Principal Data Engineer
UK
The median Principal Data Engineer daily rate in the UK is £700, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 1 July 2025.
The table below provides contractor rate benchmarking and summary statistics, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 1 Jul 2025 |
Same period 2024 | Same period 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 529 | 585 | 667 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +56 | +82 | +187 |
| Contract jobs requiring a Principal Data Engineer | 7 | 6 | 15 |
| As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK | 0.023% | 0.014% | 0.027% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.025% | 0.015% | 0.028% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 2 | 3 | 13 |
| 10th Percentile | - | £491 | - |
| 25th Percentile | £675 | £514 | £663 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £700 | £558 | £725 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +25.56% | -23.10% | +17.89% |
| 75th Percentile | £725 | £581 | £788 |
| 90th Percentile | - | £592 | - |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £700 | - | - |
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 | 28,350 | 40,134 | 52,706 |
| % of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title | 92.02% | 92.98% | 94.46% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 18,122 | 25,769 | 36,623 |
| 10th Percentile | £288 | £282 | £313 |
| 25th Percentile | £401 | £410 | £425 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £500 | £525 | £538 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -4.76% | -2.33% | +1.42% |
| 75th Percentile | £625 | £638 | £650 |
| 90th Percentile | £738 | £750 | £750 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £475 | £493 | £500 |
| % change year-on-year | -3.65% | -1.40% | +4.17% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 1,269 | 2,866 | 1,533 |
| 10th Percentile | £13.77 | £12.86 | £14.25 |
| 25th Percentile | £17.33 | £16.50 | £19.00 |
| Median hourly rate | £26.50 | £37.50 | £43.00 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -29.33% | -12.79% | +69.37% |
| 75th Percentile | £56.25 | £62.50 | £65.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £73.75 | £74.00 | £76.00 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £25.15 | £40.00 | £40.00 |
| % change year-on-year | -37.13% | - | +100.00% |
Principal Data Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend
Job postings that featured Principal Data Engineer in the job title as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.
Principal Data Engineer
Contractor Daily Rate Trend
3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing Principal Data Engineer.
Principal Data Engineer
Top 6 Contract Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Principal Data Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 1 July 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 | +60 | 6 | £700 | +25.56% | 118 |
| London | +46 | 5 | £700 | +25.56% | 51 |
| UK excluding London | - | 2 | £700 | - | 71 |
| North of England | - | 1 | £700 | - | 17 |
| North West | - | 1 | £700 | - | 8 |
| Wales | - | 1 | - | - | 2 |
Principal Data Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities
For the 6 months to 1 July 2025, Principal Data Engineer contract job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads featuring Principal Data Engineer in the job title.
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Principal Data Engineer Skill Set
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities by Category
The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories: