Senior Software Engineer Contract Job Trends in Bristol

Senior Software Engineer
South West > Bristol

The median Senior Software Engineer daily rate in Bristol is £242, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 10 October 2025.

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

6 months to
10 Oct 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 65 71 80
Rank change year-on-year +6 +9 +17
Contract jobs requiring a Senior Software Engineer 2 6 1
As % of all contract jobs in Bristol 0.27% 0.67% 0.097%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.29% 0.70% 0.10%
Number of daily rates quoted 2 1 1
10th Percentile £91 - -
25th Percentile £145 £475 -
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £242 £500 £450
Median % change year-on-year -51.70% +11.11% -30.77%
75th Percentile £343 £525 -
90th Percentile £400 - -
South West median daily rate £425 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -15.00% - -23.08%
Number of hourly rates quoted 0 5 0
Median hourly rate - £65.50 -
South West median hourly rate - £65.50 -

All Contract IT Job Vacancies
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 689 853 990
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.48% 95.31% 96.02%
Number of daily rates quoted 333 450 646
10th Percentile £238 £219 £300
25th Percentile £375 £400 £406
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £475 £518
Median % change year-on-year - -8.21% +3.50%
75th Percentile £600 £588 £638
90th Percentile £749 £701 £700
South West median daily rate £512 £502 £538
% change year-on-year +1.99% -6.70% +2.38%
Number of hourly rates quoted 150 157 125
10th Percentile £12.82 £22.15 £25.95
25th Percentile £18.87 £58.00 £50.00
Median hourly rate £33.50 £70.00 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year -52.14% +7.69% -
75th Percentile £65.00 £72.50 £76.25
90th Percentile £68.00 £75.00 £83.40
South West median hourly rate £25.15 £67.50 £60.00
% change year-on-year -62.74% +12.50% +3.54%

Senior Software Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend in Bristol

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

Senior Software Engineer job vacancy trend in Bristol

Senior Software Engineer
Daily Rate Trend in Bristol

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

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

Senior Software Engineer
Daily Rate Histogram in Bristol

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Senior Software Engineer in Bristol over the 6 months to 10 October 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Senior Software Engineer in Bristol

Senior Software Engineer
Hourly Rate Trend in Bristol

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

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

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

For the 6 months to 10 October 2025, Senior 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 Senior Software Engineer in the job title.

1 2 (100.00%) Test Automation
2 1 (50.00%) C#
2 1 (50.00%) C++
2 1 (50.00%) SQL
2 1 (50.00%) Windows
2 1 (50.00%) Linux
2 1 (50.00%) OO
2 1 (50.00%) Python
2 1 (50.00%) OOD
2 1 (50.00%) ETL
2 1 (50.00%) Boost C++ Libraries
2 1 (50.00%) Azure
2 1 (50.00%) CUDA
2 1 (50.00%) Stakeholder Engagement
2 1 (50.00%) Machine Learning
2 1 (50.00%) GoogleTest
2 1 (50.00%) Embedded Systems
2 1 (50.00%) CMake
2 1 (50.00%) OpenCV
2 1 (50.00%) Docker
2 1 (50.00%) DevOps
2 1 (50.00%) Kalman Filter
2 1 (50.00%) Mentoring
2 1 (50.00%) Raspberry Pi
2 1 (50.00%) SDET
2 1 (50.00%) BPSS Clearance
2 1 (50.00%) Azure DevOps
2 1 (50.00%) NVIDIA
2 1 (50.00%) Digital Transformation Programme
2 1 (50.00%) PySpark

Senior 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:

Cloud Services
1 1 (50.00%) Azure
1 1 (50.00%) Azure DevOps
Development Applications
1 1 (50.00%) CMake
1 1 (50.00%) Git
1 1 (50.00%) GoogleTest
General
1 1 (50.00%) Banking
1 1 (50.00%) Finance
1 1 (50.00%) Social Skills
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 1 (50.00%) Boost C++ Libraries
1 1 (50.00%) OpenCV
1 1 (50.00%) PySpark
1 1 (50.00%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 1 (50.00%) CUDA
1 1 (50.00%) Embedded Systems
1 1 (50.00%) Raspberry Pi
1 1 (50.00%) Robotics
Operating Systems
1 1 (50.00%) Android
1 1 (50.00%) Linux
1 1 (50.00%) Robot Operating System
1 1 (50.00%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 2 (100.00%) Test Automation
2 1 (50.00%) Agile
2 1 (50.00%) CI/CD
2 1 (50.00%) Collaborative Working
2 1 (50.00%) Data Validation
2 1 (50.00%) DevOps
2 1 (50.00%) Digital Transformation Programme
2 1 (50.00%) ETL
2 1 (50.00%) Integration Testing
2 1 (50.00%) Kalman Filter
2 1 (50.00%) Machine Learning
2 1 (50.00%) Mentoring
2 1 (50.00%) OO
2 1 (50.00%) OOD
2 1 (50.00%) SDET
2 1 (50.00%) Sensor Fusion
2 1 (50.00%) Software Engineering
2 1 (50.00%) Software Testing
2 1 (50.00%) Stakeholder Engagement
2 1 (50.00%) Validation
Programming Languages
1 1 (50.00%) C#
1 1 (50.00%) C++
1 1 (50.00%) Python
1 1 (50.00%) SQL
Qualifications
1 1 (50.00%) BPSS Clearance
1 1 (50.00%) Security Cleared
System Software
1 1 (50.00%) Docker
Vendors
1 1 (50.00%) Google
1 1 (50.00%) NVIDIA