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 16 August 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
16 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 19 10 12
Rank change year-on-year -9 +2 +1
Contract jobs citing DevOps 283 209 241
As % of all contract jobs in the Thames Valley 8.54% 12.40% 10.58%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 10.61% 13.48% 12.50%
Number of daily rates quoted 198 126 173
10th Percentile £358 £325 £451
25th Percentile £426 £410 £506
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £508 £498 £605
Median % change year-on-year +2.01% -17.77% +0.83%
75th Percentile £600 £550 £650
90th Percentile £675 £625 £688
South East median daily rate £525 £500 £598
% change year-on-year +5.00% -16.32% -0.42%
Number of hourly rates quoted 25 2 8
10th Percentile £66.54 £35.98 £75.71
25th Percentile £71.43 £44.56 £81.85
Median hourly rate £81.50 £60.75 £87.46
Median % change year-on-year +34.16% -30.54% +15.58%
75th Percentile £88.00 £77.56 -
90th Percentile £104.00 £86.53 -
South East median hourly rate £67.50 £60.75 £87.46
% change year-on-year +11.11% -30.54% +15.58%

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 1,550 1,928
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the Thames Valley 80.53% 91.99% 84.64%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,695 928 1,100
10th Percentile £320 £300 £263
25th Percentile £424 £402 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £513
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -2.44% -0.49%
75th Percentile £600 £600 £625
90th Percentile £700 £679 £688
South East median daily rate £525 £500 £520
% change year-on-year +5.00% -3.85% +0.39%
Number of hourly rates quoted 268 110 110
10th Percentile £15.05 £14.20 £14.30
25th Percentile £30.28 £15.12 £23.37
Median hourly rate £73.60 £24.00 £55.44
Median % change year-on-year +206.67% -56.71% +10.88%
75th Percentile £87.04 £46.30 £66.75
90th Percentile £103.58 £77.75 £85.29
South East median hourly rate £55.00 £21.58 £57.35
% change year-on-year +154.92% -62.38% +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 16 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 16 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 16 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 -9 206 £514 +2.75% 73
Buckinghamshire -3 71 £492 +24.95% 22
Oxfordshire -27 6 £800 +48.84% 30
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 11 (3.89%) Confluence
2 5 (1.77%) Apache Spark
2 5 (1.77%) OpenStack
2 5 (1.77%) SharePoint
3 4 (1.41%) WebSphere
3 4 (1.41%) WebSphere Application Server
4 3 (1.06%) IIS
5 2 (0.71%) Adobe Experience Manager
5 2 (0.71%) Apache Airflow
5 2 (0.71%) IBM HTTP Server
5 2 (0.71%) JBoss
5 2 (0.71%) Oracle HTTP Server
5 2 (0.71%) WebSphere Portal
6 1 (0.35%) Apache
6 1 (0.35%) Apache Superset
6 1 (0.35%) CIMPLICITY
6 1 (0.35%) CMS
6 1 (0.35%) Microsoft Exchange
6 1 (0.35%) Predix
6 1 (0.35%) Smallworld
Applications
1 7 (2.47%) CPLEX
2 6 (2.12%) Microsoft Project
3 2 (0.71%) Microsoft Excel
3 2 (0.71%) MS Visio
4 1 (0.35%) Microsoft Office
Business Applications
1 4 (1.41%) SAP S/4HANA
2 3 (1.06%) Oracle EBS
3 1 (0.35%) Oracle EBS R12
3 1 (0.35%) Payment Gateway
3 1 (0.35%) Remedy ITSM
3 1 (0.35%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
3 1 (0.35%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 216 (76.33%) Azure
2 124 (43.82%) Azure DevOps
3 77 (27.21%) AWS
4 42 (14.84%) GCP
5 29 (10.25%) Power Platform
6 27 (9.54%) Entra ID
7 26 (9.19%) GitHub
8 24 (8.48%) GitHub Actions
9 23 (8.13%) Azure Monitor
10 22 (7.77%) OpenShift
11 13 (4.59%) Azure AKS
12 12 (4.24%) Azure Key Vault
