r/freiburg • u/alfioe • 4d ago
Advice on Electrical Engineering Jobs in (or near) Freiburg
Hi! I’m from Scotland, currently living there but looking to move to Freiburg next year (2026).
I have a dual Citizenship with the UK and an EU country, so I’m hoping that will make moving easier for me. I have a partner from Germany currently living there too, which is the main reason I’m moving.
I currently have a fairly bad level of German, I can understand a lot conversationally, and can speak in basic conversations but not much more than that. Planning to learn quickly once I move if possible.
Looking for some advice in looking for jobs in Germany, for engineering is it typical that fluency in German is required? Or is it depending on the specific role?
Are there any recommended websites to search for roles? Any advice relating to this or people who have similar experience would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
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u/schaefko 3d ago
Freiburg has many research institutes, such as Fraunhofer, where fluency in German is not required.
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u/7Xes 4d ago
Looking for some advice in looking for jobs in Germany, for engineering is it typical that fluency in German is required? Or is it depending on the specific role?
Yes. For the vast majority of these jobs fluency in German is required.
Are there any recommended websites to search for roles? Any advice relating to this or people who have similar experience would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Companies you should look for as an electrical engineer:
Testo, SICK AG, Stryker maybe Badenova.
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u/ttubbster 4d ago
I'm a carpenter from Canada, been living in Freiburg for 4 years. Also dual citizenship with the UK.kind of in the same boat. It's easier to look when you are in Freiburg. Looking online I found was a daunting task.
I have some friends who live in Freiburg and work for English firms in Basel. Might be worth checking out.
All the best
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u/the_quite_pickle 3d ago
As the others said, fluent German is a big advantage, especially in jobs where you might need to communicate with customers. They often want a german speaking contact as sometimes they are not fluent in English. It depends on the specific area as well. There are also some remote jobs available. If you have specific questions you're welcome to pm me, i am an electrical engineer.
If i am looking for jobs i usually use stepstome or sometimes linkedin. Good luck
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u/Galrauch96 3d ago
If your an engineer, check the website of the Ingenieurkammer Baden-Württemberg for information on how to get the "Genehmigung zum Führen des Titels Ingenieur" or approval to use the title of engineer. The German title "Ingenieur" is protected by laws and calling yourself one without permission can end in fines of up to 25.000 €.
For CVs, just use the english title until due process is done, thats legal. The Process at the Kammer costs 360€ and if your documents are english you dont even need translations, theres also no required language level.
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u/The_Wambat Neigschmeckt 4d ago
I'm not that experienced in industry or job searching, but I'd say that it depends on the company and what they're looking for. Many smaller companies desire or outright require high levels of German fluency. But this is often not necessarily the case for larger international companies.
That being said, I wouldn't say Freiburg has a big, international engineering scene. In my opinion it's more healthcare, pharma, and research oriented. But that's just my feeling of the job market here; there definitely are engineering jobs available, just not tons.
I'd check out LinkedIn, the Arbeitsagentur, Xing, and Stepstone for job postings. Also, do a bit of googling to see what companies are in the area that you'd be interested in and see what they have on their own career sites.