Embedded Software Engineer Contract Job Trends

Embedded Software Engineer
UK

The median Embedded Software Engineer daily rate in the UK is £625, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 27 November 2025.

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

6 months to
27 Nov 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 529 449 454
Rank change year-on-year -80 +5 +312
Contract jobs requiring an Embedded Software Engineer 48 109 147
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.13% 0.30% 0.32%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.15% 0.32% 0.35%
Number of daily rates quoted 3 29 43
10th Percentile £493 £425 £338
25th Percentile £538 £450 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £625 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +25.00% -4.76% +16.67%
75th Percentile £638 £525 £550
90th Percentile - £550 £575
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £500 £525
% change year-on-year -5.00% -4.76% +16.67%
Number of hourly rates quoted 34 44 90
10th Percentile £61.63 £54.00 £51.75
25th Percentile £65.00 £61.82 £55.00
Median hourly rate £66.50 £67.50 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year -1.48% +3.85% +13.04%
75th Percentile £68.75 £70.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £70.00 £73.88 £90.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £66.50 £67.50 £65.00
% change year-on-year -1.48% +3.85% +13.04%

All Contract IT Job Vacancies
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 32,869 34,044 42,453
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 91.00% 92.79% 93.58%
Number of daily rates quoted 20,808 20,593 28,688
10th Percentile £281 £300 £290
25th Percentile £401 £410 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £619 £638 £649
90th Percentile £725 £738 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £494 £500
% change year-on-year -3.85% -1.20% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,928 1,258 1,517
10th Percentile £14.25 £15.22 £15.21
25th Percentile £17.88 £20.75 £19.12
Median hourly rate £25.15 £35.00 £44.50
Median % change year-on-year -28.14% -21.35% +48.33%
75th Percentile £56.69 £65.00 £65.00
90th Percentile £71.00 £74.00 £77.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.15 £35.00 £45.00
% change year-on-year -28.14% -22.22% +81.52%

Embedded Software Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Embedded Software Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK

Embedded Software Engineer
Daily Rate Trend

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

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

Embedded Software Engineer
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Embedded Software Engineer over the 6 months to 27 November 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Embedded Software Engineer in the UK

Embedded Software Engineer
Hourly Rate Trend

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

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

Embedded Software Engineer
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Embedded Software Engineer over the 6 months to 27 November 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Embedded Software Engineer in the UK

Embedded Software Engineer
Top 8 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 Software Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 27 November 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
England -75 46 £550 +10.00% 131
UK excluding London -102 45 £475 -5.00% 148
East of England +2 26 £475 -5.00% 48
Work from Home +7 13 - - 44
South West -41 13 - - 36
South East -35 5 - - 30
Scotland -1 1 - - 20
London - 1 - - 3

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

For the 6 months to 27 November 2025, Embedded Software 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 Software Engineer in the job title.

1 48 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 22 (45.83%) C
3 17 (35.42%) Security Cleared
4 16 (33.33%) SC Cleared
5 15 (31.25%) UML
6 14 (29.17%) C++
7 13 (27.08%) SysML
8 12 (25.00%) Rational DOORS
8 12 (25.00%) Validation
9 11 (22.92%) Ada
9 11 (22.92%) Systems Engineering
10 10 (20.83%) Embedded C
10 10 (20.83%) Embedded C++
11 9 (18.75%) Git
12 8 (16.67%) Firmware
12 8 (16.67%) MISRA
12 8 (16.67%) Test Scripting
13 7 (14.58%) Def Stans
13 7 (14.58%) DO-178B
13 7 (14.58%) JIRA
13 7 (14.58%) Linux
13 7 (14.58%) Virtual Machines
14 6 (12.50%) Agile
14 6 (12.50%) C#
14 6 (12.50%) Collaborative Culture
14 6 (12.50%) Configuration Management
15 5 (10.42%) Continuous Integration
15 5 (10.42%) DevOps
15 5 (10.42%) Docker
15 5 (10.42%) FreeRTOS

Embedded Software 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:

Applications
1 1 (2.08%) Simulink
Communications & Networking
1 4 (8.33%) Ethernet
2 1 (2.08%) RS-232
Development Applications
1 12 (25.00%) Rational DOORS
2 9 (18.75%) Git
3 7 (14.58%) JIRA
4 5 (10.42%) Jenkins
5 2 (4.17%) PVCS
6 1 (2.08%) Polyspace
6 1 (2.08%) Rational Rhapsody
6 1 (2.08%) Visual Studio
General
1 14 (29.17%) Electronics
2 10 (20.83%) Analytical Skills
3 5 (10.42%) Aerospace
4 3 (6.25%) Law
5 1 (2.08%) Automotive
5 1 (2.08%) Military
Miscellaneous
1 10 (20.83%) Embedded Systems
2 5 (10.42%) CAN bus
2 5 (10.42%) PCIe
3 1 (2.08%) CUDA
3 1 (2.08%) Data Protection Act
3 1 (2.08%) FPGA
3 1 (2.08%) Renewable Energy
Operating Systems
1 7 (14.58%) Linux
2 5 (10.42%) FreeRTOS
2 5 (10.42%) Windows
3 1 (2.08%) Android
3 1 (2.08%) Debian
3 1 (2.08%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 48 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 15 (31.25%) UML
3 13 (27.08%) SysML
4 12 (25.00%) Validation
5 11 (22.92%) Systems Engineering
6 8 (16.67%) Test Scripting
7 6 (12.50%) Agile
7 6 (12.50%) Collaborative Culture
7 6 (12.50%) Configuration Management
8 5 (10.42%) Continuous Integration
8 5 (10.42%) DevOps
8 5 (10.42%) Software Testing
8 5 (10.42%) Technical Leadership
9 3 (6.25%) Mentoring
10 2 (4.17%) Code Coverage
10 2 (4.17%) Requirements Analysis
10 2 (4.17%) SDLC
10 2 (4.17%) Unit Testing
10 2 (4.17%) Workflow
11 1 (2.08%) Change Management
Programming Languages
1 22 (45.83%) C
2 14 (29.17%) C++
3 11 (22.92%) Ada
4 10 (20.83%) Embedded C
4 10 (20.83%) Embedded C++
5 6 (12.50%) C#
6 2 (4.17%) MATLAB
6 2 (4.17%) Python
7 1 (2.08%) Java
7 1 (2.08%) Kotlin
Qualifications
1 17 (35.42%) Security Cleared
2 16 (33.33%) SC Cleared
3 1 (2.08%) Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 8 (16.67%) MISRA
2 7 (14.58%) Def Stans
2 7 (14.58%) DO-178B
3 1 (2.08%) AUTOSAR
3 1 (2.08%) ISO 26262
3 1 (2.08%) MISRA C
System Software
1 8 (16.67%) Firmware
2 7 (14.58%) Virtual Machines
3 5 (10.42%) Docker
4 2 (4.17%) VMware Infrastructure
Systems Management
1 1 (2.08%) Functional Safety
Vendors
1 2 (4.17%) ANSYS
1 2 (4.17%) IBM
1 2 (4.17%) VMware
2 1 (2.08%) NVIDIA
2 1 (2.08%) QNX
2 1 (2.08%) Sitecore