12 12 (4.24%) Azure Sentinel
13 11 (3.89%) SaaS
14 8 (2.83%) Azure App Service
14 8 (2.83%) Azure Logic Apps
14 8 (2.83%) IaaS
14 8 (2.83%) PaaS
15 7 (2.47%) Amazon CloudWatch
15 7 (2.47%) AWS CloudFormation
Communications & Networking
1 25 (8.83%) Firewall
2 21 (7.42%) DNS
3 15 (5.30%) TCP/IP
3 15 (5.30%) VPN
4 13 (4.59%) Network Security
5 12 (4.24%) DHCP
5 12 (4.24%) LAN
5 12 (4.24%) WAN
6 9 (3.18%) BGP
7 8 (2.83%) MPLS
8 7 (2.47%) SD-WAN
9 5 (1.77%) SSH
10 4 (1.41%) OSPF
11 3 (1.06%) HTTP
11 3 (1.06%) SSL
12 2 (0.71%) Internet
12 2 (0.71%) Software-Defined Networking
12 2 (0.71%) VXLAN
13 1 (0.35%) 5G
13 1 (0.35%) VLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 19 (6.71%) NoSQL
2 18 (6.36%) Power BI
3 12 (4.24%) Data Warehouse
4 10 (3.53%) SQL Server
5 8 (2.83%) Azure SQL Database
5 8 (2.83%) PostgreSQL
6 7 (2.47%) MongoDB
7 6 (2.12%) Metadata
7 6 (2.12%) Relational Database
7 6 (2.12%) Tableau
8 5 (1.77%) Big Data
9 4 (1.41%) DocumentDB
10 3 (1.06%) Parquet
11 2 (0.71%) Data Lake
11 2 (0.71%) Hadoop
11 2 (0.71%) Spark SQL
12 1 (0.35%) Amazon Redshift
12 1 (0.35%) BigQuery
12 1 (0.35%) Oracle Reports
Development Applications
1 38 (13.43%) Git
2 30 (10.60%) Jenkins
3 23 (8.13%) JIRA
4 22 (7.77%) GitLab
5 5 (1.77%) Bitbucket
6 4 (1.41%) Jaeger
6 4 (1.41%) NUnit
7 3 (1.06%) Selenium
7 3 (1.06%) SpecFlow
7 3 (1.06%) TeamCity
7 3 (1.06%) WebDriver
8 2 (0.71%) Balsamiq
8 2 (0.71%) Introscope
8 2 (0.71%) JMeter
8 2 (0.71%) LoadRunner
8 2 (0.71%) MSTest
8 2 (0.71%) NeoLoad
8 2 (0.71%) Postman
8 2 (0.71%) tSQLt
8 2 (0.71%) Visual Studio
General
1 78 (27.56%) Social Skills
2 35 (12.37%) Analytical Skills
3 26 (9.19%) Aerospace
3 26 (9.19%) Finance
4 20 (7.07%) Public Sector
5 13 (4.59%) Documentation Skills
6 9 (3.18%) Billing
7 8 (2.83%) Influencing Skills
8 6 (2.12%) Telecoms
9 4 (1.41%) Military
10 3 (1.06%) Manufacturing
10 3 (1.06%) Organisational Skills
10 3 (1.06%) Publishing
11 2 (0.71%) Legal
11 2 (0.71%) Pharmaceutical
12 1 (0.35%) Advertising
12 1 (0.35%) Health Technology
12 1 (0.35%) Local Government
12 1 (0.35%) Marketing
Job Titles
1 44 (15.55%) DevOps Engineer
2 41 (14.49%) Developer
2 41 (14.49%) Senior
3 36 (12.72%) Azure Engineer
4 32 (11.31%) Architect
5 27 (9.54%) Azure DevOps Engineer
6 25 (8.83%) Lead
7 20 (7.07%) Cloud Engineer
8 19 (6.71%) Analyst
9 16 (5.65%) Platform Engineer
10 14 (4.95%) Data Engineer
11 13 (4.59%) Infrastructure Engineer
12 11 (3.89%) Consultant
12 11 (3.89%) Project Manager
13 10 (3.53%) .NET Developer
13 10 (3.53%) Business Analyst
14 9 (3.18%) Senior Infrastructure Engineer
15 8 (2.83%) Senior Manager
15 8 (2.83%) Senior Project Manager
15 8 (2.83%) Technical Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 31 (10.95%) REST
2 29 (10.25%) .NET
3 19 (6.71%) OAuth
4 17 (6.01%) RESTful
5 15 (5.30%) ARM Templates
6 14 (4.95%) React
7 13 (4.59%) SAML
8 12 (4.24%) .NET Framework
9 11 (3.89%) Entity Framework
9 11 (3.89%) Swagger
10 10 (3.53%) .NET Core
10 10 (3.53%) OpenAPI
10 10 (3.53%) SOAP
11 9 (3.18%) Kafka
11 9 (3.18%) LDAP
11 9 (3.18%) RabbitMQ
12 8 (2.83%) ADO
12 8 (2.83%) FastAPI
12 8 (2.83%) OpenID
12 8 (2.83%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 34 (12.01%) Cloud Native
2 30 (10.60%) Hybrid Cloud
3 17 (6.01%) Onboarding
4 15 (5.30%) Enterprise Software
5 13 (4.59%) Distributed Systems
6 9 (3.18%) Data Structures
7 7 (2.47%) Algorithms
7 7 (2.47%) Data Protection Act
7 7 (2.47%) Product Ownership
7 7 (2.47%) Security Posture
8 6 (2.12%) Management Information System
9 5 (1.77%) Analytical Mindset
9 5 (1.77%) Operational Technology
9 5 (1.77%) Public Cloud
9 5 (1.77%) Virtual Team
