Security Architect Contract Job Trends

Security Architect
UK

The median Security Architect daily rate in the UK is £625, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 15 September 2026.

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

6 months to
15 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 247 243 241
Rank change year-on-year -4 -2 -14
Contract jobs requiring a Security Architect 592 355 380
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.09% 1.09% 1.00%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.18% 1.20% 1.07%
Number of daily rates quoted 404 221 221
10th Percentile £500 £504 £500
25th Percentile £539 £581 £613
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £625 £675 £700
Median % change year-on-year -7.41% -3.57% +2.94%
75th Percentile £750 £753 £775
90th Percentile £838 £800 £825
UK excluding London median daily rate £620 £675 £669
% change year-on-year -8.15% +0.90% -0.89%
Number of hourly rates quoted 7 3 7
10th Percentile - £86.00 £81.83
25th Percentile £60.00 £91.25 £84.67
Median hourly rate £70.00 £100.00 £87.46
Median % change year-on-year -30.00% +14.34% +24.94%
75th Percentile £83.00 £102.75 -
90th Percentile - £104.40 -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £70.00 £100.00 £87.46
% change year-on-year -30.00% +14.34% +22.46%

All Contract IT Job Roles
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 50,255 29,550 35,480
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.36% 91.04% 93.02%
Number of daily rates quoted 29,827 18,649 21,961
10th Percentile £325 £278 £300
25th Percentile £425 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -0.94%
75th Percentile £625 £620 £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 3,770 1,552 1,702
10th Percentile £14.59 £13.69 £14.73
25th Percentile £20.25 £17.00 £20.50
Median hourly rate £42.15 £25.15 £43.00
Median % change year-on-year +67.59% -41.51% -1.96%
75th Percentile £67.50 £51.83 £65.00
90th Percentile £79.00 £70.00 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £42.50 £25.15 £45.00
% change year-on-year +68.99% -44.11% +6.95%

Security Architect
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings featuring 'Security Architect' in the job title relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

Security Architect job vacancy trend in the UK

Security Architect
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Security Architect job vacancies in the UK.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Security Architect job vacancies in the UK

Security Architect
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Security Architect over the 6 months to 15 September 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Security Architect in the UK

Security Architect
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Security Architect job vacancies in the UK.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Security Architect job vacancies in the UK

Security Architect
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 Security Architect within the UK over the 6 months to 15 September 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 -17 506 £625 -7.41% 500
London -4 262 £650 -3.70% 263
UK excluding London -38 230 £620 -8.15% 249
Work from Home 0 194 £600 -12.73% 275
South East -2 111 £639 +6.46% 78
North of England -63 54 £600 -16.35% 52
North West -31 42 £600 -16.35% 47
Midlands -32 31 £638 +0.99% 37
West Midlands -39 30 £638 -1.92% 29
South West -54 26 £604 -7.08% 36
Yorkshire -32 9 £350 -41.67% 2
East of England -25 7 £625 +25.00% 8
Channel Islands - 2 £638 - 2
East Midlands -11 1 - - 8

Security Architect Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 15 September 2026, Security Architect 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 Security Architect in the job title.

1 320 (54.05%) Security Architecture
2 271 (45.78%) Security Cleared
3 207 (34.97%) Cybersecurity
4 185 (31.25%) Azure
5 183 (30.91%) SC Cleared
6 171 (28.89%) Cloud Security
7 164 (27.70%) Threat Modelling
8 144 (24.32%) AWS
9 139 (23.48%) NIST
10 117 (19.76%) CISSP
11 98 (16.55%) ISO/IEC 27001
12 96 (16.22%) Identity Access Management
13 94 (15.88%) Zero Trust
14 93 (15.71%) Risk Management
15 89 (15.03%) AI
16 88 (14.86%) DV Cleared
17 85 (14.36%) Stakeholder Management
18 82 (13.85%) Network Security
18 82 (13.85%) TOGAF
19 80 (13.51%) Architectural Patterns
20 76 (12.84%) Microsoft
21 72 (12.16%) Stakeholder Engagement
22 67 (11.32%) GCP
23 66 (11.15%) Roadmaps
24 65 (10.98%) SABSA
25 61 (10.30%) Data Protection
26 60 (10.14%) Information Security
27 59 (9.97%) NCSC
28 57 (9.63%) CI/CD
29 56 (9.46%) DevSecOps

Security Architect 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:

