Systems Engineer Contract Job Trends

System Engineer
UK

The median System Engineer daily rate in the UK is £475, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 28 September 2026.

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

6 months to
28 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 235 389 265
Rank change year-on-year +154 -124 +76
Contract jobs requiring a Systems Engineer 621 172 329
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.14% 0.52% 0.86%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.24% 0.58% 0.93%
Number of daily rates quoted 141 53 78
10th Percentile £325 £269 £325
25th Percentile £413 £363 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £475 £450
Median % change year-on-year - +5.56% -18.18%
75th Percentile £575 £600 £534
90th Percentile £725 £624 £647
UK excluding London median daily rate £481 £475 £425
% change year-on-year +1.32% +11.76% -22.73%
Number of hourly rates quoted 305 47 94
10th Percentile £48.75 £44.94 £36.16
25th Percentile £57.50 £50.00 £45.47
Median hourly rate £67.47 £62.50 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year +7.95% -3.85% +15.06%
75th Percentile £74.25 £74.38 £70.00
90th Percentile £80.00 £75.79 £76.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £67.50 £62.50 £65.00
% change year-on-year +8.00% -3.85% +15.06%

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 50,147 29,864 35,507
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.20% 91.01% 92.98%
Number of daily rates quoted 29,583 18,880 21,565
10th Percentile £325 £275 £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 £630 £623 £638
90th Percentile £731 £725 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 3,922 1,610 1,584
10th Percentile £14.50 £13.75 £14.85
25th Percentile £20.00 £17.30 £20.50
Median hourly rate £41.72 £25.15 £43.00
Median % change year-on-year +65.89% -41.51% -3.37%
75th Percentile £67.50 £51.61 £65.00
90th Percentile £78.75 £68.57 £74.96
UK excluding London median hourly rate £42.00 £25.08 £43.00
% change year-on-year +67.50% -41.69% -2.27%

Systems Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Systems Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK

Systems Engineer
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Systems Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Systems Engineer job vacancies in the UK

Systems Engineer
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Systems Engineer over the 6 months to 28 September 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Systems Engineer in the UK

Systems Engineer
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Systems Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Systems Engineer job vacancies in the UK

Systems Engineer
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Systems Engineer over the 6 months to 28 September 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Systems Engineer in the UK

Systems Engineer
Top 16 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Systems Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 28 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 +144 579 £498 +4.74% 1,255
UK excluding London +113 515 £481 +1.32% 969
South West +57 156 £540 +8.00% 126
South East +54 154 £518 -5.91% 293
Work from Home -2 92 £465 -15.45% 419
London -23 92 £475 +3.83% 301
North of England -21 69 £400 -13.51% 131
Midlands -2 61 £475 +11.76% 128
East of England -8 45 £215 -62.61% 139
North West -32 44 £500 +8.11% 63
West Midlands -23 33 £425 - 87
East Midlands +4 28 £475 - 41
Wales +2 17 £465 - 21
North East - 16 £350 - 29
Scotland -26 13 £775 +55.00% 128
Yorkshire -32 9 £275 - 40

Systems Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 28 September 2026, Systems Engineer 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 Systems Engineer in the job title.

1 116 (18.68%) Systems Engineering
2 105 (16.91%) Security Cleared
3 94 (15.14%) SC Cleared
4 60 (9.66%) Validation
5 56 (9.02%) Linux
6 54 (8.70%) Windows
7 40 (6.44%) Microsoft
7 40 (6.44%) Rational DOORS
7 40 (6.44%) Verification and Validation
8 31 (4.99%) Azure
8 31 (4.99%) Degree
9 30 (4.83%) Model-Based Systems Engineering
9 30 (4.83%) Problem-Solving
9 30 (4.83%) Python
10 28 (4.51%) Active Directory
10 28 (4.51%) Windows Server
11 25 (4.03%) Configuration Management
12 24 (3.86%) Requirements Management
13 23 (3.70%) VMware
14 22 (3.54%) VMware Infrastructure
15 21 (3.38%) Ansible
15 21 (3.38%) Disaster Recovery
15 21 (3.38%) DNS
16 20 (3.22%) ITIL
16 20 (3.22%) MATLAB
17 19 (3.06%) Firewall
17 19 (3.06%) Hyper-V
17 19 (3.06%) PowerShell
18 18 (2.90%) Simulink
19 17 (2.74%) DHCP