10 4 (1.41%) ARM Cortex
10 4 (1.41%) Data Centre
11 3 (1.06%) Cyber Threat
11 3 (1.06%) IoT
11 3 (1.06%) PKI
Operating Systems
1 34 (12.01%) Linux
2 24 (8.48%) Windows
3 13 (4.59%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 12 (4.24%) Windows Server
5 2 (0.71%) Oracle Linux
5 2 (0.71%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
5 2 (0.71%) Unix
6 1 (0.35%) Mac OS
Processes & Methodologies
1 145 (51.24%) CI/CD
2 104 (36.75%) Agile
3 71 (25.09%) Infrastructure as Code
4 55 (19.43%) Analytics
5 54 (19.08%) Problem-Solving
6 46 (16.25%) Cybersecurity
7 41 (14.49%) Stakeholder Management
8 38 (13.43%) Containerisation
9 36 (12.72%) Continuous Improvement
10 35 (12.37%) Platform Engineering
11 33 (11.66%) ITIL
11 33 (11.66%) Test Automation
11 33 (11.66%) Validation
12 32 (11.31%) Data Modelling
13 31 (10.95%) DevSecOps
14 28 (9.89%) Deployment Automation
15 27 (9.54%) Observability
15 27 (9.54%) Stakeholder Engagement
16 26 (9.19%) Microservices
16 26 (9.19%) SIEM
Programming Languages
1 88 (31.10%) Python
2 56 (19.79%) PowerShell
3 54 (19.08%) SQL
4 36 (12.72%) Bash
5 24 (8.48%) C#
6 23 (8.13%) Bicep
7 20 (7.07%) JavaScript
8 14 (4.95%) Java
9 9 (3.18%) TypeScript
10 7 (2.47%) Go
10 7 (2.47%) Kusto Query Language
11 5 (1.77%) X++
12 4 (1.41%) Perl
13 3 (1.06%) T-SQL
14 2 (0.71%) Apex Code
14 2 (0.71%) BeanShell
14 2 (0.71%) Jython
14 2 (0.71%) Shell Script
15 1 (0.35%) Magik
15 1 (0.35%) SOQL
Qualifications
1 144 (50.88%) Security Cleared
2 121 (42.76%) SC Cleared
3 24 (8.48%) Degree
4 18 (6.36%) Azure Certification
4 18 (6.36%) CISSP
4 18 (6.36%) DV Cleared
5 16 (5.65%) Cisco Certification
6 13 (4.59%) AWS Certification
7 10 (3.53%) CISM
8 8 (2.83%) Computer Science Degree
8 8 (2.83%) RHCE
9 7 (2.47%) CCIE
10 6 (2.12%) (ISC)2 CCSP
11 5 (1.77%) BPSS Clearance
11 5 (1.77%) CCNP
11 5 (1.77%) JNCIE
11 5 (1.77%) Microsoft Certification
11 5 (1.77%) PMP
12 4 (1.41%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
12 4 (1.41%) PMI Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 21 (7.42%) NIST
2 20 (7.07%) QA
3 19 (6.71%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 16 (5.65%) GDPR
5 15 (5.30%) Data Quality
6 11 (3.89%) NCSC
7 8 (2.83%) GRC
8 6 (2.12%) PCI DSS
9 3 (1.06%) Accessibility
9 3 (1.06%) Cyber Essentials
9 3 (1.06%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 2 (0.71%) SLA
11 1 (0.35%) Actionable Recommendations
11 1 (0.35%) Disclosure Scotland
11 1 (0.35%) NIST 800
11 1 (0.35%) OpenSCAP
11 1 (0.35%) PMO
11 1 (0.35%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 35 (12.37%) Docker
2 28 (9.89%) Active Directory
3 9 (3.18%) VMware Infrastructure
4 7 (2.47%) Virtual Machines
5 6 (2.12%) Hyper-V
6 2 (0.71%) VMware ESXi
6 2 (0.71%) VMware NSX
7 1 (0.35%) Virtual Desktop
Systems Management
1 70 (24.73%) Terraform
2 63 (22.26%) Kubernetes
3 37 (13.07%) Ansible
4 12 (4.24%) Grafana
5 8 (2.83%) Prometheus
6 6 (2.12%) Istio
6 6 (2.12%) Microsoft Intune
7 4 (1.41%) Rancher
7 4 (1.41%) SCCM
7 4 (1.41%) Single Sign-On
8 2 (0.71%) CA Wily
8 2 (0.71%) CASB
8 2 (0.71%) SCOM
8 2 (0.71%) Tivoli
9 1 (0.35%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 1 (0.35%) Packer
9 1 (0.35%) QRadar
9 1 (0.35%) Red Hat Satellite
Vendors
1 87 (30.74%) Microsoft
2 18 (6.36%) ServiceNow
3 16 (5.65%) Oracle
3 16 (5.65%) Red Hat
4 15 (5.30%) Google
5 13 (4.59%) VMware
6 12 (4.24%) Databricks
7 9 (3.18%) CyberArk
8 7 (2.47%) BeyondTrust
9 6 (2.12%) AppDynamics
9 6 (2.12%) Salesforce
9 6 (2.12%) Splunk
10 5 (1.77%) Cisco
10 5 (1.77%) Dynatrace
11 4 (1.41%) CrowdStrike
11 4 (1.41%) IBM
11 4 (1.41%) SAP
12 3 (1.06%) MuleSoft
13 2 (0.71%) Adobe
13 2 (0.71%) BiZZdesign