Application Platforms
1 3 (0.51%) IIS
2 2 (0.34%) Confluence
2 2 (0.34%) SAS
2 2 (0.34%) SharePoint
Applications
1 4 (0.68%) Microsoft PowerPoint
Business Applications
1 2 (0.34%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
2 1 (0.17%) SAP EHS
Cloud Services
1 185 (31.25%) Azure
2 144 (24.32%) AWS
3 67 (11.32%) GCP
4 36 (6.08%) Entra ID
5 19 (3.21%) SaaS
6 17 (2.87%) Azure Sentinel
7 13 (2.20%) Microsoft 365
8 12 (2.03%) Dynamics 365
9 8 (1.35%) Azure Key Vault
10 5 (0.84%) Anthropic Claude
10 5 (0.84%) AWS Control Tower
10 5 (0.84%) Azure AI
10 5 (0.84%) IaaS
10 5 (0.84%) Microsoft Purview
10 5 (0.84%) OCI
10 5 (0.84%) PaaS
10 5 (0.84%) Vertex AI
11 4 (0.68%) Azure DevOps
11 4 (0.68%) Azure Synapse Analytics
11 4 (0.68%) GitHub
Communications & Networking
1 82 (13.85%) Network Security
2 44 (7.43%) Firewall
3 13 (2.20%) VPN
4 12 (2.03%) WAN
5 8 (1.35%) SD-WAN
5 8 (1.35%) VLAN
6 7 (1.18%) 4G
6 7 (1.18%) IPsec
7 6 (1.01%) LAN
7 6 (1.01%) NGFW
8 5 (0.84%) 5G
8 5 (0.84%) BGP
8 5 (0.84%) OSPF
8 5 (0.84%) Radio Access Network
9 4 (0.68%) Intranet
9 4 (0.68%) MPLS
10 3 (0.51%) Cisco IOS
10 3 (0.51%) EIGRP
10 3 (0.51%) Internet
10 3 (0.51%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 5 (0.84%) Data Lake
2 2 (0.34%) Big Data
3 1 (0.17%) BigQuery
3 1 (0.17%) Data Warehouse
3 1 (0.17%) Metadata
Development Applications
1 9 (1.52%) Jenkins
2 5 (0.84%) JIRA
3 3 (0.51%) Claude Code
4 2 (0.34%) GitLab
General
1 97 (16.39%) Social Skills
2 65 (10.98%) Public Sector
3 53 (8.95%) Finance
4 28 (4.73%) Banking
4 28 (4.73%) Influencing Skills
5 24 (4.05%) Documentation Skills
6 21 (3.55%) Analytical Skills
6 21 (3.55%) Legal
7 15 (2.53%) Telecoms
8 14 (2.36%) Manufacturing
9 10 (1.69%) Military
9 10 (1.69%) Police
10 7 (1.18%) Aerospace
10 7 (1.18%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 7 (1.18%) Law
11 5 (0.84%) Pharmaceutical
12 4 (0.68%) Automotive
12 4 (0.68%) Local Government
12 4 (0.68%) Presentation Skills
12 4 (0.68%) Retail
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 24 (4.05%) Terraform
2 17 (2.87%) OAuth
3 12 (2.03%) OpenID
4 11 (1.86%) OAuth2
4 11 (1.86%) SAML
5 6 (1.01%) REST
5 6 (1.01%) SLSA
6 5 (0.84%) Azure Blueprints
6 5 (0.84%) LangChain
6 5 (0.84%) ModSecurity
6 5 (0.84%) PyTorch
7 4 (0.68%) Jakarta EE
7 4 (0.68%) JSP
7 4 (0.68%) LDAP
8 3 (0.51%) .NET
8 3 (0.51%) HTML
8 3 (0.51%) JWT
8 3 (0.51%) scikit-learn
9 2 (0.34%) EDI
9 2 (0.34%) TensorFlow
Miscellaneous
1 52 (8.78%) Security Posture
2 48 (8.11%) Cloud Native
3 34 (5.74%) Operational Technology
4 32 (5.41%) Management Information System
5 19 (3.21%) Onboarding
6 15 (2.53%) AI Agents
7 14 (2.36%) Cyber Threat
7 14 (2.36%) Data Centre
8 13 (2.20%) Enterprise Cloud
9 11 (1.86%) Hybrid Cloud
10 10 (1.69%) Public Cloud
11 9 (1.52%) Cloud Security Posture
12 8 (1.35%) Private Cloud
13 7 (1.18%) Legacy Systems
13 7 (1.18%) PKI
14 6 (1.01%) Data Protection Act
14 6 (1.01%) Enterprise Software
14 6 (1.01%) IoT
14 6 (1.01%) Self-Motivation
15 5 (0.84%) Data Fabric
Operating Systems
1 11 (1.86%) Linux
2 9 (1.52%) Windows
2 9 (1.52%) Windows Server
3 4 (0.68%) Alpine Linux
