Systems Engineer Contract Job Trends in England

System Engineer
UK > England

The median System Engineer daily rate in England is £475, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 10 July 2026.

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

6 months to
10 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 240 321 233
Rank change year-on-year +81 -88 +145
Contract jobs requiring a Systems Engineer 455 194 377
As % of all contract jobs in England 1.02% 0.72% 1.02%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.10% 0.78% 1.09%
Number of daily rates quoted 97 67 82
10th Percentile £240 £363 £313
25th Percentile £382 £414 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £513 £450
Median % change year-on-year -7.32% +13.89% -14.29%
75th Percentile £533 £608 £572
90th Percentile £600 £650 £649
UK median daily rate £465 £500 £450
% change year-on-year -7.00% +11.11% -14.29%
Number of hourly rates quoted 204 55 160
10th Percentile £46.61 £44.96 £39.96
25th Percentile £56.74 £49.38 £47.83
Median hourly rate £67.49 £56.04 £62.66
Median % change year-on-year +20.42% -10.56% +9.29%
75th Percentile £78.75 £73.75 £71.25
90th Percentile £81.05 £78.25 £76.86
UK median hourly rate £67.50 £56.04 £60.00
% change year-on-year +20.45% -6.60% -1.15%

All Contract IT Job Roles
England

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies in England. 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 England with a recognized job title 41,428 24,879 34,445
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.44% 92.04% 92.92%
Number of daily rates quoted 25,397 16,215 22,554
10th Percentile £325 £293 £300
25th Percentile £420 £404 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £513 £525
Median % change year-on-year +2.44% -2.38% -4.55%
75th Percentile £625 £630 £638
90th Percentile £738 £746 £750
UK median daily rate £522 £500 £525
% change year-on-year +4.40% -4.76% -2.33%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,961 1,195 2,501
10th Percentile £16.01 £13.76 £13.00
25th Percentile £22.10 £17.87 £17.00
Median hourly rate £45.00 £28.00 £40.00
Median % change year-on-year +60.71% -30.00% -9.09%
75th Percentile £67.84 £57.50 £63.75
90th Percentile £80.00 £74.50 £74.37
UK median hourly rate £43.50 £26.39 £37.50
% change year-on-year +64.87% -29.64% -14.05%

Systems Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend in England

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

Systems Engineer job vacancy trend in England

Systems Engineer
Daily Rate Trend in England

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Systems Engineer job vacancies in England.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Systems Engineer job vacancies in England

Systems Engineer
Daily Rate Histogram in England

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Systems Engineer in England over the 6 months to 10 July 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Systems Engineer in England

Systems Engineer
Hourly Rate Trend in England

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Systems Engineer job vacancies in England.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Systems Engineer job vacancies in England

Systems Engineer
Hourly Rate Histogram in England

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Systems Engineer in England over the 6 months to 10 July 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Systems Engineer in England

Systems Engineer
Contract Job Locations in England

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Systems Engineer within the England region over the 6 months to 10 July 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
South East +21 116 £500 -13.04% 128
South West +34 105 £498 -9.75% 79
East of England -6 69 £450 -18.18% 45
London -41 65 £463 -14.45% 53
Midlands -22 55 £395 +12.86% 40
North of England -64 44 £450 +6.64% 44
West Midlands -42 34 £395 -7.06% 24
North West -39 26 £500 +18.06% 22
East Midlands -5 21 £450 +500.00% 16
Yorkshire -36 13 £393 - 16
North East -35 5 £450 +38.46% 6
Systems Engineer
UK

Systems Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England

For the 6 months to 10 July 2026, Systems 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 England region featuring Systems Engineer in the job title.

1 103 (22.64%) Security Cleared
2 84 (18.46%) Systems Engineering
3 67 (14.73%) SC Cleared
4 42 (9.23%) Validation
5 40 (8.79%) Degree
6 37 (8.13%) Rational DOORS
7 34 (7.47%) Problem-Solving
8 31 (6.81%) Windows
9 25 (5.49%) DV Cleared
9 25 (5.49%) Microsoft
9 25 (5.49%) Verification and Validation
10 21 (4.62%) Infrastructure Engineering
11 20 (4.40%) Decision-Making
11 20 (4.40%) TCP/IP
12 19 (4.18%) Azure
12 19 (4.18%) Model-Based Systems Engineering
13 18 (3.96%) Configuration Management
13 18 (3.96%) Customer Service
13 18 (3.96%) Siemens
14 17 (3.74%) Active Directory
14 17 (3.74%) Linux
15 16 (3.52%) Ethernet
15 16 (3.52%) Microsoft Office
15 16 (3.52%) Risk Assessment
16 15 (3.30%) BPSS Clearance
16 15 (3.30%) Creative Thinking
16 15 (3.30%) EMC
16 15 (3.30%) Fault Analysis
16 15 (3.30%) Fortinet
16 15 (3.30%) Mechatronics