Systems Engineer 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 5 (0.81%) Microsoft Exchange
2 4 (0.64%) JBoss
2 4 (0.64%) SAS
3 3 (0.48%) SharePoint
4 2 (0.32%) Confluence
5 1 (0.16%) IIS
Applications
1 18 (2.90%) Simulink
2 4 (0.64%) Stateflow
3 2 (0.32%) Solid Edge
4 1 (0.16%) Microsoft Office
Business Applications
1 3 (0.48%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 31 (4.99%) Azure
2 16 (2.58%) AWS
3 15 (2.42%) Entra ID
3 15 (2.42%) Microsoft 365
4 12 (1.93%) OpenShift
5 10 (1.61%) SaaS
6 6 (0.97%) GCP
7 5 (0.81%) GitHub
8 3 (0.48%) Azure Monitor
8 3 (0.48%) GitHub Actions
8 3 (0.48%) IaaS
9 2 (0.32%) Azure Logic Apps
9 2 (0.32%) Cloud Computing
9 2 (0.32%) Cloudflare
9 2 (0.32%) OneDrive
10 1 (0.16%) Amazon EC2
10 1 (0.16%) Amazon EKS
10 1 (0.16%) Amazon S3
10 1 (0.16%) Figma
10 1 (0.16%) Route 53
Communications & Networking
1 21 (3.38%) DNS
2 19 (3.06%) Firewall
3 17 (2.74%) DHCP
4 13 (2.09%) TCP/IP
5 12 (1.93%) VPN
6 10 (1.61%) Network Security
7 8 (1.29%) LAN
8 7 (1.13%) Modbus
9 6 (0.97%) IPv4
9 6 (0.97%) Kerberos
10 5 (0.81%) ATM
10 5 (0.81%) VLAN
11 4 (0.64%) WAN
12 3 (0.48%) Ethernet
12 3 (0.48%) NAS
12 3 (0.48%) Remote Desktop
12 3 (0.48%) SAN
12 3 (0.48%) Software-Defined Networking
12 3 (0.48%) VoIP
13 2 (0.32%) DKIM
Database & Business Intelligence
1 6 (0.97%) GIS
2 4 (0.64%) Big Data
2 4 (0.64%) Hadoop
3 3 (0.48%) SQL Server
4 1 (0.16%) Amazon RDS
4 1 (0.16%) Db2
4 1 (0.16%) Geospatial Data
4 1 (0.16%) NoSQL
4 1 (0.16%) PostgreSQL
4 1 (0.16%) QGIS
4 1 (0.16%) Spatial Data
Development Applications
1 40 (6.44%) Rational DOORS
2 7 (1.13%) Rational Rhapsody
3 4 (0.64%) JIRA
4 3 (0.48%) Git
4 3 (0.48%) Jenkins
5 1 (0.16%) CANoe
5 1 (0.16%) Claude Code
5 1 (0.16%) Storybook
General
1 99 (15.94%) Aerospace
2 51 (8.21%) Avionics
3 47 (7.57%) Social Skills
4 28 (4.51%) Analytical Skills
5 25 (4.03%) Manufacturing
6 24 (3.86%) Automotive
7 19 (3.06%) Military
8 18 (2.90%) Finance
9 10 (1.61%) Law
10 8 (1.29%) Electronics
11 6 (0.97%) Aviation
12 4 (0.64%) Documentation Skills
12 4 (0.64%) Games
12 4 (0.64%) Influencing Skills
12 4 (0.64%) Telecoms
13 3 (0.48%) Presentation Skills
14 1 (0.16%) Banking
14 1 (0.16%) Legal
14 1 (0.16%) Local Government
14 1 (0.16%) Public Sector
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 13 (2.09%) Terraform
2 6 (0.97%) NETCONF
2 6 (0.97%) OpenID
2 6 (0.97%) SAML
3 5 (0.81%) XML
4 3 (0.48%) ARM Templates
4 3 (0.48%) ISPF
5 2 (0.32%) FastAPI
5 2 (0.32%) HTML
5 2 (0.32%) Microsoft Graph
5 2 (0.32%) React
5 2 (0.32%) REST
6 1 (0.16%) CSS
6 1 (0.16%) ODBC
6 1 (0.16%) OpenGL
6 1 (0.16%) OpenLayers
6 1 (0.16%) Qt
6 1 (0.16%) RESTful
6 1 (0.16%) SailPoint
6 1 (0.16%) Streamlit
Miscellaneous
1 15 (2.42%) SCADA
2 14 (2.25%) Operational Technology
3 9 (1.45%) Algorithms
3 9 (1.45%) Renewable Energy
4 8 (1.29%) Cloud Native
4 8 (1.29%) Hybrid Cloud
5 7 (1.13%) CUDA
5 7 (1.13%) IoT
6 6 (0.97%) CCTV
6 6 (0.97%) Mainframe
6 6 (0.97%) Management Information System
6 6 (0.97%) Virtual Team
7 5 (0.81%) AI Agents
7 5 (0.81%) CAN bus
7 5 (0.81%) Clustering
8 4 (0.64%) Animation
8 4 (0.64%) Data Centre
8 4 (0.64%) Distributed Computing
8 4 (0.64%) Legacy Systems
8 4 (0.64%) Security Operations Centre
Operating Systems
1 56 (9.02%) Linux
2 54 (8.70%) Windows
3 28 (4.51%) Windows Server
4 14 (2.25%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 8 (1.29%) Unix
6 6 (0.97%) Windows 10
7 4 (0.64%) zOS
8 3 (0.48%) MVS
9 2 (0.32%) Debian
10 1 (0.16%) FreeRTOS
10 1 (0.16%) Rocky
10 1 (0.16%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 116 (18.68%) Systems Engineering
