Programmable Logic Controller Expert
to build reliable industrial automation systems with fast, precise AI matchingHire experts who program PLC sequences, configure HMIs and SCADA links, and commission control systems across manufacturing, logistics and process operations. FRATCH matches you quickly with vetted, available freelancers whose skills fit your technical requirements.
Meet FRATCH Experts who have recently used Programmable Logic Controller
Gregor P.
Last position:
Engineering Data Management Project Manager
Technical and commercial risk assessment for an investment project in the hardware sector (scaling potential, liability risks, operational processes) Process consulting for two SMEs in the engineering environment, with a focus on workflow digitization and PLM
Henok M.
Last position:
Electrician Specialist for Predefined Work (Dt: EFfT) at WBS Trainings
- Fundamentals of electronics measurement, electropneumatic circuits & protective measures according to DIN-VDE
- Installation, wiring and commissioning of PLC-controlled Systems
Jens R.
Last position:
Platform Architect & Senior Developer at Direct client, industrial measurement technology, medium-sized company
- Technical leadership across hardware, firmware, and software teams; scope: hardware/firmware team (4 people) and leadership group (5 people)
- Consolidated and documented a product family that had grown over more than 15 years and aligned it with CRA compliance — from the bare-metal I/O module to the cloud interface.
- Provided the most important customer product with the essential requirements and architecture documentation within two months — for a firmware landscape that had grown over more than 15 years. It now supports the customer’s modernization strategy.
- Established a monthly reporting line to the supervisory board and executive board within three months: nine meetings since 12/2025. The report itself is versioned and built from the CI pipeline; it is based on automatically collected activity and release data instead of assessments.
- Built a container-based CI/CD infrastructure from scratch: cross-compilation, host tests, and documentation builds in one continuous pipeline.
- Introduced declarative QA gates for DevOps and development artifacts — from the start using lefthook instead of pre-commit, executed in a dedicated container image.
Technologies used: arc42, req42, tpo42, docToolchain, PlantUML, ArchiMate, C4 model, ADR, C, C++ (GTest), CMake, Bare Metal (ARM Cortex-M3/M7), OCI containers, Jenkins, lefthook, Prometheus, Grafana, SBOM, CRA, OPC, SCADA, PLC integration, IPv6 migration, Zero Trust, Sociocracy 3.0, Cynefin
Muhammad Tanveer B.
Last position:
Embedded Systems Consultant / Architect | Integration and Validation Engineer / Manager at Ingenieurbüro Baig
Led the hardware development and validation of a safety-critical 400-V battery management system (BMS) for the TOGG SUV program; performed system architecture reviews, schematic validations, EMC and reliability tests, and root cause analyses in compliance with relevant automotive standards (ECE-R10, CISPR25, ISO-26262). Coordinated cross-country EU engineering teams, customer reviews, and technical documentation to deliver a production-ready, validated system.
Architected and integrated 22 state-of-the-art ADAS validation vehicles for BMW ADCAM and LIDAR programs at Magna Electronics; synchronized up to 26 heterogeneous sensors (LIDAR, RADAR, cameras, GNSS/INS) using PTP-based timing architectures. Defined the system architecture, HW/SW interfaces for hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) rework, sensor integration strategies, and data acquisition frameworks. This enabled scalable vehicle-level validation, improved validation efficiency by 25%, and reduced project costs by €1.45 million.
End-to-end validation and integration of automotive radar platforms for a Daimler project at Continental. Developed automated open-loop hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) environments to accurately test target tracking KPIs, field-of-view limits, and thermal and voltage-related ECU state machines. Skilled use of a highly complex toolchain consisting of CANoe, Lauterbach Trace32, RADAR target simulators, and EMC shielding chambers for RF and system validation. Synchronized global, interdisciplinary teams to speed up troubleshooting and close critical technical gaps.
Reconstructed and validated the product architecture of an electromechanical e-bike by integrating and troubleshooting critical subsystems (BMS, motor control, sensors, HMI, electronic locking systems). Built a comprehensive system-level test bench for functional testing, fault reproduction, and performance analysis; coordinated suppliers and implemented corrective actions to improve reliability and traceability.
Defined the system architecture and validation strategy for a LIDAR platform developed in cooperation with Elmos Semiconductor; evaluated optical measurement concepts, SPAD detector integration, and system requirements, and created technical recommendations for product development and verification.
Developed LabVIEW-based automation and verification software for a high-precision hydraulic and electromechanical test system for FTE Automotive; integrated NI DAQ hardware for high-frequency real-time capture of physical measurements. Developed automated test sequences, programmable endurance tests, troubleshooting routines, data logging, and analysis tools to improve test efficiency and traceability.
