Embedded Engineer Contract Job Trends

Embedded Engineer
UK

The median Embedded Engineer daily rate in the UK is £525, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 29 July 2026.

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

6 months to
29 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 491 515 434
Rank change year-on-year +24 -81 +74
Contract jobs requiring an Embedded Engineer 173 29 141
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.33% 0.088% 0.35%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.36% 0.097% 0.38%
Number of daily rates quoted 10 13 29
10th Percentile £433 £475 £356
25th Percentile £513 £519 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £538 £475
Median % change year-on-year -2.33% +13.16% -1.30%
75th Percentile £538 £626 £550
90th Percentile £557 £653 £575
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £538 £475
% change year-on-year -2.33% +13.16% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 138 8 95
10th Percentile £48.64 £47.90 £47.70
25th Percentile £62.00 £58.31 £57.50
Median hourly rate £66.50 £62.00 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year +7.26% -11.43% +21.74%
75th Percentile £68.00 £87.50 -
90th Percentile £70.00 £88.25 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £66.50 £62.00 £70.00
% change year-on-year +7.26% -11.43% +7.69%

All Contract IT Job Roles
UK

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies. 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 with a recognized job title 48,690 30,025 37,043
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.66% 91.50% 92.98%
Number of daily rates quoted 29,369 19,114 23,981
10th Percentile £331 £282 £300
25th Percentile £425 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -1.87%
75th Percentile £625 £623 £638
90th Percentile £725 £725 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 3,338 1,460 2,193
10th Percentile £15.50 £13.69 £14.05
25th Percentile £21.25 £17.30 £19.09
Median hourly rate £43.61 £25.15 £42.50
Median % change year-on-year +73.38% -40.82% -1.88%
75th Percentile £68.00 £55.00 £65.00
90th Percentile £80.10 £73.75 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £45.00 £25.15 £43.00
% change year-on-year +78.93% -41.51% +7.50%

Embedded Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Embedded Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK

Embedded Engineer
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Embedded Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Embedded Engineer job vacancies in the UK

Embedded Engineer
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Embedded Engineer over the 6 months to 29 July 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Embedded Engineer in the UK

Embedded Engineer
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Embedded Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Embedded Engineer job vacancies in the UK

Embedded Engineer
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Embedded Engineer over the 6 months to 29 July 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Embedded Engineer in the UK

Embedded Engineer
Top 12 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Embedded Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 29 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
UK excluding London +37 168 £525 -2.33% 115
England +24 166 £525 -2.33% 127
East of England +19 50 - - 27
Work from Home -16 49 £525 -16.13% 48
South West +8 47 £425 - 19
South East -37 40 £525 -16.13% 35
Midlands -45 15 - - 11
West Midlands - 15 - - 2
North West - 9 - - 6
North of England - 9 - - 16
Scotland -11 7 - - 3
London -59 5 £525 - 19

Embedded Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 29 July 2026, Embedded 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 featuring Embedded Engineer in the job title.

1 142 (82.08%) Software Engineering
2 48 (27.75%) Ada
3 43 (24.86%) C
4 37 (21.39%) Linux
5 28 (16.18%) Security Cleared
6 23 (13.29%) C++
6 23 (13.29%) SC Cleared
6 23 (13.29%) Software-Defined Radio
7 19 (10.98%) Wireless
8 18 (10.40%) UML
9 17 (9.83%) Embedded Linux
10 16 (9.25%) Rational Rhapsody
10 16 (9.25%) Validation
11 14 (8.09%) SysML
12 13 (7.51%) Embedded C
12 13 (7.51%) Signal Processing
13 12 (6.94%) Verification and Validation
14 11 (6.36%) Digital Signal Processing
14 11 (6.36%) Firmware
15 10 (5.78%) Rational DOORS
15 10 (5.78%) Software Testing
16 9 (5.20%) Yocto
17 8 (4.62%) Embedded Software Development
17 8 (4.62%) Problem-Solving
18 7 (4.05%) CI/CD
18 7 (4.05%) Def Stans
18 7 (4.05%) DevOps
18 7 (4.05%) FreeRTOS
18 7 (4.05%) Python
19 6 (3.47%) Embedded Firmware

