Embedded Software Engineer Contract Job Trends

Embedded Software Engineer
UK

The median Embedded Software Engineer daily rate in the UK is £475, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 6 November 2025.

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

6 months to
6 Nov 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 550 438 479
Rank change year-on-year -112 +41 +282
Contract jobs requiring an Embedded Software Engineer 24 113 155
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.069% 0.31% 0.33%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.076% 0.33% 0.36%
Number of daily rates quoted 1 31 49
10th Percentile - £400 £375
25th Percentile £463 £425 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% -4.76% +20.00%
75th Percentile £488 £525 £560
90th Percentile - £550 £575
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £500 £525
% change year-on-year -5.00% -4.76% +18.31%
Number of hourly rates quoted 13 46 91
10th Percentile £61.25 £52.50 £51.25
25th Percentile £62.50 £61.28 £54.00
Median hourly rate £66.50 £68.75 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year -3.27% +5.77% +13.04%
75th Percentile £68.00 £70.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £68.75 £74.38 £90.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £66.50 £68.75 £65.00
% change year-on-year -3.27% +5.77% +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 31,481 33,928 43,540
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 90.93% 92.88% 93.81%
Number of daily rates quoted 19,970 20,456 29,619
10th Percentile £279 £300 £299
25th Percentile £402 £412 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £623 £638 £650
90th Percentile £725 £738 £743
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £490 £500
% change year-on-year -3.06% -2.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,790 1,271 1,517
10th Percentile £14.09 £15.10 £14.90
25th Percentile £17.69 £20.22 £19.06
Median hourly rate £25.15 £37.00 £45.00
Median % change year-on-year -32.03% -17.78% +55.71%
75th Percentile £51.19 £65.00 £65.00
90th Percentile £69.65 £73.75 £77.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.15 £36.00 £44.50
% change year-on-year -30.14% -19.10% +85.42%

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
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 6 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 6 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 -86 23 £475 -5.00% 181
UK excluding London -125 23 £475 -5.00% 216
East of England -19 10 £475 -5.00% 72
South West -30 7 - - 44
Work from Home +3 6 - - 68
South East -28 5 - - 38
Scotland +1 1 - - 32
London -7 1 - - 10

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

For the 6 months to 6 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 24 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 14 (58.33%) UML
3 13 (54.17%) SysML
4 11 (45.83%) C
5 10 (41.67%) SC Cleared
5 10 (41.67%) Security Cleared
5 10 (41.67%) Validation
6 9 (37.50%) C++
6 9 (37.50%) Rational DOORS
6 9 (37.50%) Systems Engineering
7 8 (33.33%) Test Scripting
8 6 (25.00%) Embedded C++
8 6 (25.00%) Firmware
8 6 (25.00%) Linux
8 6 (25.00%) MISRA
9 5 (20.83%) Ada
9 5 (20.83%) Agile
9 5 (20.83%) C#
9 5 (20.83%) Configuration Management
9 5 (20.83%) Continuous Integration
9 5 (20.83%) Def Stans
9 5 (20.83%) DevOps
9 5 (20.83%) DO-178B
9 5 (20.83%) Docker
9 5 (20.83%) FreeRTOS
9 5 (20.83%) Git
9 5 (20.83%) Jenkins
9 5 (20.83%) JIRA
9 5 (20.83%) Software Testing
9 5 (20.83%) Technical Leadership

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 (4.17%) Simulink
Communications & Networking
1 4 (16.67%) Ethernet
2 1 (4.17%) RS-232
Development Applications
1 9 (37.50%) Rational DOORS
2 5 (20.83%) Git
2 5 (20.83%) Jenkins
2 5 (20.83%) JIRA
3 1 (4.17%) Polyspace
3 1 (4.17%) Rational Rhapsody
General
1 9 (37.50%) Electronics
2 8 (33.33%) Analytical Skills
3 3 (12.50%) Aerospace
3 3 (12.50%) Law
4 1 (4.17%) Automotive
Miscellaneous
1 6 (25.00%) Embedded Systems
2 5 (20.83%) CAN bus
3 4 (16.67%) PCIe
4 1 (4.17%) CUDA
4 1 (4.17%) Data Protection Act
4 1 (4.17%) Renewable Energy
Operating Systems
1 6 (25.00%) Linux
2 5 (20.83%) FreeRTOS
2 5 (20.83%) Windows
3 1 (4.17%) Android
Processes & Methodologies
1 24 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 14 (58.33%) UML
3 13 (54.17%) SysML
4 10 (41.67%) Validation
5 9 (37.50%) Systems Engineering
6 8 (33.33%) Test Scripting
7 5 (20.83%) Agile
7 5 (20.83%) Configuration Management
7 5 (20.83%) Continuous Integration
7 5 (20.83%) DevOps
7 5 (20.83%) Software Testing
7 5 (20.83%) Technical Leadership
8 4 (16.67%) Collaborative Culture
9 3 (12.50%) Mentoring
10 1 (4.17%) CI/CD
10 1 (4.17%) Data Analysis
10 1 (4.17%) Data Protection
10 1 (4.17%) Integration Testing
10 1 (4.17%) Multithreading
10 1 (4.17%) System Testing
Programming Languages
1 11 (45.83%) C
2 9 (37.50%) C++
3 6 (25.00%) Embedded C++
4 5 (20.83%) Ada
4 5 (20.83%) C#
5 3 (12.50%) Embedded C
6 2 (8.33%) MATLAB
7 1 (4.17%) Java
7 1 (4.17%) Kotlin
7 1 (4.17%) Python
Qualifications
1 10 (41.67%) SC Cleared
1 10 (41.67%) Security Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 6 (25.00%) MISRA
2 5 (20.83%) Def Stans
2 5 (20.83%) DO-178B
3 1 (4.17%) AUTOSAR
3 1 (4.17%) ISO 26262
3 1 (4.17%) MISRA C
System Software
1 6 (25.00%) Firmware
2 5 (20.83%) Docker
2 5 (20.83%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 1 (4.17%) Functional Safety
Vendors
1 1 (4.17%) NVIDIA
1 1 (4.17%) QNX
1 1 (4.17%) Sitecore