DevOps Contract Job Trends in the Thames Valley

DevOps
South East > Thames Valley

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the Thames Valley requiring DevOps skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 1 August 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
1 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 19 11 11
Rank change year-on-year -8 0 +3
Contract jobs citing DevOps 266 208 255
As % of all contract jobs in the Thames Valley 8.08% 12.46% 10.68%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 9.97% 13.49% 12.60%
Number of daily rates quoted 192 127 175
10th Percentile £355 £325 £452
25th Percentile £424 £408 £500
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £500 £600
Median % change year-on-year - -16.67% -
75th Percentile £600 £568 £650
90th Percentile £671 £630 £688
South East median daily rate £525 £500 £593
% change year-on-year +5.00% -15.61% -1.25%
Number of hourly rates quoted 17 2 13
10th Percentile £80.35 £35.98 £65.63
25th Percentile £80.75 £44.56 £81.88
Median hourly rate £85.00 £60.75 £87.46
Median % change year-on-year +39.92% -30.54% +15.58%
75th Percentile £102.50 £77.56 -
90th Percentile £104.00 £86.53 £87.52
South East median hourly rate £65.62 £60.75 £85.61
% change year-on-year +8.01% -29.04% +13.14%

All Process & Methodology Skills
Thames Valley

DevOps falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills in the Thames Valley.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 2,667 1,542 2,024
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the Thames Valley 80.99% 92.34% 84.76%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,698 917 1,137
10th Percentile £313 £305 £263
25th Percentile £413 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £501
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -0.20% -2.72%
75th Percentile £600 £600 £619
90th Percentile £700 £680 £688
South East median daily rate £525 £500 £520
% change year-on-year +5.00% -3.85% +0.39%
Number of hourly rates quoted 259 109 118
10th Percentile £16.35 £14.20 £14.19
25th Percentile £31.25 £15.12 £22.50
Median hourly rate £79.91 £25.15 £55.04
Median % change year-on-year +217.73% -54.30% +10.37%
75th Percentile £88.00 £53.75 £67.13
90th Percentile £104.00 £80.60 £86.19
South East median hourly rate £55.00 £21.99 £57.35
% change year-on-year +150.17% -61.67% +14.70%

DevOps
Job Vacancy Trend in the Thames Valley

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing DevOps relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the Thames Valley.

DevOps job vacancy trend in the Thames Valley

DevOps
Daily Rate Trend in the Thames Valley

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the Thames Valley citing DevOps.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the Thames Valley citing DevOps

DevOps
Daily Rate Histogram in the Thames Valley

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing DevOps in the Thames Valley over the 6 months to 1 August 2026.

Daily rate histogram for DevOps in the Thames Valley

DevOps
Hourly Rate Trend in the Thames Valley

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the Thames Valley citing DevOps.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the Thames Valley citing DevOps

DevOps
Hourly Rate Histogram in the Thames Valley

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing DevOps in the Thames Valley over the 6 months to 1 August 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for DevOps in the Thames Valley

DevOps
Contract Job Locations in the Thames Valley

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing DevOps within the Thames Valley region over the 6 months to 1 August 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
Berkshire -9 188 £500 - 58
Buckinghamshire -3 72 £492 +31.20% 25
Oxfordshire -17 6 £800 +70.67% 29
DevOps
South East