Successfully delivered full engineering life cycles for well-known industrial customers (Magna, Continental, Farasis, FTE Automotive, BMW, Daimler, TOGG) – from requirements engineering and proof of concept to system integration and validation, technical documentation, supplier coordination, and user training.
Volkmar S.
Last position:
Parameterization and support during the commissioning of water treatment at wks GmbH
Parameterization and support during the commissioning of water treatment
Project: New construction of municipal water treatment plant Dörenthe
- Checking the sensors for suitability, installation errors and parameterization.
- Coordination with the PL system for automation.
- Correction of errors
Tools: Endress & Hauser Tools
Emil O.
Last position:
Automation Engineer In House at Prevas AB
Working as an Automation Engineer in Prevas' in-house engineering team. My primary assignment involves developing and expanding ABB 800xA SCADA systems for a large-scale data center project. Responsibilities include SCADA graphic design, alarm management, system integration using OPC UA and Modbus, testing, verification, documentation, and commissioning support. In addition, I contribute to PLC and HMI development projects using Siemens, Rockwell, and ABB platforms and provide 24/7 remote support for industrial customers.
- ABB 800xA & ControlBuilder/ AC800M
- Rockwell Studio 5000 Logix Designer
- Siemens TIA Portal
- ABB 800xA
- Remote Support
- Troubleshooting hardware/software
Jens-Uwe P.
Last position:
Architecture and programming for an automotive test bench platform at Automotive supplier
In this project, I was responsible for designing and implementing a new, modular, and highly scalable test bench platform for an automotive supplier. My focus was on developing a robust system architecture and programming the associated software, with UML modeling used consistently throughout. This structured approach significantly increased the reusability of individual LabVIEW test modules and sustainably reduced development time for subsequent projects. I also integrated modern automotive standards such as CAN FD, LIN, and safety requirements, making the solution future-proof.
Technologies: LabVIEW, Visio, UML, CAN FD, LIN, DMM, Safety, Image processing, Project management, HMI, C#, C++, Python, Rust, CI
Saqib J.
Last position:
AI Developer / AI Engineer (Lead) at KOM4TEC GmbH
- Conceptual design and implementation of modular AI assistants for sales and business processes in the Microsoft ecosystem (Agentic AI, Copilot extensions)
- Frontend architecture and development with React + TypeScript for embedded chat and assistant surfaces (streaming UI, hooks, React Query, OpenAPI clients)
- Enterprise-level agent development: reusable skill/agent library, MCP server, review and compliance gates
- LLM integration into the user experience: Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI, tool use, RAG pipelines, prompt engineering, guardrails
- Architecture and code review consulting as well as mentoring in the AI development team
- Integration with Microsoft Graph, Power Platform, and Azure services
- Technologies: React, TypeScript, Anthropic Claude, OpenAI, MCP, RAG, Microsoft Graph, Power Platform, Azure
Vishnu V.
Last position:
Senior Software Architect at Roche Diagnostics Automation Solutions
- Own the software system architecture for laboratory automation products; specify interfaces across software, middleware, hardware and motor control in a regulated IVD environment.
- Led architecture evaluations and proof-of-concepts for integrating AI capabilities (anomaly detection, predictive maintenance) into lab automation under medical-device quality standards.
- Introduced GenAI-assisted development tools across the team, improving productivity and code review quality.
- Communicate architecture decisions to product and project management; coordinate research and improvement projects with system, electronics and external partners.
Youness R.
Last position:
Communication modernization and recipe management between S7-300, S7-1500 and WinCC V7 at Siemens AG
- Consulting and development of suitable communication concepts between S7-300 and S7-1500, taking the existing PROFIBUS infrastructure into account
- Technical support for connecting the S7-300 controllers to the existing recipe data block of the S7-1500
- Assisting in the development of the communication sequence for recipe access (read, write, acknowledge, status handling)
- Configuration of S7 communication (PUT/GET)
- Creation and adaptation of WinCC V7 scripts (C scripts and VBS scripts) for WinCC-based recipe management
- Development, optimization, and integration of recipe processes into the existing WinCC project structure
- Commissioning of the new communication interfaces and recommissioning of the recipe logic on existing systems
- Creation of technical documents: communication sequences, functional descriptions, commissioning documentation
Saurabh H.
Last position:
Master Thesis, Simulation at AVL in Germany
- Engineered and validated a full-vehicle thermal management system in MiL simulation, achieving 95% correlation accuracy against real-world vehicle measurements, directly supporting virtual calibration and reducing dependency on physical test benches.
- Led end-to-end Model-in-the-Loop (MiL) simulation development using AVL CruiseM and MATLAB/Simulink, covering system architecture, parameterization, and validation.
- Acquired and analyzed vehicle sensor measurements (temperature, volumetric flow rate) using dSpace MicroAutoBox (HiL) and IPEmotion, translating raw data into actionable calibration insights.