Systems Engineer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England 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:

Application Platforms
1 5 (1.10%) Microsoft Exchange
2 4 (0.88%) SharePoint
3 3 (0.66%) Confluence
3 3 (0.66%) SAS
Applications
1 16 (3.52%) Microsoft Office
2 11 (2.42%) Simulink
3 4 (0.88%) Stateflow
Business Applications
1 1 (0.22%) ResourceLink
1 1 (0.22%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
1 1 (0.22%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 19 (4.18%) Azure
2 11 (2.42%) Microsoft 365
2 11 (2.42%) SaaS
3 10 (2.20%) AWS
4 8 (1.76%) Entra ID
5 6 (1.32%) GitHub
6 5 (1.10%) OpenShift
7 4 (0.88%) GitHub Actions
8 3 (0.66%) Azure Logic Apps
8 3 (0.66%) OneDrive
9 2 (0.44%) Cloudflare
9 2 (0.44%) GCP
9 2 (0.44%) Google Workspace
10 1 (0.22%) Amazon CloudWatch
10 1 (0.22%) AWS Lambda
10 1 (0.22%) AWS Step Functions
10 1 (0.22%) Azure Service Bus
10 1 (0.22%) Cloud Computing
10 1 (0.22%) PaaS
10 1 (0.22%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 20 (4.40%) TCP/IP
2 16 (3.52%) Ethernet
3 12 (2.64%) DNS
4 10 (2.20%) Firewall
5 8 (1.76%) DHCP
6 6 (1.32%) LAN
6 6 (1.32%) Network Security
7 4 (0.88%) VLAN
7 4 (0.88%) VPN
7 4 (0.88%) WAN
8 3 (0.66%) IPv4
8 3 (0.66%) Modbus
8 3 (0.66%) SpaceWire
9 2 (0.44%) DKIM
9 2 (0.44%) DMARC
9 2 (0.44%) PSTN
9 2 (0.44%) Unified Communications
9 2 (0.44%) VoIP
10 1 (0.22%) 4G
10 1 (0.22%) NAS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 2 (0.44%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 37 (8.13%) Rational DOORS
2 7 (1.54%) Rational Rhapsody
3 4 (0.88%) JIRA
4 1 (0.22%) CANoe
General
1 65 (14.29%) Aerospace
2 44 (9.67%) Social Skills
3 38 (8.35%) Military
4 27 (5.93%) Avionics
5 19 (4.18%) Electronics
6 16 (3.52%) Manufacturing
6 16 (3.52%) Presentation Skills
7 15 (3.30%) Analytical Skills
7 15 (3.30%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 13 (2.86%) Automotive
9 10 (2.20%) Finance
9 10 (2.20%) Law
10 9 (1.98%) Public Sector
11 4 (0.88%) Aviation
12 3 (0.66%) Documentation Skills
13 2 (0.44%) Retail
13 2 (0.44%) Telecoms
14 1 (0.22%) Banking
14 1 (0.22%) Games
14 1 (0.22%) Influencing Skills
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 5 (1.10%) OpenID
1 5 (1.10%) SAML
2 4 (0.88%) REST
3 3 (0.66%) ISPF
3 3 (0.66%) Microsoft Graph
3 3 (0.66%) NETCONF
3 3 (0.66%) Software Packaging
4 2 (0.44%) Middleware
5 1 (0.22%) GraphQL
5 1 (0.22%) HTML
5 1 (0.22%) JSON
5 1 (0.22%) Node.js
5 1 (0.22%) OpenGL
5 1 (0.22%) Qt
5 1 (0.22%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 15 (3.30%) Industry 4.0
1 15 (3.30%) Robotics
2 6 (1.32%) Embedded Systems
2 6 (1.32%) IoT
2 6 (1.32%) Mainframe
2 6 (1.32%) Operational Technology
2 6 (1.32%) Renewable Energy
3 4 (0.88%) Data Centre
3 4 (0.88%) Onboarding
3 4 (0.88%) Virtual Team
4 3 (0.66%) Acoustics
4 3 (0.66%) FPGA
4 3 (0.66%) SCADA
4 3 (0.66%) Self-Motivation
5 2 (0.44%) AI Agents
5 2 (0.44%) ASIC
5 2 (0.44%) CAN bus
5 2 (0.44%) Linux Command Line
5 2 (0.44%) Management Information System
5 2 (0.44%) Security Posture
Operating Systems
1 31 (6.81%) Windows
2 17 (3.74%) Linux
3 9 (1.98%) Windows Server
4 5 (1.10%) Windows 10
5 4 (0.88%) Mac OS
