Network Design Contract Job Trends

Network Design
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring Network Design skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 14 August 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
14 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 450 369 313
Rank change year-on-year -81 -56 +80
Contract jobs citing Network Design 214 188 247
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.40% 0.57% 0.63%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 0.47% 0.63% 0.74%
Number of daily rates quoted 137 128 135
10th Percentile £375 £400 £363
25th Percentile £425 £425 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £500 £475
Median % change year-on-year +2.50% +5.26% -13.64%
75th Percentile £575 £625 £575
90th Percentile £650 £688 £645
UK excluding London median daily rate £505 £512 £465
% change year-on-year -1.32% +10.05% -7.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 8 2 4
10th Percentile £32.65 £56.13 £26.25
25th Percentile £50.31 £57.81 £31.88
Median hourly rate £65.50 £61.25 £55.00
Median % change year-on-year +6.94% +11.36% -21.43%
75th Percentile £74.75 £65.31 £75.00
90th Percentile £83.76 £67.38 -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £72.00 £55.00 £55.00
% change year-on-year +30.91% - -21.43%

All Process & Methodology Skills
UK

Network Design 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.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 45,278 29,786 33,285
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 84.80% 90.49% 85.51%
Number of daily rates quoted 27,840 18,586 21,275
10th Percentile £325 £300 £310
25th Percentile £423 £404 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -3.67%
75th Percentile £625 £625 £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 2,823 1,710 1,832
10th Percentile £14.22 £14.20 £14.05
25th Percentile £18.50 £17.31 £18.46
Median hourly rate £42.30 £25.15 £41.50
Median % change year-on-year +68.19% -39.40% -2.35%
75th Percentile £68.00 £48.75 £65.00
90th Percentile £81.25 £68.00 £74.83
UK excluding London median hourly rate £43.96 £23.00 £42.50
% change year-on-year +91.13% -45.88% +13.33%

Network Design
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Network Design relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

Network Design job vacancy trend in the UK

Network Design
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Network Design.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Network Design

Network Design
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Network Design over the 6 months to 14 August 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Network Design in the UK

Network Design
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Network Design.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Network Design

Network Design
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Network Design over the 6 months to 14 August 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Network Design in the UK

Network Design
Top 14 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Network Design within the UK over the 6 months to 14 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
England -86 187 £525 +0.96% 146
UK excluding London -103 116 £505 -1.32% 73
London -58 65 £525 +10.53% 87
Work from Home -37 64 £469 -20.21% 58
South East -74 40 £513 -10.87% 17
North of England -60 33 £575 +21.05% 20
North West -43 25 £575 +21.05% 8
South West -51 15 £495 -22.66% 7
Scotland -2 14 £380 -16.48% 6
Midlands -55 10 £425 - 12
West Midlands -60 10 £425 - 7
East of England -14 7 £525 +0.96% 3
Yorkshire -35 7 £519 -9.74% 11
North East - 7 £650 - 2

