
Coordinating findings and review criteria with the responsible customer department
Training new internal employees to conduct I3 Confirmation Reviews
ISO 26262
Requirements Analysis
Failure Analysis (FTA, FMEA, DFA)
Microsoft Office
Jira
Confluence DevStack
Document Management System (DMS)
Torsten V.
Last position:
COO/CTO (Freelance) at Reitreal LLC
- Setting up and running operations for offering multi-level tokenized real estate investment possibilities,
- Start-up preparations, establishing a real estate investment trust (REIT)
- Communication with SEC, technology provider selection, etc.
Robert P.
Last position:
Site HSE Manager at Nidec ASI
Project: Arneburg BESS Station (30 MW / 78 MWh)
Responsibilities:
- Assistance for the Nidec site manager on site for all HSE-related matters
- Monitoring of all site activities in accordance with HSE guidelines and the Nidec's construction regulations
- Preparation of daily, weekly and monthly reports using HSE documents
- Management of Nidec's internal HSE reporting system
- Verification and validation of risk assessments
- Audits and inspections; participation in client meetings and implementation of HSE measures
- Document creation, verification of documents + RAMS
- Safety briefing / Toolbox meeting / Induction
- Participation in Nidec audits
- Verification of work suitability / RAMS and implementation of preventive measures
- Management of fire safety / Fire Response Plan (Fire Brigade)
- Organising emergency drills
- Compliance with HSE Plan and Nidec ERP
- Assistance with local legal requirements and ensuring compliance
- Coordination of services such as equipment hire, snow clearance and other services + their maintenance
- Local support on other matters
Goran P.
Last position:
Test Manager/Test Analyst at Festo/ Questax GmbH
Coordinate and execute system tests, system requirements reviews and creation of system/SW use/test cases
Organize requirements
Create test specification
Create use and test cases
Manage project/tests in Codebeamer and MS Teams
Analyze error impact, link defects and communicate to developers
Review system requirements versus system test cases and link them
Perform simulations with FAS/REST API
Perform system and safety tests
Technologies and tools: CAN, MODBus, Ethernet, PLC, ProfiDriv; Codebeamer ALM; Scrum; Kanban; SAFe; MS Office 365; MS Teams; Git; GitLab CI/TeamCity; Batch; FAS; WireShark; Python; Enterprise Architect EA; ChatGPT; MS Copilot
Roland R.
Last position:
Support in Ongoing Project at Automotive Supplier
- closing the safety case
- creation of meaningful traceability matrices and targeted test expansion
- transferring requirements into other database systems
- structuring the requirements, assessing their completeness, and setting up new test cases based on use-case–based test strategies and the results of internal traceability matrices
- partial automation of tasks within a requirement assessment tool
- tools and languages: MS Teams, reqIF, Enterprise Architect, Codebeamer, proprietary tools for creating and evaluating traceability matrices (approx. 1000 x 1000)
Mirko H.
Last position:
Cybersecurity Manager at Joynext GmbH
Cybersecurity for RTCU project for the Stellantis Group.
The management of cybersecurity was strongly criticized by the customer Stellantis, questioning competence. Requirements were missing or incomplete, the architecture for cybersecurity controls was non-existent, and documentation such as cybersecurity plans and concepts were incomplete and formally incorrect.
- Building customer trust and de-escalation
- Sprint planning with the customer based on SAFe
- Task-force management
- Switching planning and control to an agile approach
- Review and update of cybersecurity documents
- Communication and problem solving with suppliers, particularly Rolling Wireless and Autocrypt
- Internal workshops and coordination across various hierarchy levels from developers to CTO
- Coordination of work packages and implementation across locations in Dresden, Ningbo, and Oborniki
- Reporting and support of cybersecurity audits
- Coaching of Joynext cybersecurity managers
- De-escalation of critical customer issues
- Acceleration of requirement creation and release by a factor of 5
- Timely provision of 3rd party components
- Reduction of vulnerability management effort by factor 3
- Creation of cybersecurity documents conformant to existing standards
- Technologies and Methods: V-Modell, ASPICE, IREB, ISTQB, Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, PMP, IPMA, BPMN 2.0, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Project, Jira, Confluence, Siemens Polarion, Dependency Track
Thomas A.
Last position:
Interim Management at Vincorion Power Systems GmbH
- Process and project management to optimize products and development processes for energy systems
- Technical risk management
- Requirements engineering and system architecture
- System FMEA of power generator units and energy storage modules aiming for generic structures
- Claims management according to Section 313 of the German Civil Code
- Regulatory environment: military and NATO standards, AQAP, VG norms
Phani Meher G.