6 3 (0.66%) Android
6 3 (0.66%) MVS
6 3 (0.66%) zOS
7 2 (0.44%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 2 (0.44%) Unix
8 1 (0.22%) FreeRTOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 84 (18.46%) Systems Engineering
2 42 (9.23%) Validation
3 34 (7.47%) Problem-Solving
4 25 (5.49%) Verification and Validation
5 21 (4.62%) Infrastructure Engineering
6 20 (4.40%) Decision-Making
7 19 (4.18%) Model-Based Systems Engineering
8 18 (3.96%) Configuration Management
8 18 (3.96%) Customer Service
9 16 (3.52%) Risk Assessment
10 15 (3.30%) Creative Thinking
10 15 (3.30%) Fault Analysis
10 15 (3.30%) Mechatronics
11 13 (2.86%) Workflow
12 10 (2.20%) Continuous Improvement
12 10 (2.20%) Migration
12 10 (2.20%) SysML
13 9 (1.98%) Agile
13 9 (1.98%) Root Cause Analysis
14 8 (1.76%) Stakeholder Management
Programming Languages
1 13 (2.86%) MATLAB
2 12 (2.64%) Python
3 9 (1.98%) PowerShell
4 5 (1.10%) REXX
5 4 (0.88%) C
6 3 (0.66%) Bash
6 3 (0.66%) JCL
7 2 (0.44%) Java
8 1 (0.22%) Go
8 1 (0.22%) Shell Script
8 1 (0.22%) SQL
Qualifications
1 103 (22.64%) Security Cleared
2 67 (14.73%) SC Cleared
3 40 (8.79%) Degree
4 25 (5.49%) DV Cleared
5 15 (3.30%) BPSS Clearance
6 5 (1.10%) Microsoft Certification
7 3 (0.66%) Azure Certification
7 3 (0.66%) CCNA
7 3 (0.66%) Cisco Certification
8 2 (0.44%) AWS Certification
8 2 (0.44%) Chartered Engineer
9 1 (0.22%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
9 1 (0.22%) CCA
9 1 (0.22%) CCNP
9 1 (0.22%) CISSP
9 1 (0.22%) CompTIA CySA+
9 1 (0.22%) Computer Science Degree
9 1 (0.22%) HND
9 1 (0.22%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 4 (0.88%) Def Stans
1 4 (0.88%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 3 (0.66%) Data Quality
2 3 (0.66%) MIL-STD-1553
2 3 (0.66%) NCSC
3 2 (0.44%) NIST
3 2 (0.44%) QA
4 1 (0.22%) Cyber Essentials
4 1 (0.22%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
4 1 (0.22%) DICOM
4 1 (0.22%) DO-254
4 1 (0.22%) HAZOP
4 1 (0.22%) HL7
4 1 (0.22%) IEC 61508
4 1 (0.22%) ISO 26262
4 1 (0.22%) NIST 800
System Software
1 17 (3.74%) Active Directory
2 11 (2.42%) VMware Infrastructure
3 7 (1.54%) Virtual Desktop
4 5 (1.10%) Firmware
4 5 (1.10%) Hyper-V
5 4 (0.88%) Virtual Machines
6 2 (0.44%) Embedded Firmware
6 2 (0.44%) VMware Workstation
7 1 (0.22%) Docker
7 1 (0.22%) Job Entry Subsystem
7 1 (0.22%) KVM
7 1 (0.22%) Microsoft App-V
Systems Management
1 11 (2.42%) Microsoft Intune
2 5 (1.10%) Kubernetes
3 4 (0.88%) Ansible
3 4 (0.88%) SCCM
3 4 (0.88%) Terraform
4 2 (0.44%) Functional Safety
4 2 (0.44%) Tivoli NetView
5 1 (0.22%) Amdocs OSS
5 1 (0.22%) Control-M
5 1 (0.22%) Jamf Pro
5 1 (0.22%) Packer
5 1 (0.22%) PingFederate
5 1 (0.22%) Progress Chef
5 1 (0.22%) Puppet
5 1 (0.22%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 25 (5.49%) Microsoft
2 18 (3.96%) Siemens
3 15 (3.30%) EMC
3 15 (3.30%) Fortinet
3 15 (3.30%) ServiceNow
4 13 (2.86%) NetApp
5 11 (2.42%) IBM
5 11 (2.42%) VMware
6 6 (1.32%) Cisco
7 3 (0.66%) Broadcom
7 3 (0.66%) Citrix
7 3 (0.66%) Google
7 3 (0.66%) NEC
7 3 (0.66%) Splunk
8 2 (0.44%) Apple
8 2 (0.44%) CyberArk
8 2 (0.44%) Red Hat
9 1 (0.22%) BMC
9 1 (0.22%) Hitachi
9 1 (0.22%) Nokia