Infrastructure Engineer Contract Job Trends in the UK excluding London

Infrastructure Engineer
UK > UK excluding London

The median Infrastructure Engineer daily rate in the UK excluding London is £450, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 21 December 2025.

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

6 months to
21 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 162 130 95
Rank change year-on-year -32 -35 +19
Contract jobs requiring an Infrastructure Engineer 277 268 473
As % of all contract jobs in the UK excluding London 1.53% 1.80% 2.42%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.69% 1.95% 2.59%
Number of daily rates quoted 203 167 346
10th Percentile £255 £350 £313
25th Percentile £330 £378 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £450 £500
Median % change year-on-year - -10.00% +11.11%
75th Percentile £575 £604 £600
90th Percentile £638 £675 £694
UK median daily rate £469 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -6.30% - +5.26%
Number of hourly rates quoted 5 3 18
10th Percentile £39.50 - £21.25
25th Percentile £59.75 - £23.00
Median hourly rate £75.00 £24.18 £49.00
Median % change year-on-year +210.17% -50.65% -2.01%
75th Percentile £83.00 £42.09 £73.75
90th Percentile £84.80 £52.84 £76.53
UK median hourly rate £34.00 £34.59 £57.99
% change year-on-year -1.71% -40.35% -23.70%

All Contract IT Job Vacancies
UK excluding London

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies in the UK excluding London. 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 UK excluding London with a recognized job title 16,345 13,724 18,269
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 90.08% 92.39% 93.55%
Number of daily rates quoted 10,035 8,185 11,953
10th Percentile £213 £213 £213
25th Percentile £369 £363 £378
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £488 £500
Median % change year-on-year -2.56% -2.50% -
75th Percentile £575 £588 £600
90th Percentile £675 £679 £688
UK median daily rate £500 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,655 776 1,187
10th Percentile £13.84 £15.36 £14.32
25th Percentile £17.48 £20.26 £18.50
Median hourly rate £25.15 £32.50 £45.88
Median % change year-on-year -22.62% -29.16% +83.52%
75th Percentile £57.50 £64.50 £65.00
90th Percentile £70.00 £71.25 £77.50
UK median hourly rate £25.15 £33.00 £45.00
% change year-on-year -23.79% -26.67% +50.00%

Infrastructure Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend in the UK excluding London

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings featuring 'Infrastructure Engineer' in the job title relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London.

Infrastructure Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK excluding London

Infrastructure Engineer
Daily Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Infrastructure Engineer job vacancies in the UK excluding London.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Infrastructure Engineer job vacancies in the UK excluding London

Infrastructure Engineer
Daily Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Infrastructure Engineer in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 21 December 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Infrastructure Engineer in the UK excluding London

Infrastructure Engineer
Hourly Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Infrastructure Engineer job vacancies in the UK excluding London.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Infrastructure Engineer job vacancies in the UK excluding London

Infrastructure Engineer
Hourly Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Infrastructure Engineer in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 21 December 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Infrastructure Engineer in the UK excluding London

Infrastructure Engineer
Contract Job Locations in the UK excluding London

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Infrastructure Engineer within the UK excluding London region over the 6 months to 21 December 2025. 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 -18 84 £450 +2.27% 48
North of England -20 66 £446 +8.12% 60
South West -1 60 £553 -3.91% 42
North West -18 35 £472 +14.30% 19
Midlands -38 32 £438 -18.60% 30
Yorkshire -39 27 £356 -13.64% 38
East of England -4 25 £413 -2.94% 13
West Midlands -29 24 £438 -36.13% 19
Scotland -19 10 £465 +3.33% 15
East Midlands -22 8 £433 -13.50% 11
Wales -12 5 £550 +18.92% 4
North East -2 4 £466 - 5
Northern Ireland -8 1 £375 -
Infrastructure Engineer
UK

Infrastructure Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the UK excluding London

For the 6 months to 21 December 2025, Infrastructure 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 UK excluding London region featuring Infrastructure Engineer in the job title.