DevOps
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the Thames Valley 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 12 (4.51%) Confluence
2 5 (1.88%) Apache Spark
2 5 (1.88%) OpenStack
2 5 (1.88%) SharePoint
3 4 (1.50%) WebSphere
3 4 (1.50%) WebSphere Application Server
4 3 (1.13%) IIS
5 2 (0.75%) Adobe Experience Manager
5 2 (0.75%) IBM HTTP Server
5 2 (0.75%) JBoss
5 2 (0.75%) Oracle HTTP Server
5 2 (0.75%) WebSphere Portal
6 1 (0.38%) Apache Airflow
6 1 (0.38%) ArcGIS
6 1 (0.38%) CIMPLICITY
6 1 (0.38%) CMS
6 1 (0.38%) Microsoft Exchange
6 1 (0.38%) Predix
Applications
1 8 (3.01%) CPLEX
2 6 (2.26%) Microsoft Project
3 5 (1.88%) Microsoft Excel
4 2 (0.75%) MS Visio
5 1 (0.38%) Microsoft Office
Business Applications
1 4 (1.50%) SAP S/4HANA
2 3 (1.13%) Oracle EBS
3 1 (0.38%) Oracle EBS R12
3 1 (0.38%) Payment Gateway
3 1 (0.38%) Remedy ITSM
3 1 (0.38%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
3 1 (0.38%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 203 (76.32%) Azure
2 122 (45.86%) Azure DevOps
3 74 (27.82%) AWS
4 39 (14.66%) GCP
5 28 (10.53%) Power Platform
6 27 (10.15%) Entra ID
7 23 (8.65%) Azure Monitor
7 23 (8.65%) GitHub
8 21 (7.89%) GitHub Actions
9 15 (5.64%) Azure AKS
10 14 (5.26%) Azure Key Vault
11 12 (4.51%) OpenShift
12 10 (3.76%) SaaS
13 9 (3.38%) Azure Sentinel
14 8 (3.01%) Azure App Service
14 8 (3.01%) IaaS
14 8 (3.01%) OCI
14 8 (3.01%) PaaS
15 7 (2.63%) Amazon CloudWatch
16 6 (2.26%) AWS CloudFormation
Communications & Networking
1 22 (8.27%) Firewall
2 17 (6.39%) DNS
3 14 (5.26%) Network Security
4 12 (4.51%) VPN
5 11 (4.14%) LAN
5 11 (4.14%) TCP/IP
5 11 (4.14%) WAN
6 9 (3.38%) BGP
7 8 (3.01%) DHCP
7 8 (3.01%) MPLS
8 7 (2.63%) SD-WAN
9 5 (1.88%) SSH
10 4 (1.50%) OSPF
11 3 (1.13%) HTTP
11 3 (1.13%) SSL
12 2 (0.75%) Internet
12 2 (0.75%) VXLAN
13 1 (0.38%) 5G
13 1 (0.38%) NGFW
13 1 (0.38%) SAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 21 (7.89%) NoSQL
2 17 (6.39%) Power BI
3 11 (4.14%) Data Warehouse
4 10 (3.76%) Azure SQL Database
4 10 (3.76%) PostgreSQL
5 9 (3.38%) SQL Server
6 8 (3.01%) MongoDB
7 6 (2.26%) Tableau
8 5 (1.88%) Big Data
9 4 (1.50%) DocumentDB
9 4 (1.50%) Metadata
9 4 (1.50%) Parquet
9 4 (1.50%) Relational Database
10 2 (0.75%) Data Lake
10 2 (0.75%) Hadoop
10 2 (0.75%) Spark SQL
11 1 (0.38%) Amazon RDS
11 1 (0.38%) Amazon Redshift
11 1 (0.38%) BigQuery
11 1 (0.38%) DynamoDB
Development Applications
1 36 (13.53%) Git
2 24 (9.02%) Jenkins
3 23 (8.65%) JIRA
4 17 (6.39%) GitLab
5 5 (1.88%) Bitbucket
6 4 (1.50%) Jaeger
6 4 (1.50%) NUnit
7 3 (1.13%) Selenium
7 3 (1.13%) SpecFlow
7 3 (1.13%) TeamCity
7 3 (1.13%) WebDriver
8 2 (0.75%) Balsamiq
8 2 (0.75%) Introscope
8 2 (0.75%) JMeter
8 2 (0.75%) JUnit
8 2 (0.75%) LoadRunner
8 2 (0.75%) Mockito
8 2 (0.75%) MSTest
8 2 (0.75%) NeoLoad
8 2 (0.75%) Visual Studio