- Calibrated and optimized critical actuators and thermal components - pumps, valves, electric heaters, heat exchangers, and refrigerant circuits and identified/integrated previously missing physical behaviors to close the gap between simulated and real vehicle performance.
- Designed and tuned an integrated actuator controller with precisely calibrated parameters, producing a high-accuracy virtual model adopted for downstream development use.
Hashem B.
Last position:
Project Manager, QMB and Safety Officer at TRIPLAN GmbH
Project Manager Management, coordination and monitoring, as well as documentation and evaluation, of numerous multidisciplinary projects in the field of "production plants/plant engineering", in the gas and oil, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries QMB and Safety Officer Involved in the introduction of the quality management system and in the preparation and execution of the certification audit "energy, safety, and QM audit".
Olfa A.
Last position:
Senior Embedded Software Engineer / Function Developer at Enginius GmbH (FAUN GROUP)
- Developed model-based software for hydrogen tank control units using MATLAB/Simulink, aligned with ISO 26262 functional safety requirements
- Performed system integration and software verification across MIL and HIL environments using dSPACE and Vector tools
- Defined software architecture (SADS) with interface specifications for CAN, analog, and digital communication protocols
- Generated production-ready embedded C code using Simulink Embedded Coder; created and maintained A2L calibration files with CANape
- Designed and executed MIL/HIL test cases ensuring full coverage of functional and safety requirements
- Implemented CODESYS PLC applications on IFM ecomatController; applied CAN and Modbus TCP/IP communication protocols
- Contributed to HMI/UI development using Qt/C++ on Linux (Qt Creator)
- Applied agile Kanban workflow with Git-based version control (Bitbucket)
Tools: MATLAB, Simulink, CANape, CANalyzer, PCAN-View, Embedded Coder, CODESYS, TTC2038/PXROS, Codebeamer, Jira, Git
Bülent Ö.
Last position:
Freelance Overall Project Manager at energyconsult GmbH
- Project planning and lead engineering
- Coordination and negotiations with, among others, grid operators, substation suppliers, cable and civil engineering companies
- Analysis, description and documentation of engineering and documentation processes
- Calculation of cable cross-sections from the wind turbines to the substation
- Engineering and specification of cable types, requests for quotations and awarding of contracts to suppliers
- Specification of cable routes, requests for quotations and awarding of contracts to suppliers
- Specification of cable civil engineering work, requests for quotations and awarding of contracts to suppliers
- Civil engineering design
- Planning and monitoring of schedules and dependencies
- Coordination of the different trades
- Participation in project meetings
- On-site inspections of facilities when required
- Regular on-site appointments
Kusay T.
Last position:
Freelance System & Software Architect - DNA-Extraction Robot at QIAGEN GmbH
- System and software architecture for the QIA-symphony Connect DNA-extraction robot in Life Science / IVD automation.
- Designed features and control logic for extraction, pipetting, lysis and eluate modules using C++, PLC/ST (Beckhoff IPC / TwinCAT 3) and model-based concepts.
- Delivered ISO 13485-oriented requirements, architecture, unit/integration/regression tests and DHF/VEP/VER/TCL documentation.
- Used Polarion, Jira, Confluence, Azure and AI-assisted documentation to improve traceability and engineering efficiency.
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
Statistics of experts using Programmable Logic Controller
Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.
Experience
23 years
Position duration
4 years
Positions per freelancer
14
Top business areas
Product Development, Information Technology, Quality Assurance
Top industries
Manufacturing, Automotive, Energy
Certification focus areas
Information Technology, Quality Assurance, Product Development
Bachelor's degree or higher
88%
Master's degree or higher
54%
Doctorate
10%
Certifications per freelancer
3
Most common languages
German, English, French
Speak two or more languages
95%
Based on our profile pool as of 16 Oct 2026.
Daily rate distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of experts in this technology 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 using Programmable Logic Controller
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 16 Oct 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
Programmable Logic Controller experts industry focus
See which industries our matched freelancers work in most often — every figure is calculated live from the freelancers on FRATCH.
- Manufacturing (90%)
- Automotive (64%)
- Energy (47%)
- Information Technology (46%)
- Education (31%)
- Healthcare (31%)
- Professional Services (27%)
- Aerospace and Defense (26%)
Please note that freelancers can work across multiple industries, so percentages overlap.
About the technology
What PLCs control
A Programmable Logic Controller, commonly called a PLC, is an industrial computer designed to monitor inputs, execute control logic and switch outputs. It coordinates machinery such as conveyors, pumps, packaging lines, robots and safety-related equipment. PLC systems are built for predictable operation in demanding production environments.
Core programming
PLC specialists work with IEC 61131-3 languages, including ladder logic, function block diagrams, structured text and sequential function charts. They define machine states, interlocks, alarms, timers, motion sequences and fault handling. Good programs are readable, modular and easy for plant teams to troubleshoot.