Network Design
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 12 (5.61%) OpenStack
2 3 (1.40%) Apache
2 3 (1.40%) CloudStack
3 2 (0.93%) Microsoft Exchange
3 2 (0.93%) Skype for Business
4 1 (0.47%) ArcGIS
4 1 (0.47%) Confluence
4 1 (0.47%) Smallworld
Applications
1 10 (4.67%) Microsoft PowerPoint
1 10 (4.67%) MS Visio
2 9 (4.21%) Microsoft Office
3 8 (3.74%) Microsoft Excel
4 3 (1.40%) AutoCAD
5 1 (0.47%) Autodesk Inventor
5 1 (0.47%) CPLEX
5 1 (0.47%) MicroStation
Cloud Services
1 59 (27.57%) Azure
2 55 (25.70%) AWS
3 15 (7.01%) OCI
4 10 (4.67%) GitHub
4 10 (4.67%) SaaS
5 9 (4.21%) GCP
6 7 (3.27%) Azure ExpressRoute
6 7 (3.27%) OpenShift
7 6 (2.80%) IaaS
8 5 (2.34%) Nutanix
9 4 (1.87%) Azure Sentinel
9 4 (1.87%) Entra ID
10 3 (1.40%) AWS Control Tower
11 2 (0.93%) Azure Storage
11 2 (0.93%) Datadog
11 2 (0.93%) GitHub Actions
11 2 (0.93%) PaaS
12 1 (0.47%) AWS Direct Connect
12 1 (0.47%) Microsoft 365
12 1 (0.47%) Virtual Private Cloud
Communications & Networking
1 93 (43.46%) Firewall
2 73 (34.11%) BGP
3 63 (29.44%) WAN
4 59 (27.57%) OSPF
5 38 (17.76%) VPN
6 37 (17.29%) VLAN
7 35 (16.36%) Network Security
8 34 (15.89%) LAN
9 33 (15.42%) VXLAN
10 31 (14.49%) SD-WAN
11 30 (14.02%) 5G
11 30 (14.02%) Wi-Fi
12 27 (12.62%) 4G
13 25 (11.68%) Ethernet VPN
13 25 (11.68%) MPLS
14 23 (10.75%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
15 22 (10.28%) Radio Access Network
16 18 (8.41%) BIG-IP
17 17 (7.94%) Wireless
18 15 (7.01%) IPsec
Database & Business Intelligence
1 3 (1.40%) Metadata
2 1 (0.47%) GIS
Development Applications
1 13 (6.07%) GitLab
2 3 (1.40%) Jenkins
3 2 (0.93%) JIRA
4 1 (0.47%) Git
General
1 48 (22.43%) Social Skills
2 33 (15.42%) Telecoms
3 22 (10.28%) Analytical Skills
4 21 (9.81%) Public Sector
5 10 (4.67%) Documentation Skills
6 9 (4.21%) Legal
7 8 (3.74%) Manufacturing
8 7 (3.27%) Retail
9 5 (2.34%) Finance
10 3 (1.40%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 3 (1.40%) Police
11 2 (0.93%) Banking
11 2 (0.93%) Billing
11 2 (0.93%) Military
12 1 (0.47%) Aviation
12 1 (0.47%) German Language
12 1 (0.47%) Pharmaceutical
12 1 (0.47%) Polish Language
12 1 (0.47%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 73 (34.11%) Network Engineer
2 47 (21.96%) Architect
3 45 (21.03%) Senior
4 34 (15.89%) Network Specialist
5 28 (13.08%) Network Architect
6 24 (11.21%) Senior Network Engineer
7 22 (10.28%) Network Design Specialist
8 19 (8.88%) Designer
9 16 (7.48%) Infrastructure Engineer
10 13 (6.07%) Design Engineer
10 13 (6.07%) Network Designer
10 13 (6.07%) Senior Infrastructure Engineer
11 10 (4.67%) Security Architect
11 10 (4.67%) Senior Data Warehouse Specialist
11 10 (4.67%) Senior Network Specialist
12 9 (4.21%) Network Design Engineer
13 7 (3.27%) Lead
13 7 (3.27%) Solutions Architect
14 6 (2.80%) Consultant
14 6 (2.80%) Security Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 11 (5.14%) NETCONF
1 11 (5.14%) YANG
2 8 (3.74%) 802.1X
3 6 (2.80%) OpenConfig
3 6 (2.80%) REST
3 6 (2.80%) RESTCONF
4 4 (1.87%) Azure Blueprints
4 4 (1.87%) Kafka
5 3 (1.40%) Elastic Stack
6 1 (0.47%) eBPF
Miscellaneous
1 66 (30.84%) Data Centre
2 45 (21.03%) Hybrid Cloud
3 27 (12.62%) Cloud Native
4 10 (4.67%) Management Information System
5 9 (4.21%) Data Protection Act
6 8 (3.74%) Public Cloud
7 6 (2.80%) Analytical Mindset
7 6 (2.80%) Operational Technology
8 5 (2.34%) IoT
8 5 (2.34%) PKI
8 5 (2.34%) Private Cloud
9 4 (1.87%) CMDB