Embedded Engineer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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 1 (0.58%) Confluence
Applications
1 1 (0.58%) Microsoft Office
Cloud Services
1 1 (0.58%) AWS
Communications & Networking
1 23 (13.29%) Software-Defined Radio
2 19 (10.98%) Wireless
3 5 (2.89%) Ethernet
4 2 (1.16%) Bluetooth
Database & Business Intelligence
1 2 (1.16%) SQL Server Reporting Services
2 1 (0.58%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 16 (9.25%) Rational Rhapsody
2 10 (5.78%) Rational DOORS
3 5 (2.89%) Git
4 1 (0.58%) Atlassian Bamboo
4 1 (0.58%) CMake
4 1 (0.58%) GitLab
4 1 (0.58%) GoogleTest
4 1 (0.58%) JIRA
4 1 (0.58%) PetaLinux
General
1 38 (21.97%) Aerospace
2 9 (5.20%) Social Skills
3 8 (4.62%) Automotive
4 5 (2.89%) Documentation Skills
4 5 (2.89%) Electronics
5 3 (1.73%) Manufacturing
6 2 (1.16%) Analytical Skills
6 2 (1.16%) Law
6 2 (1.16%) Telecoms
7 1 (0.58%) Military
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 9 (5.20%) Yocto
2 2 (1.16%) QML
2 2 (1.16%) Qt
3 1 (0.58%) PostGIS
Miscellaneous
1 23 (13.29%) Embedded Systems
2 9 (5.20%) Device Driver
3 6 (3.47%) FPGA
3 6 (3.47%) RISC-V
4 5 (2.89%) PCIe
5 4 (2.31%) MicroBlaze
6 3 (1.73%) ARM Cortex
7 1 (0.58%) ASIC
7 1 (0.58%) CAN bus
7 1 (0.58%) Verilog
7 1 (0.58%) VHDL
7 1 (0.58%) Video\Live Streaming
Operating Systems
1 37 (21.39%) Linux
2 17 (9.83%) Embedded Linux
3 7 (4.05%) FreeRTOS
4 1 (0.58%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 142 (82.08%) Software Engineering
2 18 (10.40%) UML
3 16 (9.25%) Validation
4 14 (8.09%) SysML
5 13 (7.51%) Signal Processing
6 12 (6.94%) Verification and Validation
7 11 (6.36%) Digital Signal Processing
8 10 (5.78%) Software Testing
9 8 (4.62%) Embedded Software Development
9 8 (4.62%) Problem-Solving
10 7 (4.05%) CI/CD
10 7 (4.05%) DevOps
11 6 (3.47%) Test Automation
12 5 (2.89%) Agile
12 5 (2.89%) Data Acquisition
12 5 (2.89%) Hardware-in-the-Loop
12 5 (2.89%) Performance Engineering
12 5 (2.89%) Workflow
12 5 (2.89%) Workflow Management
13 4 (2.31%) Issue Tracking
Programming Languages
1 48 (27.75%) Ada
2 43 (24.86%) C
3 23 (13.29%) C++
4 13 (7.51%) Embedded C
5 7 (4.05%) Python
6 4 (2.31%) Embedded C++
7 2 (1.16%) Rust
8 1 (0.58%) Shell Script
8 1 (0.58%) SystemVerilog
8 1 (0.58%) Tcl
Qualifications
1 28 (16.18%) Security Cleared
2 23 (13.29%) SC Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 7 (4.05%) Def Stans
2 4 (2.31%) MISRA
3 2 (1.16%) DO-178B
3 2 (1.16%) ISO 26262
System Software
1 11 (6.36%) Firmware
2 6 (3.47%) Embedded Firmware
3 1 (0.58%) Docker
Vendors
1 4 (2.31%) Lauterbach
2 2 (1.16%) EMC
2 2 (1.16%) QNX
3 1 (0.58%) Google
3 1 (0.58%) NVIDIA
3 1 (0.58%) Xilinx