Ecosystem and tools
The ecosystem depends on the plant’s preferred hardware and automation standards. Common environments include Siemens SIMATIC and TIA Portal, Rockwell Automation Allen-Bradley, Schneider Electric Modicon, Beckhoff TwinCAT and CODESYS. Work often includes HMI configuration, SCADA connectivity, industrial networks, drives, sensors and remote I/O.
Typical project work
PLC experts contribute throughout the lifecycle of an automation project:
- Translate process requirements into control sequences and I/O plans
- Configure controllers, HMIs, drives, safety devices and field networks
- Test logic with simulation, virtual commissioning or factory acceptance tests
- Commission equipment, diagnose faults and document the final system
When companies need specialists
Freelance expertise helps when a team is modernizing legacy controls, adding a production cell or connecting machines to a wider manufacturing system. Specialists can support a new line, an urgent commissioning phase, a migration between controller families or an audit of existing logic. On-site work is often valuable during installation and start-up, while programming, documentation and reviews can usually be handled remotely.
What strong professionals bring
Strong PLC professionals understand both software and the physical process. They read electrical drawings, reason about sensors and actuators, configure industrial communication and work safely around live equipment. They also ask precise questions about cycle behavior, failure modes, maintenance access and operator workflows. Quality is visible in structured code, clear diagnostics, tested recovery states and documentation that plant teams can use after handover.
Frequently asked questions
What clients ask us most about Programmable Logic Controller — answered in short.
A Programmable Logic Controller controls industrial machines and processes by reading sensors, applying programmed logic and operating outputs. Companies use PLCs for sequencing, motion coordination, batching, packaging, material handling, utilities and process control.
A PLC is designed for deterministic control, electrical noise, continuous operation and straightforward maintenance on the plant floor. A PC-based system can offer greater computing flexibility, but it may require different choices for real-time behavior, operating-system management and industrial support.
A strong Programmable Logic Controller freelancer often understands HMI and SCADA configuration, industrial Ethernet, fieldbus systems, variable-frequency drives and safety controls. Electrical drawings, instrumentation, motion control and structured commissioning practices are also valuable.
The right PLC experience depends on the machine’s risk, complexity, controller family and commissioning demands. A small logic update may need focused programming skills, while a new production line calls for someone who can handle architecture, testing, site work, safety coordination and handover.
Programmable Logic Controller work can often be divided between remote and on-site phases. Specialists can develop logic, review drawings, configure HMIs and support simulation remotely, while installation, live testing, fault diagnosis and production start-up commonly require access to the equipment.
A PLC project using Siemens SIMATIC and TIA Portal follows different hardware conventions, software workflows and programming practices from one using Rockwell Automation Allen-Bradley. The best specialist matches the installed standard or has demonstrated the ability to transfer sound control principles between ecosystems.
Review whether Programmable Logic Controller code is structured, documented and easy to diagnose under real operating conditions. Ask for evidence of tested interlocks, clear alarms, sensible naming, safe recovery behavior, version control and practical handover documentation.
Before accepting PLC work, a freelancer should confirm the controller and software versions, I/O lists, network architecture, machine sequence, safety responsibilities and commissioning conditions. Access arrangements, documentation standards and who approves changes should also be clear.
The average hourly rate of freelancers who have used Programmable Logic Controller in their recent projects is 94 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 750 € based on an 8-hour working day.
Of the freelancers who have used Programmable Logic Controller in their recent projects, 88% hold at least a Bachelor's degree, 54% hold at least a Master's degree, and 10% hold a doctorate.
On average, freelancers who have used Programmable Logic Controller in their recent projects have 23 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 4 years.
The most common languages among freelancers who have used Programmable Logic Controller in their recent projects are German (99%), English (92%), and French (19%).
The most common industries among freelancers who have used Programmable Logic Controller in their recent projects are Manufacturing (90%), Automotive (64%), and Energy (47%).
The most common business areas among freelancers who have used Programmable Logic Controller in their recent projects are Product Development (93%), Information Technology (72%), and Quality Assurance (71%).
Main locations of FRATCH Experts, who have recently used Programmable Logic Controller
Our freelancers and interim experts are at home all over Germany — available on-site in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and every major business hub, or fully remote. Choose a city to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.
Berlin 
Hamburg 
Munich 
Dusseldorf 
Berlin Hamburg Munich Cologne Frankfurt Stuttgart Dusseldorf Leipzig Dortmund Essen Bremen Dresden Hanover Nuremberg In Austria our freelancers and interim experts support companies from Vienna to Graz — on-site where your project needs them, or fully remote. Choose a city to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.
Vienna Graz Across Switzerland our specialists are active in Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Bern — working on-site or fully remote. Choose a city to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.
Zurich Geneva Basel Bern Countries:
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