2 60 (9.66%) Validation
3 40 (6.44%) Verification and Validation
4 30 (4.83%) Model-Based Systems Engineering
4 30 (4.83%) Problem-Solving
5 25 (4.03%) Configuration Management
6 24 (3.86%) Requirements Management
7 21 (3.38%) Disaster Recovery
8 20 (3.22%) ITIL
9 17 (2.74%) Infrastructure as Code
9 17 (2.74%) Root Cause Analysis
10 15 (2.42%) AI
10 15 (2.42%) Stakeholder Management
11 14 (2.25%) Infrastructure Engineering
12 13 (2.09%) Business Continuity
12 13 (2.09%) Data Integration
12 13 (2.09%) Migration
13 12 (1.93%) Agile
13 12 (1.93%) Continuous Improvement
13 12 (1.93%) Workflow
Programming Languages
1 30 (4.83%) Python
2 20 (3.22%) MATLAB
3 19 (3.06%) PowerShell
4 11 (1.77%) Bash
5 9 (1.45%) C
5 9 (1.45%) SQL
6 7 (1.13%) C++
7 6 (0.97%) REXX
8 4 (0.64%) Bicep
8 4 (0.64%) Rust
9 3 (0.48%) Java
9 3 (0.48%) JCL
9 3 (0.48%) Perl
10 2 (0.32%) TypeScript
11 1 (0.16%) COBOL
11 1 (0.16%) Go
11 1 (0.16%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 105 (16.91%) Security Cleared
2 94 (15.14%) SC Cleared
3 31 (4.99%) Degree
4 13 (2.09%) BPSS Clearance
5 7 (1.13%) Azure Certification
5 7 (1.13%) Microsoft Certification
6 5 (0.81%) Chartered Engineer
6 5 (0.81%) DV Cleared
7 4 (0.64%) Computer Science Degree
7 4 (0.64%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
8 3 (0.48%) AWS Certification
8 3 (0.48%) CCA
8 3 (0.48%) Cisco Certification
8 3 (0.48%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
8 3 (0.48%) Master's Degree
9 2 (0.32%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
9 2 (0.32%) CCNA
10 1 (0.16%) HNC
10 1 (0.16%) Network+ Certification
10 1 (0.16%) Server+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 7 (1.13%) Def Stans
2 5 (0.81%) QA
3 3 (0.48%) GxP
3 3 (0.48%) ISO/IEC 15288
3 3 (0.48%) NCSC
4 2 (0.32%) DO-254
5 1 (0.16%) Accessibility
5 1 (0.16%) ARP4761
5 1 (0.16%) Cyber Essentials
5 1 (0.16%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
5 1 (0.16%) Data Quality
5 1 (0.16%) DICOM
5 1 (0.16%) Disclosure Scotland
5 1 (0.16%) GMP
5 1 (0.16%) HAZOP
5 1 (0.16%) HL7
5 1 (0.16%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 1 (0.16%) MIL-STD-1553
5 1 (0.16%) SLA
5 1 (0.16%) WCAG
System Software
1 28 (4.51%) Active Directory
2 22 (3.54%) VMware Infrastructure
3 19 (3.06%) Hyper-V
4 8 (1.29%) Docker
5 6 (0.97%) Slurm Workload Manager
5 6 (0.97%) Virtual Machines
6 4 (0.64%) Virtual Desktop
7 2 (0.32%) Firmware
7 2 (0.32%) VMware Workstation
8 1 (0.16%) Embedded Firmware
8 1 (0.16%) Job Entry Subsystem
8 1 (0.16%) KVM
8 1 (0.16%) Microsoft App-V
8 1 (0.16%) VMware ESXi
8 1 (0.16%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 21 (3.38%) Ansible
2 16 (2.58%) Puppet
3 15 (2.42%) Kubernetes
4 9 (1.45%) Microsoft Intune
5 6 (0.97%) Progress Chef
6 5 (0.81%) Failover Clustering
6 5 (0.81%) Red Hat Satellite
7 4 (0.64%) Grafana
7 4 (0.64%) Prometheus
8 3 (0.48%) Istio
9 2 (0.32%) Functional Safety
9 2 (0.32%) Salt
9 2 (0.32%) SCCM
9 2 (0.32%) Tivoli NetView
10 1 (0.16%) Amdocs OSS
10 1 (0.16%) Check_MK
10 1 (0.16%) Control-M
10 1 (0.16%) Microsoft Clustering
10 1 (0.16%) Packer
10 1 (0.16%) Podman
Vendors
1 40 (6.44%) Microsoft
2 23 (3.70%) VMware
3 17 (2.74%) EMC
4 15 (2.42%) Red Hat
5 11 (1.77%) Cisco
6 10 (1.61%) IBM
7 7 (1.13%) NVIDIA
7 7 (1.13%) Splunk
8 6 (0.97%) SaltStack
8 6 (0.97%) ServiceNow
9 4 (0.64%) AVEVA
9 4 (0.64%) Perforce
10 3 (0.48%) Fortinet
10 3 (0.48%) Okta
10 3 (0.48%) Rockwell
10 3 (0.48%) Sparx
11 2 (0.32%) BeyondTrust
11 2 (0.32%) Broadcom
11 2 (0.32%) CrowdStrike
11 2 (0.32%) Google