Principal Engineer
UK
The median Principal Engineer daily rate in the UK is £535, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 2 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 2 Apr 2025 |
Same period 2024 | Same period 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 433 | 464 | 634 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +31 | +170 | +146 |
| Contract jobs requiring a Principal Engineer | 84 | 128 | 94 |
| As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK | 0.29% | 0.29% | 0.15% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.31% | 0.31% | 0.16% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 38 | 26 | 44 |
| 10th Percentile | £425 | £469 | £433 |
| 25th Percentile | £500 | £525 | £550 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £535 | £600 | £688 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -10.83% | -12.73% | +14.58% |
| 75th Percentile | £634 | £700 | £791 |
| 90th Percentile | £725 | £788 | £910 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £575 | £550 | £608 |
| % change year-on-year | +4.55% | -9.47% | -10.00% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 15 | 87 | 17 |
| 10th Percentile | £48.09 | £45.90 | £51.89 |
| 25th Percentile | £54.24 | £52.50 | £70.00 |
| Median hourly rate | £67.50 | £67.50 | £83.31 |
| Median % change year-on-year | - | -18.98% | +55.88% |
| 75th Percentile | £77.93 | £76.86 | £83.40 |
| 90th Percentile | £82.05 | £80.00 | - |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £67.50 | £67.50 | £83.31 |
| % change year-on-year | - | -18.98% | +42.03% |
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 | 26,982 | 41,031 | 59,665 |
| % of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title | 92.80% | 92.82% | 94.63% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 17,741 | 26,885 | 41,699 |
| 10th Percentile | £300 | £275 | £310 |
| 25th Percentile | £406 | £408 | £425 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £520 | £525 | £545 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -1.05% | -3.58% | +3.71% |
| 75th Percentile | £628 | £638 | £650 |
| 90th Percentile | £738 | £738 | £750 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £475 | £488 | £500 |
| % change year-on-year | -2.56% | -2.50% | +5.26% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 945 | 2,527 | 1,683 |
| 10th Percentile | £15.07 | £12.86 | £14.30 |
| 25th Percentile | £20.85 | £16.25 | £19.06 |
| Median hourly rate | £32.50 | £32.90 | £43.86 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -1.20% | -25.00% | +93.69% |
| 75th Percentile | £64.50 | £60.00 | £65.75 |
| 90th Percentile | £76.25 | £71.87 | £75.00 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £31.76 | £33.00 | £41.91 |
| % change year-on-year | -3.76% | -21.25% | +115.12% |
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 2 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 2 April 2025.
Principal Engineer
Top 15 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 2 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 | +48 | 78 | £535 | -10.83% | 655 |
| London | +69 | 48 | £530 | -24.29% | 221 |
| UK excluding London | +15 | 32 | £575 | +4.55% | 489 |
| Work from Home | +63 | 31 | £502 | -16.94% | 280 |
| South West | +30 | 12 | £575 | - | 58 |
| North of England | +24 | 8 | £625 | +19.05% | 131 |
| South East | +42 | 7 | £500 | -35.48% | 110 |
| North West | +6 | 7 | £625 | +19.05% | 94 |
| Midlands | +16 | 3 | £75 | -86.36% | 69 |
| East of England | +9 | 3 | - | - | 75 |
| Scotland | +6 | 2 | - | - | 37 |
| East Midlands | - | 2 | £75 | - | 19 |
| West Midlands | +7 | 1 | - | - | 50 |
| North East | -6 | 1 | - | - | 7 |
| Wales | - | 1 | - | - | 8 |
Principal Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities
For the 6 months to 2 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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