General
1 70 (26.32%) Social Skills
2 28 (10.53%) Analytical Skills
3 24 (9.02%) Finance
4 21 (7.89%) Public Sector
5 18 (6.77%) Aerospace
6 14 (5.26%) Documentation Skills
7 9 (3.38%) Billing
8 7 (2.63%) Influencing Skills
9 6 (2.26%) Organisational Skills
9 6 (2.26%) Telecoms
10 4 (1.50%) Military
11 3 (1.13%) Manufacturing
11 3 (1.13%) Publishing
12 2 (0.75%) Legal
12 2 (0.75%) Pharmaceutical
13 1 (0.38%) Advertising
13 1 (0.38%) Health Technology
13 1 (0.38%) Local Government
13 1 (0.38%) Marketing
Job Titles
1 44 (16.54%) Developer
1 44 (16.54%) DevOps Engineer
2 36 (13.53%) Azure Engineer
3 32 (12.03%) Architect
3 32 (12.03%) Senior
4 27 (10.15%) Azure DevOps Engineer
5 23 (8.65%) Analyst
5 23 (8.65%) Lead
6 19 (7.14%) Cloud Engineer
7 15 (5.64%) Platform Engineer
8 12 (4.51%) Infrastructure Engineer
9 11 (4.14%) .NET Developer
9 11 (4.14%) Project Manager
10 10 (3.76%) Business Analyst
11 9 (3.38%) Consultant
11 9 (3.38%) Technical Architect
12 8 (3.01%) Full-Stack Developer
12 8 (3.01%) Python Developer
12 8 (3.01%) Senior Manager
12 8 (3.01%) Senior Project Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 34 (12.78%) REST
2 30 (11.28%) .NET
3 20 (7.52%) OAuth
4 19 (7.14%) RESTful
5 14 (5.26%) React
5 14 (5.26%) SAML
6 13 (4.89%) .NET Framework
6 13 (4.89%) ARM Templates
7 12 (4.51%) Entity Framework
7 12 (4.51%) Swagger
8 11 (4.14%) .NET Core
8 11 (4.14%) OpenAPI
8 11 (4.14%) SOAP
9 10 (3.76%) Kafka
9 10 (3.76%) RabbitMQ
10 9 (3.38%) Flask
10 9 (3.38%) LDAP
10 9 (3.38%) OpenID
10 9 (3.38%) Pandas
10 9 (3.38%) pytest
Miscellaneous
1 33 (12.41%) Cloud Native
2 20 (7.52%) Hybrid Cloud
3 13 (4.89%) Distributed Systems
3 13 (4.89%) Enterprise Software
4 11 (4.14%) Onboarding
5 8 (3.01%) Algorithms
5 8 (3.01%) Data Structures
6 7 (2.63%) Data Protection Act
6 7 (2.63%) Security Posture
7 6 (2.26%) Product Ownership
8 5 (1.88%) Analytical Mindset
8 5 (1.88%) Operational Technology
8 5 (1.88%) Public Cloud
8 5 (1.88%) Virtual Team
9 4 (1.50%) ARM Cortex
9 4 (1.50%) Data Centre
9 4 (1.50%) Management Information System
10 3 (1.13%) Cyber Threat
10 3 (1.13%) Greenfield Project
10 3 (1.13%) PKI
Operating Systems
1 26 (9.77%) Linux
2 18 (6.77%) Windows
3 11 (4.14%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 7 (2.63%) Windows Server
5 2 (0.75%) Oracle Linux
5 2 (0.75%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
5 2 (0.75%) Unix
6 1 (0.38%) Mac OS
Processes & Methodologies
1 133 (50.00%) CI/CD
2 98 (36.84%) Agile
3 59 (22.18%) Infrastructure as Code
4 48 (18.05%) Problem-Solving
5 47 (17.67%) Analytics
6 39 (14.66%) Cybersecurity
7 37 (13.91%) Stakeholder Management
8 36 (13.53%) Containerisation
9 29 (10.90%) ITIL
10 28 (10.53%) Platform Engineering
10 28 (10.53%) Test Automation
10 28 (10.53%) Validation
11 27 (10.15%) Data Modelling
11 27 (10.15%) Microservices