Last position:
Fusa Expert at HOLON GmbH
- Act as the primary point of contact and lead FuSa activities in accordance with ISO 26262 and SOTIF for L4 AD shuttle
- Establishment of processes, guidelines, procedures and templates related to functional safety in accordance with ISO 26262 and SOTIF
- Item definition, safety goal definitions of L4 AD shuttle with regards to ADS ECU domain namely perception, trajectory planning and execution
- Carry out HARA and STPA for different domains of L4 AD shuttle
- Evaluate the nominal and degraded performance under edge-case conditions
- Define functional safety requirements and allocate them to system, hardware, and software levels
- Implementation and evaluation of safety concepts (FSC and TSC) with respect to fail operational, fail safe strategies and architectures as part of the overall system requirements
- Develop and maintain safety cases and associated work products, ensuring ASIL D compliance
- Independent review of safety analyses including advice for creation, cooperation in, and maintenance of FTAs, FMEA, FMEDA etc.
- Coordinate safety activities and measures with internal and external stakeholders, and other relevant parties with reference to DIA
- Support project teams in the creation of work products in accordance with the safety life cycle in relation to system, software and hardware development
- Implementation of an effective SMS in accordance with EU 2022/1426
Arne H.
Last position:
Embedded Fullstack Developer at IoT / Infrastructure Automation Sector
- Analysis of legacy codebase and identification of architectural issues, implementing improvements in coordination with the Product Owner.
- Development of clean, efficient, and fully documented code following established software engineering practices and standards.
- Analysis of Erlang components in backend and device layers to provide recommendations for ensuring stable system operation.
- Setup and optimization of CI/CD pipelines on client infrastructure, including testing, debugging, and certificate management quality assurance.
- Participation in planning, design, and implementation of epics and stories according to Product Owner specifications.
- Technical consultation for Product Owner regarding Erlang codebase management and best practices.
- Collaboration with Product Owner, Scrum Master, and development team to ensure timely delivery of features.
- Elixir & Phoenix + PostgreSQL
- Erlang
- IoT
- CI/CD
- Git
- Agile/Scrum
- Docker
- Kubernetes
- Frontend (VueJS)
- Embedded Devices
Ould Aly I.
Last position:
Functional Safety Assessor at VW
- Pre-assessments and review of functional safety status for ADAS ECUs and body controller components
- Conduct functional safety audits
- Review the functional safety status of the E3 1.2 in a pre-assessment
- Document interviews
- Document findings and generate internal reports
Methods:
- ISO26262
- Automotive SPICE Level 2, 3
- Agile methods, SAFe
Tools:
- DOORS
- Enterprise Architect
- JIRA & Confluence
- IQ-FMEA
- Isograph
Matthias W.
Last position:
Embedded Software Developer at Schaffarzyk Hardware & Software
Development of the embedded firmware for a smart wearable to capture vital signs with smartphone connectivity:
- Architecture and implementation of the complete embedded firmware
- Connecting and processing various sensors for vital data collection
- Implementing BLE communication for the smartphone app
- Optimizing power consumption and battery life for wearable operation
- Technologies: BLE, Embedded C/C++, sensors, low-power design, Git, nRF52840, GCC, Azure
Bernhard T.
Last position:
Risk Management/ISO26262 at Delta
- FTA analysis and TSR of SW and HW according to ISO 26262 requirements
- FMEDAs of HW according to ISO 26262 requirements
- P-FMEA and optimization of electronics manufacturing in Bangkok, Thailand
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
Statistics of experts using IEC 61508
Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.
Experience
26 years
Position duration
2.3 years
Positions per freelancer
19
Top business areas
Quality Assurance, Product Development, Information Technology
Top industries
Automotive, Manufacturing, Information Technology
Certification focus areas
Quality Assurance, Information Technology, Product Development
Bachelor's degree or higher
95%
Master's degree or higher
60%
Doctorate
5%
Certifications per freelancer
3
Most common languages
German, English, Spanish
Speak two or more languages
100%
Based on our profile pool as of 29 Oct 2026.
Daily rate distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of experts in this technology in Germany are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows the share of experts charging within that range.
Average rates of experts in Germany using IEC 61508
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 29 Oct 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
IEC 61508 experts industry focus
See which industries our matched freelancers work in most often — every figure is calculated live from the freelancers on FRATCH.
- Automotive (86%)
- Manufacturing (86%)
- Information Technology (57%)
- Healthcare (43%)
- Energy (38%)
- Aerospace and Defense (33%)
- Education (24%)
- Utilities (24%)
Please note that freelancers can work across multiple industries, so percentages overlap.