9 4 (1.87%) Security Posture
10 3 (1.40%) Data Fabric
10 3 (1.40%) Enterprise Software
10 3 (1.40%) Product Ownership
10 3 (1.40%) SCADA
11 2 (0.93%) Enterprise Storage
11 2 (0.93%) Handset
11 2 (0.93%) Replication
Operating Systems
1 15 (7.01%) Linux
2 13 (6.07%) Windows
3 10 (4.67%) Windows Server
4 8 (3.74%) Ubuntu
5 4 (1.87%) Alpine Linux
5 4 (1.87%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 2 (0.93%) Data ONTAP
6 2 (0.93%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 41 (19.16%) Network Architecture
2 37 (17.29%) High Availability
3 36 (16.82%) Zero Trust
4 34 (15.89%) Problem-Solving
5 33 (15.42%) Infrastructure as Code
5 33 (15.42%) Migration
5 33 (15.42%) Project Delivery
6 31 (14.49%) Stakeholder Management
7 27 (12.62%) DevOps
7 27 (12.62%) Roadmaps
8 26 (12.15%) Load Balancing
8 26 (12.15%) Validation
9 24 (11.21%) Technical Leadership
10 23 (10.75%) Infrastructure Engineering
11 22 (10.28%) CI/CD
12 21 (9.81%) Continuous Improvement
13 18 (8.41%) Capacity Planning
14 17 (7.94%) Cybersecurity
14 17 (7.94%) Stakeholder Engagement
15 13 (6.07%) Data Protection
Programming Languages
1 43 (20.09%) Python
2 7 (3.27%) PowerShell
3 6 (2.80%) Bicep
4 2 (0.93%) Bash
5 1 (0.47%) ActionScript
Qualifications
1 66 (30.84%) Security Cleared
2 56 (26.17%) Cisco Certification
3 43 (20.09%) SC Cleared
4 41 (19.16%) CCNP
5 20 (9.35%) CCIE
6 14 (6.54%) DV Cleared
7 13 (6.07%) JNCIE
8 12 (5.61%) CCNA
9 11 (5.14%) Degree
10 9 (4.21%) Azure Certification
11 8 (3.74%) AWS Certification
12 7 (3.27%) CISSP
13 6 (2.80%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
14 5 (2.34%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
15 4 (1.87%) CISM
16 2 (0.93%) GIAC
16 2 (0.93%) ISSAP
16 2 (0.93%) Microsoft Certification
16 2 (0.93%) NCDA
16 2 (0.93%) VCDX
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 9 (4.21%) NIST
2 4 (1.87%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 3 (1.40%) GxP
3 3 (1.40%) NIST 800
3 3 (1.40%) Sarbanes-Oxley
4 2 (0.93%) Actionable Recommendations
4 2 (0.93%) GDPR
4 2 (0.93%) HIPAA
4 2 (0.93%) NCSC
4 2 (0.93%) QA
4 2 (0.93%) SLA
4 2 (0.93%) SOC 2
5 1 (0.47%) Cyber Essentials
5 1 (0.47%) Def Stans
5 1 (0.47%) Disclosure Scotland
System Software
1 20 (9.35%) VMware Infrastructure
2 11 (5.14%) Hyper-V
3 10 (4.67%) vSphere
4 9 (4.21%) VMware NSX
5 6 (2.80%) Active Directory
6 3 (1.40%) Firmware
6 3 (1.40%) VMware ESXi
7 2 (0.93%) EMC RecoverPoint
7 2 (0.93%) FreeRADIUS
7 2 (0.93%) NFS
7 2 (0.93%) SRDF
8 1 (0.47%) KVM
Systems Management
1 45 (21.03%) Ansible
2 40 (18.69%) Terraform
3 11 (5.14%) Kubernetes
4 9 (4.21%) FortiGate
5 6 (2.80%) Grafana
5 6 (2.80%) Prometheus
6 3 (1.40%) Check_MK
6 3 (1.40%) vCenter Server
7 2 (0.93%) Argo
7 2 (0.93%) Cisco Prime
7 2 (0.93%) EMC NetWorker
7 2 (0.93%) EMC VPLEX
7 2 (0.93%) McAfee ePO
7 2 (0.93%) NetBackup
7 2 (0.93%) SnapMirror
7 2 (0.93%) SnapVault
7 2 (0.93%) SolarWinds Orion
8 1 (0.47%) QRadar
8 1 (0.47%) Suricata
8 1 (0.47%) vRealize
Vendors
1 91 (42.52%) Cisco
2 54 (25.23%) Palo Alto
3 42 (19.63%) F5
3 42 (19.63%) Fortinet
4 27 (12.62%) Microsoft
5 26 (12.15%) Juniper
6 25 (11.68%) VMware
7 22 (10.28%) Aruba
8 21 (9.81%) Arista
8 21 (9.81%) Nokia
9 18 (8.41%) Ericsson
10 14 (6.54%) CheckPoint
11 13 (6.07%) Huawei
12 12 (5.61%) Zscaler
13 9 (4.21%) Splunk
14 8 (3.74%) Meraki
15 7 (3.27%) SolarWinds
16 6 (2.80%) ServiceNow
17 5 (2.34%) Google
17 5 (2.34%) Veeam