12 26 (9.77%) Root Cause Analysis
13 25 (9.40%) Continuous Improvement
14 23 (8.65%) DevSecOps
14 23 (8.65%) Migration
14 23 (8.65%) Scrum
15 22 (8.27%) Deployment Automation
Programming Languages
1 75 (28.20%) Python
2 50 (18.80%) SQL
3 44 (16.54%) PowerShell
4 27 (10.15%) Bash
5 25 (9.40%) C#
6 21 (7.89%) Bicep
6 21 (7.89%) JavaScript
7 15 (5.64%) Java
8 9 (3.38%) TypeScript
9 7 (2.63%) Go
10 5 (1.88%) X++
11 4 (1.50%) Kusto Query Language
11 4 (1.50%) Perl
12 2 (0.75%) Apex Code
12 2 (0.75%) BeanShell
12 2 (0.75%) Jython
12 2 (0.75%) Shell Script
12 2 (0.75%) T-SQL
13 1 (0.38%) SOQL
13 1 (0.38%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 124 (46.62%) Security Cleared
2 101 (37.97%) SC Cleared
3 18 (6.77%) Degree
3 18 (6.77%) DV Cleared
4 17 (6.39%) Azure Certification
5 14 (5.26%) Cisco Certification
5 14 (5.26%) CISSP
6 12 (4.51%) AWS Certification
7 10 (3.76%) CISM
8 8 (3.01%) RHCE
9 7 (2.63%) CCIE
10 6 (2.26%) CCNP
11 5 (1.88%) BPSS Clearance
11 5 (1.88%) JNCIE
11 5 (1.88%) PMP
12 4 (1.50%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
12 4 (1.50%) Microsoft Certification
12 4 (1.50%) PMI Certification
13 3 (1.13%) (ISC)2 CCSP
13 3 (1.13%) AWS Certified DevOps Engineer
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 21 (7.89%) QA
2 19 (7.14%) NIST
3 16 (6.02%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 15 (5.64%) GDPR
5 10 (3.76%) NCSC
6 8 (3.01%) Data Quality
6 8 (3.01%) GRC
7 6 (2.26%) PCI DSS
8 3 (1.13%) Accessibility
9 1 (0.38%) Actionable Recommendations
9 1 (0.38%) Cyber Essentials
9 1 (0.38%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 1 (0.38%) NIST 800
9 1 (0.38%) OpenSCAP
9 1 (0.38%) PMO
9 1 (0.38%) SLA
9 1 (0.38%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 34 (12.78%) Docker
2 29 (10.90%) Active Directory
3 7 (2.63%) Virtual Machines
4 4 (1.50%) VMware Infrastructure
5 2 (0.75%) Hyper-V
5 2 (0.75%) VMware ESXi
5 2 (0.75%) VMware NSX
6 1 (0.38%) Virtual Desktop
Systems Management
1 60 (22.56%) Terraform
2 52 (19.55%) Kubernetes
3 26 (9.77%) Ansible
4 10 (3.76%) Grafana
5 7 (2.63%) Prometheus
6 5 (1.88%) Istio
6 5 (1.88%) Microsoft Intune
7 4 (1.50%) Rancher
7 4 (1.50%) SCCM
7 4 (1.50%) Single Sign-On
8 2 (0.75%) Active Directory Federation Services
8 2 (0.75%) CA Wily
8 2 (0.75%) CASB
8 2 (0.75%) Tivoli
9 1 (0.38%) Packer
9 1 (0.38%) QRadar
9 1 (0.38%) Red Hat Satellite
9 1 (0.38%) SCOM
Vendors
1 67 (25.19%) Microsoft
2 19 (7.14%) Oracle
3 17 (6.39%) ServiceNow
4 14 (5.26%) Red Hat
5 12 (4.51%) Google
6 9 (3.38%) Databricks
6 9 (3.38%) VMware
7 7 (2.63%) BeyondTrust
7 7 (2.63%) CyberArk
8 6 (2.26%) AppDynamics
8 6 (2.26%) Splunk
9 5 (1.88%) Cisco
9 5 (1.88%) Dynatrace
9 5 (1.88%) Salesforce
10 4 (1.50%) CrowdStrike
10 4 (1.50%) IBM
10 4 (1.50%) SAP
11 3 (1.13%) MuleSoft
12 2 (0.75%) Adobe
12 2 (0.75%) Palo Alto