3 4 (0.68%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
3 4 (0.68%) Ubuntu
4 2 (0.34%) Unix
5 1 (0.17%) Android
Processes & Methodologies
1 320 (54.05%) Security Architecture
2 207 (34.97%) Cybersecurity
3 171 (28.89%) Cloud Security
4 164 (27.70%) Threat Modelling
5 96 (16.22%) Identity Access Management
6 94 (15.88%) Zero Trust
7 93 (15.71%) Risk Management
8 89 (15.03%) AI
9 85 (14.36%) Stakeholder Management
10 82 (13.85%) TOGAF
11 80 (13.51%) Architectural Patterns
12 72 (12.16%) Stakeholder Engagement
13 66 (11.15%) Roadmaps
14 65 (10.98%) SABSA
15 61 (10.30%) Data Protection
16 60 (10.14%) Information Security
17 57 (9.63%) CI/CD
18 56 (9.46%) DevSecOps
18 56 (9.46%) Enterprise Architecture
19 54 (9.12%) Vulnerability Management
Programming Languages
1 18 (3.04%) Python
2 10 (1.69%) Java
3 9 (1.52%) PowerShell
4 8 (1.35%) Bicep
5 5 (0.84%) Groovy
5 5 (0.84%) Shell Script
6 4 (0.68%) Bash
7 3 (0.51%) JavaScript
8 2 (0.34%) SQL
9 1 (0.17%) R
Qualifications
1 271 (45.78%) Security Cleared
2 183 (30.91%) SC Cleared
3 117 (19.76%) CISSP
4 88 (14.86%) DV Cleared
5 54 (9.12%) CISM
6 47 (7.94%) Cisco Certification
7 42 (7.09%) (ISC)2 CCSP
8 30 (5.07%) CCSP
9 23 (3.89%) AWS Certification
10 21 (3.55%) Degree
11 18 (3.04%) CISA
12 16 (2.70%) Azure Certification
12 16 (2.70%) TOGAF Certification
13 11 (1.86%) SANS
14 9 (1.52%) CEH
15 8 (1.35%) CompTIA Security+
15 8 (1.35%) GIAC
15 8 (1.35%) ISSAP
15 8 (1.35%) Microsoft Certification
16 7 (1.18%) CRISC
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 139 (23.48%) NIST
2 98 (16.55%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 59 (9.97%) NCSC
4 41 (6.93%) GDPR
5 31 (5.24%) GRC
6 21 (3.55%) NIST 800
7 20 (3.38%) PCI DSS
8 11 (1.86%) HMG Security Policy Framework
9 10 (1.69%) Cyber Essentials
9 10 (1.69%) Government Security Classifications
9 10 (1.69%) JSP 440
10 8 (1.35%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
11 7 (1.18%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
11 7 (1.18%) EU AI Act
12 6 (1.01%) ISO 19650
12 6 (1.01%) ISO/IEC 27005
12 6 (1.01%) ISO/IEC 42001
12 6 (1.01%) QA
13 5 (0.84%) COBIT
13 5 (0.84%) HIPAA
System Software
1 19 (3.21%) Active Directory
2 15 (2.53%) Docker
3 6 (1.01%) VMware Infrastructure
4 3 (0.51%) ISA Server
5 2 (0.34%) Hyper-V
5 2 (0.34%) VMware ESXi
5 2 (0.34%) vSphere
6 1 (0.17%) KVM
6 1 (0.17%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 26 (4.39%) Kubernetes
2 11 (1.86%) Ansible
3 7 (1.18%) Single Sign-On
4 6 (1.01%) CASB
5 4 (0.68%) QRadar
6 3 (0.51%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 2 (0.34%) Docker Swarm
7 2 (0.34%) Istio
8 1 (0.17%) FortiGate
8 1 (0.17%) Microsoft Intune
8 1 (0.17%) Suricata
Vendors
1 76 (12.84%) Microsoft
2 25 (4.22%) Google
3 21 (3.55%) Cisco
4 16 (2.70%) Palo Alto
5 15 (2.53%) Splunk
6 13 (2.20%) CrowdStrike
7 12 (2.03%) Fortinet
8 10 (1.69%) Salesforce
8 10 (1.69%) SAP
9 8 (1.35%) Qualys
9 8 (1.35%) Tenable
10 7 (1.18%) Okta
10 7 (1.18%) VMware
10 7 (1.18%) Zscaler
11 6 (1.01%) F5
11 6 (1.01%) IFS
11 6 (1.01%) Juniper
12 4 (0.68%) CheckPoint
12 4 (0.68%) Databricks
12 4 (0.68%) IBM