About the technology
Functional safety standard
IEC 61508 is the international standard for functional safety of electrical, electronic and programmable electronic safety-related systems. It defines a lifecycle from concept and hazard analysis through design, validation, operation and decommissioning. Companies use it to manage risks where failures could harm people, equipment or the environment.
Safety lifecycle work
Specialists translate business and process hazards into safety requirements and an assurance plan. Their work can include risk reduction targets, safety functions, hardware and software constraints, verification evidence, validation planning and a structured safety case. They also maintain traceability from hazards to tests and final approval.
Ecosystem and methods
IEC 61508 expertise often connects with industrial control, embedded software and formal quality processes. Relevant tools and practices include requirements management, fault tree analysis, failure mode analysis, model-based development, code review, test management and configuration control. Specialists may also work with PLCs, safety controllers, sensors, actuators and industrial networks.
When companies need support
- A new machine, plant or control system needs a functional safety concept
- Existing safety functions require gap analysis or remediation
- The project needs an independent safety assessment or safety case
- Requirements, verification records or supplier evidence are incomplete
Freelance expertise is useful when internal teams face a demanding certification path, a new technology stack or a fixed assessment deadline.
Germany project context
In Germany, IEC 61508 work appears across machinery, automotive supply, process industries, energy, rail and medical technology. Local teams may need specialists who can collaborate on site during hazard workshops and assessments, while much of the documentation, review and traceability work can be completed remotely. German and English communication can both matter, depending on the project and its stakeholders.
What strong specialists bring
A strong professional combines standard knowledge with practical system judgment. They can challenge vague safety claims, separate functional safety from general quality, and explain evidence clearly to engineering, management and assessors. Look for experience with comparable risk contexts, disciplined documentation, independent review and the ability to connect hardware, software, operations and organizational controls.
Frequently asked questions
Need clarity? These are the questions we hear most often about IEC 61508.
IEC 61508 is used to manage the functional safety of electrical, electronic and programmable electronic safety-related systems. It provides a lifecycle for identifying hazards, defining safety requirements, designing protective functions and proving that they work as intended.
IEC 61508 is a general foundation standard rather than a rule set for one industry. Standards such as IEC 61511 for process automation, IEC 62061 for machinery or ISO 26262 for road vehicles adapt related principles to specific system types, so a specialist should know how the relevant sector standard relates to the core framework.
A capable IEC 61508 specialist often brings hazard and risk analysis, requirements engineering, embedded software, control systems, verification and validation. Knowledge of fault tree analysis, failure mode analysis, safety integrity assessment and audit preparation is also valuable.
The right level depends on the deliverable. A documentation review may need focused standard knowledge, while a complete safety lifecycle requires a professional who has handled comparable hazard analyses, safety requirements, verification evidence and assessments from concept through release.
IEC 61508 work is often suitable for remote collaboration because requirements, analyses and safety cases are document-heavy. On-site workshops can still be important for observing equipment, reviewing plant risks or aligning German-speaking stakeholders, so the working model should reflect the project phase.
A freelancer may deliver a gap analysis, safety plan, hazard log, safety requirements specification, verification strategy, traceability records or an assessment report. The documents should be consistent, reviewable and linked to objective evidence rather than relying on unsupported compliance statements.
Ask the specialist to explain how hazards become verifiable safety requirements and how independence, traceability and validation are maintained. Strong IEC 61508 professionals can show structured examples, identify assumptions, discuss limitations and distinguish the standard’s requirements from project preferences.
No. IEC 61508 principles can support new development, modifications, retrofits and reviews of existing safety-related systems. For an established system, the specialist must first understand its original assumptions, change history, evidence gaps and current operating context before proposing remediation.
The average hourly rate of freelancers in Germany who have used IEC 61508 in their recent projects is 108 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 861 € based on an 8-hour working day.
Of the freelancers in Germany who have used IEC 61508 in their recent projects, 95% hold at least a Bachelor's degree, 60% hold at least a Master's degree, and 5% hold a doctorate.
On average, freelancers in Germany who have used IEC 61508 in their recent projects have 26 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 2.3 years.
The most common languages among freelancers in Germany who have used IEC 61508 in their recent projects are German (100%), English (95%), and Spanish (19%).
The most common industries among freelancers in Germany who have used IEC 61508 in their recent projects are Automotive (86%), Manufacturing (86%), and Information Technology (57%).
The most common business areas among freelancers in Germany who have used IEC 61508 in their recent projects are Quality Assurance (95%), Product Development (90%), and Information Technology (81%).
Main locations of FRATCH Experts, who have recently used IEC 61508
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 Request a free demo
Get in touch with the FRATCH team and we will get back to you within 4 hours.
Would you rather directly get in touch?
We always have the time for a call or email!
Philipp Thomaschewski
FRATCH CEO
