Lead Data Engineer Contract Job Trends in the South East

Lead Data Engineer
England > South East

The median Lead Data Engineer daily rate in the South East is £525, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 11 February 2026.

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

6 months to
11 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 191 149 208
Rank change year-on-year -42 +59 +27
Contract jobs requiring a Lead Data Engineer 1 5 2
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 0.021% 0.16% 0.037%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.024% 0.17% 0.039%
Number of daily rates quoted 1 5 2
10th Percentile - £538 -
25th Percentile £513 £575 £610
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £600 £620
Median % change year-on-year -12.50% -3.23% -4.62%
75th Percentile £538 £638 £630
90th Percentile - £645 -
England median daily rate £550 £600 £600
% change year-on-year -8.33% - -5.88%

All Contract IT Job Roles
South East

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies in the South East. 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 the South East with a recognized job title 4,241 2,905 5,100
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 89.97% 92.78% 93.48%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,739 1,798 3,160
10th Percentile £256 £245 £205
25th Percentile £400 £400 £378
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £500 £500
75th Percentile £600 £603 £608
90th Percentile £688 £675 £688
England median daily rate £500 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 366 101 401
10th Percentile £13.95 £18.50 £13.00
25th Percentile £17.43 £24.18 £18.20
Median hourly rate £27.50 £42.50 £45.00
Median % change year-on-year -35.29% -5.56% -
75th Percentile £60.74 £62.50 £62.50
90th Percentile £85.40 £74.87 £76.53
England median hourly rate £31.25 £35.00 £35.00
% change year-on-year -10.71% - -6.67%

Lead Data Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings featuring 'Lead Data Engineer' in the job title relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East.

Lead Data Engineer job vacancy trend in the South East

Lead Data Engineer
Daily Rate Trend in the South East

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Lead Data Engineer job vacancies in the South East.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Lead Data Engineer job vacancies in the South East

Lead Data Engineer
Contract Job Locations in the South East

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Lead Data Engineer within the South East region over the 6 months to 11 February 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
Surrey -11 1 £525 - 1
Lead Data Engineer
England

Lead Data Engineer Skill Set
Top 13 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East

For the 6 months to 11 February 2026, Lead Data 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 South East region featuring Lead Data Engineer in the job title.

1 1 (100.00%) Analytical Modelling
1 1 (100.00%) Analytics
1 1 (100.00%) Data Analytics
1 1 (100.00%) Data Integration
1 1 (100.00%) Data Modelling
1 1 (100.00%) Data Quality
1 1 (100.00%) dbt
1 1 (100.00%) Integration Patterns
1 1 (100.00%) Metadata
1 1 (100.00%) Metadata Management
1 1 (100.00%) Metadata Repository
1 1 (100.00%) SC Cleared
1 1 (100.00%) Security Cleared

Lead Data Engineer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East 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 (100.00%) dbt
Database & Business Intelligence
1 1 (100.00%) Metadata
1 1 (100.00%) Metadata Repository
General
1 1 (100.00%) Analytical Skills
1 1 (100.00%) Inclusion and Diversity
1 1 (100.00%) Public Sector
Processes & Methodologies
1 1 (100.00%) Analytical Modelling
1 1 (100.00%) Analytics
1 1 (100.00%) Data Analytics
1 1 (100.00%) Data Integration
1 1 (100.00%) Data Modelling
1 1 (100.00%) Integration Patterns
1 1 (100.00%) Metadata Management
Qualifications
1 1 (100.00%) SC Cleared
1 1 (100.00%) Security Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 1 (100.00%) Data Quality