1 269 (97.11%) Infrastructure Engineering
2 126 (45.49%) Windows
3 110 (39.71%) Azure
4 105 (37.91%) Microsoft
5 100 (36.10%) Security Cleared
5 100 (36.10%) VMware
6 80 (28.88%) Active Directory
7 79 (28.52%) SC Cleared
8 77 (27.80%) VMware Infrastructure
9 60 (21.66%) Linux
10 56 (20.22%) Problem-Solving
11 53 (19.13%) Windows Server
12 51 (18.41%) DNS
12 51 (18.41%) PowerShell
13 50 (18.05%) AWS
14 48 (17.33%) ITIL
14 48 (17.33%) Microsoft 365
15 46 (16.61%) Hyper-V
16 45 (16.25%) Firewall
16 45 (16.25%) Terraform
17 44 (15.88%) DevOps
18 43 (15.52%) DHCP
19 35 (12.64%) Ansible
20 32 (11.55%) Infrastructure as Code
21 30 (10.83%) TCP/IP
22 29 (10.47%) Disaster Recovery
22 29 (10.47%) Python
23 28 (10.11%) Azure Certification
23 28 (10.11%) Entra ID
23 28 (10.11%) Kubernetes

Infrastructure Engineer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the UK excluding London 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 23 (8.30%) Microsoft Exchange
2 7 (2.53%) SharePoint
3 6 (2.17%) Apache
3 6 (2.17%) IIS
4 4 (1.44%) TPMS
5 3 (1.08%) Confluence
5 3 (1.08%) Exchange Server 2010
6 2 (0.72%) iPlanet
6 2 (0.72%) JBoss
6 2 (0.72%) WebSphere
6 2 (0.72%) WebSphere Application Server
7 1 (0.36%) CICS
7 1 (0.36%) Skype for Business
7 1 (0.36%) WebLogic
Applications
1 5 (1.81%) Microsoft Office
2 2 (0.72%) Microsoft Excel
3 1 (0.36%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 3 (1.08%) Maximo
2 2 (0.72%) Dynamics CRM
3 1 (0.36%) NetSuite
Cloud Services
1 110 (39.71%) Azure
2 50 (18.05%) AWS
3 48 (17.33%) Microsoft 365
4 28 (10.11%) Entra ID
5 14 (5.05%) Azure DevOps
5 14 (5.05%) Azure Monitor
5 14 (5.05%) PaaS
6 13 (4.69%) IaaS
7 12 (4.33%) Google Workspace
7 12 (4.33%) SaaS
8 10 (3.61%) Azure Sentinel
9 8 (2.89%) AWS CloudFormation
10 7 (2.53%) Azure AKS
10 7 (2.53%) Azure Stack
10 7 (2.53%) OneDrive
11 6 (2.17%) Azure Key Vault
11 6 (2.17%) OpenShift
12 5 (1.81%) Amazon CloudWatch
12 5 (1.81%) GCP
12 5 (1.81%) GitHub
Communications & Networking
1 51 (18.41%) DNS
2 45 (16.25%) Firewall
3 43 (15.52%) DHCP
4 30 (10.83%) TCP/IP
5 22 (7.94%) VLAN
6 17 (6.14%) VPN
7 15 (5.42%) SAN
8 11 (3.97%) Wi-Fi
9 9 (3.25%) WAN
10 8 (2.89%) LAN
11 7 (2.53%) SSL
12 6 (2.17%) 4G
13 4 (1.44%) Fibre Channel
13 4 (1.44%) Network Security
13 4 (1.44%) SNMP
13 4 (1.44%) SSH
13 4 (1.44%) VSAN
14 3 (1.08%) iSCSI
14 3 (1.08%) VoIP
14 3 (1.08%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 12 (4.33%) SQL Server
2 2 (0.72%) Oracle Database
2 2 (0.72%) SAP HANA
3 1 (0.36%) Amazon RDS
3 1 (0.36%) Data Warehouse
3 1 (0.36%) Power BI
Development Applications
1 8 (2.89%) GitLab
2 6 (2.17%) Git
2 6 (2.17%) JIRA
3 4 (1.44%) Jenkins
4 3 (1.08%) Sonatype Nexus
5 2 (0.72%) Bitbucket Server
5 2 (0.72%) CA Release Automation
