C++ Software Engineer Contract Job Trends in Bristol

Software Engineer - C++
South West > Bristol

The median Software Engineer - C++ daily rate in Bristol is £500, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 14 February 2026.

The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
14 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 19 43 76
Rank change year-on-year +24 +33 -21
Contract jobs requiring a C++ Software Engineer 68 21 4
As % of all contract jobs in Bristol 6.87% 3.54% 0.38%
As % of the Job Titles category 7.31% 3.64% 0.40%
Number of daily rates quoted 2 0 0
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 - -
South West median daily rate £500 £675 £550
% change year-on-year -25.93% +22.73% -19.27%
Number of hourly rates quoted 64 13 4
10th Percentile £61.25 - £58.88
25th Percentile - £61.25 £62.81
Median hourly rate £65.00 £64.00 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year +1.56% -1.54% -0.92%
75th Percentile - £65.00 £65.94
90th Percentile - £66.00 £67.63
South West median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £62.50
% change year-on-year - +4.00% -4.73%

All Contract IT Job Roles
Bristol

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies in Bristol. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of contract jobs in our overall sample.

Contract vacancies in Bristol with a recognized job title 930 577 1,002
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 93.94% 97.14% 95.89%
Number of daily rates quoted 438 319 587
10th Percentile £272 £183 £263
25th Percentile £400 £325 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% -9.52% +5.00%
75th Percentile £586 £588 £638
90th Percentile £725 £688 £700
South West median daily rate £513 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -2.38% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 251 68 161
10th Percentile £17.87 £35.00 £33.00
25th Percentile £33.50 £61.25 £50.00
Median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £65.00
75th Percentile - £68.75 £71.25
90th Percentile £67.84 £75.00 £83.40
South West median hourly rate £57.50 £65.00 £55.00
% change year-on-year -11.54% +18.18% -15.38%

C++ Software Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend in Bristol

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings featuring 'C++ Software Engineer' in the job title relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in Bristol.

C++ Software Engineer job vacancy trend in Bristol

C++ Software Engineer
Daily Rate Trend in Bristol

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for C++ Software Engineer job vacancies in Bristol.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for C++ Software Engineer job vacancies in Bristol

C++ Software Engineer
Hourly Rate Trend in Bristol

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for C++ Software Engineer job vacancies in Bristol.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for C++ Software Engineer job vacancies in Bristol

C++ Software Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Bristol

For the 6 months to 14 February 2026, C++ Software Engineer contract job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads across the Bristol region featuring C++ Software Engineer in the job title.

1 68 (100.00%) C++
1 68 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 24 (35.29%) Middleware
3 21 (30.88%) Qt
4 20 (29.41%) Def Stans
4 20 (29.41%) IEC 61508
5 18 (26.47%) Ada
6 16 (23.53%) MISRA
6 16 (23.53%) MISRA C
6 16 (23.53%) SC Cleared
6 16 (23.53%) Security Cleared
7 11 (16.18%) Rational Rhapsody
8 9 (13.24%) C
9 7 (10.29%) Integration Testing
9 7 (10.29%) Linux
9 7 (10.29%) UML
10 6 (8.82%) Software Testing
10 6 (8.82%) Windows
11 5 (7.35%) CI/CD
11 5 (7.35%) GIS
11 5 (7.35%) Information Security
11 5 (7.35%) Test Automation
12 4 (5.88%) Ontologies
13 3 (4.41%) Docker
13 3 (4.41%) GitLab
13 3 (4.41%) Virtual Environments
14 2 (2.94%) Agile
14 2 (2.94%) Multithreading
14 2 (2.94%) Safety Engineering
14 2 (2.94%) Systems Engineering

C++ Software Engineer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Bristol by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Communications & Networking
1 1 (1.47%) Ethernet
1 1 (1.47%) TCP/IP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 5 (7.35%) GIS
Development Applications
1 11 (16.18%) Rational Rhapsody
2 3 (4.41%) GitLab
3 1 (1.47%) Eclipse
3 1 (1.47%) Visual Studio
General
1 3 (4.41%) Aerospace
2 2 (2.94%) Law
3 1 (1.47%) Military
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 24 (35.29%) Middleware
2 21 (30.88%) Qt
3 1 (1.47%) Node.js
3 1 (1.47%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 7 (10.29%) CUDA
2 5 (7.35%) Video\Live Streaming
3 3 (4.41%) Algorithms
Operating Systems
1 7 (10.29%) Linux
2 6 (8.82%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 68 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 7 (10.29%) Integration Testing
2 7 (10.29%) UML
3 6 (8.82%) Software Testing
4 5 (7.35%) CI/CD
4 5 (7.35%) Information Security
4 5 (7.35%) Test Automation
5 4 (5.88%) Ontologies
6 3 (4.41%) Virtual Environments
7 2 (2.94%) Agile
7 2 (2.94%) Multithreading
7 2 (2.94%) Safety Engineering
7 2 (2.94%) Systems Engineering
8 1 (1.47%) Continuous Integration
8 1 (1.47%) Data Analysis
8 1 (1.47%) System Testing
8 1 (1.47%) TDD
8 1 (1.47%) Unit Testing
8 1 (1.47%) Validation
8 1 (1.47%) Visualisation
Programming Languages
1 68 (100.00%) C++
2 18 (26.47%) Ada
3 9 (13.24%) C
4 1 (1.47%) C#
4 1 (1.47%) Embedded C++
4 1 (1.47%) JavaScript
4 1 (1.47%) MATLAB
4 1 (1.47%) Python
Qualifications
1 16 (23.53%) SC Cleared
1 16 (23.53%) Security Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 20 (29.41%) Def Stans
1 20 (29.41%) IEC 61508
2 16 (23.53%) MISRA
2 16 (23.53%) MISRA C
System Software
1 3 (4.41%) Docker
Vendors
1 1 (1.47%) Microsoft
1 1 (1.47%) NVIDIA