Principal Engineer
UK
The median Principal Engineer daily rate in the UK is £540, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 26 April 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 26 Apr 2025 |
Same period 2024 | Same period 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 428 | 444 | 620 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +16 | +176 | +127 |
| Contract jobs requiring a Principal Engineer | 94 | 142 | 102 |
| As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK | 0.32% | 0.33% | 0.17% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.35% | 0.35% | 0.18% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 40 | 27 | 53 |
| 10th Percentile | £425 | £520 | £466 |
| 25th Percentile | £498 | £525 | £600 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £540 | £600 | £725 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -10.00% | -17.24% | +20.83% |
| 75th Percentile | £638 | £725 | £788 |
| 90th Percentile | £725 | £800 | £870 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £575 | £550 | £608 |
| % change year-on-year | +4.55% | -9.47% | +5.65% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 18 | 102 | 17 |
| 10th Percentile | £48.54 | £50.00 | £51.89 |
| 25th Percentile | £59.81 | £54.75 | £65.00 |
| Median hourly rate | £68.75 | £67.50 | £83.31 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +1.85% | -18.98% | +57.68% |
| 75th Percentile | £78.15 | £76.97 | £83.40 |
| 90th Percentile | £82.77 | £80.00 | - |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £68.75 | £67.50 | £83.31 |
| % change year-on-year | +1.85% | -18.98% | +55.88% |
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 | 27,190 | 40,487 | 56,783 |
| % of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title | 92.56% | 92.78% | 94.58% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 17,798 | 26,411 | 39,621 |
| 10th Percentile | £300 | £275 | £313 |
| 25th Percentile | £408 | £408 | £425 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £517 | £525 | £540 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -1.62% | -2.78% | +2.86% |
| 75th Percentile | £625 | £638 | £650 |
| 90th Percentile | £738 | £750 | £750 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £475 | £490 | £500 |
| % change year-on-year | -3.13% | -1.93% | +5.26% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 1,031 | 2,642 | 1,607 |
| 10th Percentile | £14.20 | £12.86 | £14.28 |
| 25th Percentile | £18.51 | £16.30 | £19.45 |
| Median hourly rate | £29.23 | £35.68 | £45.00 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -18.08% | -20.71% | +95.65% |
| 75th Percentile | £62.50 | £60.00 | £65.75 |
| 90th Percentile | £75.00 | £72.50 | £75.60 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £28.75 | £37.50 | £42.50 |
| % change year-on-year | -23.33% | -11.76% | +117.95% |
Principal Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend
Job postings that featured Principal Engineer in the job title as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.
Principal Engineer
Contractor Daily Rate Trend
3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing Principal Engineer.
Principal Engineer
Daily Rate Histogram
Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Principal Engineer over the 6 months to 26 April 2025.
Principal Engineer
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend
3-month moving average hourly rates quoted in jobs citing Principal Engineer.
Principal Engineer
Hourly Rate Histogram
Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Principal Engineer over the 6 months to 26 April 2025.
Principal Engineer
Top 14 Contract Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Principal Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 26 April 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 | +42 | 88 | £540 | -10.00% | 625 |
| London | +79 | 51 | £540 | -16.92% | 204 |
| UK excluding London | -25 | 39 | £575 | +4.55% | 450 |
| Work from Home | +56 | 30 | £500 | -16.67% | 278 |
| South West | +39 | 12 | £575 | - | 68 |
| East of England | +10 | 10 | - | - | 84 |
| North of England | +17 | 8 | £625 | +19.05% | 116 |
| North West | +14 | 8 | £625 | +19.05% | 86 |
| South East | +30 | 7 | £500 | -35.48% | 101 |
| Midlands | +13 | 3 | £75 | -86.36% | 57 |
| Scotland | +10 | 2 | - | - | 24 |
| East Midlands | - | 2 | £75 | - | 17 |
| West Midlands | +5 | 1 | - | - | 39 |
| Wales | - | 1 | - | - | 6 |
Principal Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities
For the 6 months to 26 April 2025, Principal 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 Engineer in the job title.
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Principal 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:
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