6 1 (0.36%) GoCD
6 1 (0.36%) MSI
General
1 60 (21.66%) Social Skills
2 38 (13.72%) Public Sector
3 30 (10.83%) Analytical Skills
4 18 (6.50%) Finance
5 14 (5.05%) Documentation Skills
6 7 (2.53%) Military
7 6 (2.17%) Aerospace
7 6 (2.17%) Manufacturing
8 5 (1.81%) Aviation
8 5 (1.81%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 4 (1.44%) Legal
9 4 (1.44%) Telecoms
10 3 (1.08%) Banking
11 2 (0.72%) Electronics
11 2 (0.72%) Local Government
11 2 (0.72%) Marketing
11 2 (0.72%) Organisational Skills
11 2 (0.72%) Retail
12 1 (0.36%) Automotive
12 1 (0.36%) Financial Institution
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 9 (3.25%) SAML
2 7 (2.53%) OpenID
3 6 (2.17%) ARM Templates
3 6 (2.17%) REST
4 4 (1.44%) Microsoft Graph
4 4 (1.44%) OAuth
4 4 (1.44%) SOAP
4 4 (1.44%) Web Services
5 2 (0.72%) ADO
5 2 (0.72%) AWS CDK
5 2 (0.72%) LDAP
5 2 (0.72%) Middleware
5 2 (0.72%) Node.js
5 2 (0.72%) OAuth2
5 2 (0.72%) YAML
6 1 (0.36%) Gherkin
6 1 (0.36%) RESTful
6 1 (0.36%) Software Packaging
6 1 (0.36%) Swagger
Miscellaneous
1 25 (9.03%) Hybrid Cloud
2 16 (5.78%) Data Centre
3 14 (5.05%) PKI
4 12 (4.33%) Analytical Mindset
5 10 (3.61%) Replication
6 7 (2.53%) Enterprise Software
6 7 (2.53%) Private Cloud
7 6 (2.17%) Onboarding
8 5 (1.81%) Clustering
8 5 (1.81%) Management Information System
8 5 (1.81%) NHS
8 5 (1.81%) Self-Motivation
9 4 (1.44%) Mobile App
10 3 (1.08%) Cyber Threat
10 3 (1.08%) Digital Signage
10 3 (1.08%) Public Cloud
11 2 (0.72%) Legacy Systems
11 2 (0.72%) Linux Command Line
11 2 (0.72%) Smartphone
12 1 (0.36%) Educational Technology
Operating Systems
1 126 (45.49%) Windows
2 60 (21.66%) Linux
3 53 (19.13%) Windows Server
4 12 (4.33%) Windows 10
5 10 (3.61%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 10 (3.61%) Windows Server 2012
6 8 (2.89%) Ubuntu
7 7 (2.53%) Windows Server 2019
8 5 (1.81%) Android
8 5 (1.81%) Apple iOS
9 4 (1.44%) VMS
9 4 (1.44%) Windows Server 2016
10 3 (1.08%) CentOS
10 3 (1.08%) SUSE
10 3 (1.08%) Unix
11 2 (0.72%) Mac OS
11 2 (0.72%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
12 1 (0.36%) Oracle Linux
12 1 (0.36%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 269 (97.11%) Infrastructure Engineering
2 56 (20.22%) Problem-Solving
3 48 (17.33%) ITIL
4 44 (15.88%) DevOps
5 32 (11.55%) Infrastructure as Code
6 29 (10.47%) Disaster Recovery
7 26 (9.39%) Infrastructure Automation
8 24 (8.66%) CI/CD
8 24 (8.66%) Migration
9 20 (7.22%) Service Management
10 19 (6.86%) High Availability
11 18 (6.50%) Cybersecurity
12 16 (5.78%) Mobile Device Management
13 14 (5.05%) Agile
13 14 (5.05%) Continuous Improvement
13 14 (5.05%) DevSecOps
13 14 (5.05%) Project Delivery
14 13 (4.69%) Mentoring
14 13 (4.69%) Preventative Maintenance
14 13 (4.69%) SIEM
Programming Languages
1 51 (18.41%) PowerShell
2 29 (10.47%) Python
3 20 (7.22%) Bash
4 14 (5.05%) Bicep
5 8 (2.89%) SQL
6 7 (2.53%) JavaScript
7 6 (2.17%) Perl
8 5 (1.81%) Java
8 5 (1.81%) PHP
8 5 (1.81%) Shell Script
9 4 (1.44%) Go
10 2 (0.72%) Groovy
10 2 (0.72%) TypeScript
11 1 (0.36%) C++
11 1 (0.36%) Kusto Query Language
11 1 (0.36%) Ruby
11 1 (0.36%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 100 (36.10%) Security Cleared
2 79 (28.52%) SC Cleared
3 28 (10.11%) Azure Certification
4 26 (9.39%) DV Cleared
5 22 (7.94%) Microsoft Certification
6 17 (6.14%) Network+ Certification
7 12 (4.33%) Server+ Certification
8 8 (2.89%) AWS Certification
8 8 (2.89%) Degree
9 7 (2.53%) Cisco Certification
10 6 (2.17%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
11 5 (1.81%) CCNA
12 4 (1.44%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
12 4 (1.44%) CISM
12 4 (1.44%) CISSP
12 4 (1.44%) Computer Science Degree
12 4 (1.44%) FFIEC
13 3 (1.08%) BPSS Clearance
13 3 (1.08%) CompTIA Security+
13 3 (1.08%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 9 (3.25%) GDPR
2 7 (2.53%) NIST
2 7 (2.53%) SLA
3 5 (1.81%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 4 (1.44%) GLBA
4 4 (1.44%) PCI DSS
5 3 (1.08%) Cyber Essentials
5 3 (1.08%) NIST 800
6 2 (0.72%) HIPAA
6 2 (0.72%) QA
6 2 (0.72%) SOC 2
System Software
1 80 (28.88%) Active Directory
2 77 (27.80%) VMware Infrastructure
3 46 (16.61%) Hyper-V
4 23 (8.30%) Docker
5 18 (6.50%) vSphere
6 8 (2.89%) VMware NSX
7 7 (2.53%) VMware ESXi
8 4 (1.44%) Virtual Desktop
8 4 (1.44%) Virtual Machines
9 3 (1.08%) DFS Replication
9 3 (1.08%) Sendmail
10 2 (0.72%) Tivoli Directory Server
11 1 (0.36%) BitLocker
11 1 (0.36%) Firmware
11 1 (0.36%) Slurm Workload Manager
11 1 (0.36%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 45 (16.25%) Terraform
2 35 (12.64%) Ansible
3 28 (10.11%) Kubernetes
4 26 (9.39%) SCCM
5 22 (7.94%) Microsoft Intune
6 14 (5.05%) vCenter Server
7 12 (4.33%) Single Sign-On
8 6 (2.17%) Packer
8 6 (2.17%) Red Hat Satellite
9 4 (1.44%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 4 (1.44%) Nessus
10 3 (1.08%) Dell DRAC
10 3 (1.08%) FortiGate
10 3 (1.08%) Microsoft Data Protection Manager
10 3 (1.08%) Prometheus
10 3 (1.08%) VxRail
11 2 (0.72%) CA Wily
11 2 (0.72%) Progress Chef
11 2 (0.72%) SCOM
11 2 (0.72%) WSUS
Vendors
1 105 (37.91%) Microsoft
2 100 (36.10%) VMware
3 16 (5.78%) Cisco
3 16 (5.78%) Red Hat
4 15 (5.42%) ServiceNow
5 12 (4.33%) Google
6 11 (3.97%) Citrix
6 11 (3.97%) Dell
6 11 (3.97%) Veeam
7 8 (2.89%) Palo Alto
7 8 (2.89%) Splunk
8 7 (2.53%) F5
9 5 (1.81%) Aruba
9 5 (1.81%) IBM
10 4 (1.44%) CheckPoint
10 4 (1.44%) Oracle
10 4 (1.44%) SAP
10 4 (1.44%) SolarWinds
11 3 (1.08%) EMC
11 3 (1.08%) HP