Software Engineering Director Contract Job Trends
Director of Software Engineering
UK
The median Director of Software Engineering daily rate in the UK is £850, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 29 October 2026.
The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 29 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 692 | 564 | - |
| Rank change year-on-year | -128 | - | - |
| Contract Software Engineering Director jobs | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the UK | 0.002% | 0.003% | - |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.002% | 0.003% | - |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10th Percentile | - | - | - |
| 25th Percentile | £775 | - | - |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £850 | - | - |
| 75th Percentile | £925 | - | - |
| 90th Percentile | - | - | - |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £850 | - | - |
All Contract IT Job Roles
UK
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job adverts matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all contract IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 29 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract job adverts in the UK matching a recognised job title | 50,192 | 31,079 | 34,191 |
| % of contract job adverts matching a recognised job title | 91.65% | 90.91% | 92.93% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 29,573 | 19,672 | 20,643 |
| 10th Percentile | £325 | £280 | £300 |
| 25th Percentile | £425 | £402 | £413 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £500 | £525 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +5.00% | -4.76% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £638 | £620 | £638 |
| 90th Percentile | £738 | £725 | £738 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £500 | £475 | £490 |
| % change year-on-year | +5.26% | -3.06% | -2.00% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 4,192 | 1,719 | 1,309 |
| 10th Percentile | £14.22 | £13.85 | £15.06 |
| 25th Percentile | £18.75 | £17.30 | £20.30 |
| Median hourly rate | £41.00 | £25.15 | £39.50 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +63.02% | -36.33% | -12.22% |
| 75th Percentile | £68.00 | £50.00 | £65.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £81.25 | £69.49 | £73.75 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £40.00 | £25.00 | £40.00 |
| % change year-on-year | +60.00% | -37.50% | -10.11% |
Software Engineering Director Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract Software Engineering Director job postings relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.
Software Engineering Director Daily Rate Trend
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Software Engineering Director job vacancies in the UK.
Software Engineering Director Top 5 Contract Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in Software Engineering Director jobs within the UK over the 6 months to 29 October 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 |
Job Ads Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | -130 | 1 | £850 | - | 7 |
| Work from Home | - | 1 | £850 | - | 4 |
| UK excluding London | - | 1 | £850 | - | 4 |
| Midlands | - | 1 | £850 | - | 3 |
| West Midlands | - | 1 | £850 | - | 3 |
Software Engineering Director Skill Set Top 9 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 29 October 2026, Software Engineering Director contract job ads cited 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 Software Engineering Director job ads.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agile | 100.0% | 1 |
| 1 | Backlog Management | 100.0% | 1 |
| 1 | CI/CD | 100.0% | 1 |
| 1 | Coaching | 100.0% | 1 |
| 1 | DevSecOps | 100.0% | 1 |
| 1 | Platform Engineering | 100.0% | 1 |
| 1 | Scaled Agile Framework | 100.0% | 1 |
| 1 | SDLC | 100.0% | 1 |
| 1 | Software Engineering | 100.0% | 1 |
Software Engineering Director Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Job Titles
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Software Engineering Manager | 100.0% | 1 |