Systems Engineer Contract Job Trends

System Engineer
UK

The median System Engineer daily rate in the UK is £500, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 12 October 2026.

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

6 months to
12 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 238 398 282
Rank change year-on-year +160 -116 +54
Contract jobs requiring a Systems Engineer 624 160 307
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.14% 0.49% 0.81%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.24% 0.53% 0.87%
Number of daily rates quoted 129 53 74
10th Percentile £345 £300 £327
25th Percentile £425 £363 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £465 £444
Median % change year-on-year +7.53% +4.79% -19.32%
75th Percentile £590 £575 £525
90th Percentile £725 £618 £670
UK excluding London median daily rate £495 £475 £425
% change year-on-year +4.21% +11.76% -24.11%
Number of hourly rates quoted 308 41 83
10th Percentile £48.75 £44.94 £27.13
25th Percentile £57.50 £47.50 £45.73
Median hourly rate £67.47 £65.00 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year +3.80% - +15.06%
75th Percentile £74.25 £75.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £78.58 £75.79 £76.27
UK excluding London median hourly rate £67.50 £65.00 £65.00
% change year-on-year +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 50,217 29,909 35,127
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.02% 90.83% 93.01%
Number of daily rates quoted 29,441 18,891 21,218
10th Percentile £325 £275 £300
25th Percentile £425 £400 £412
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -0.94%
75th Percentile £638 £623 £638
90th Percentile £736 £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 4,086 1,644 1,451
10th Percentile £14.31 £13.75 £15.00
25th Percentile £19.34 £17.30 £20.30
Median hourly rate £41.71 £25.15 £41.27
Median % change year-on-year +65.84% -39.05% -8.30%
75th Percentile £67.50 £50.00 £65.00
90th Percentile £80.00 £68.18 £73.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £41.71 £25.00 £42.50
% change year-on-year +66.84% -41.18% -4.49%

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 12 October 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 12 October 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 12 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
Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
England +157 579 £500 +7.53% 603
UK excluding London +128 527 £495 +4.21% 401
South West +63 164 £550 +10.00% 82
South East +53 158 £521 -5.23% 138
Work from Home -7 90 £465 -8.37% 169
London -41 80 £500 +11.11% 202
North of England -17 69 £400 -13.51% 50
Midlands +6 64 £475 +11.76% 46
North West -22 44 £500 +8.11% 36
East of England -5 42 - - 54
West Midlands -22 33 £425 - 28
East Midlands +9 31 £475 - 18
Wales +2 19 £465 - 14
North East - 16 £350 - 6
Scotland -24 11 £775 +55.00% 19
Yorkshire -22 9 £275 - 9

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

For the 6 months to 12 October 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.

1 117 (18.75%) Systems Engineering
2 109 (17.47%) Security Cleared
3 98 (15.71%) SC Cleared
4 59 (9.46%) Validation
5 49 (7.85%) Linux
6 46 (7.37%) Windows
7 43 (6.89%) Rational DOORS
8 39 (6.25%) Verification and Validation
9 37 (5.93%) Microsoft
10 33 (5.29%) Azure
11 31 (4.97%) Degree
12 30 (4.81%) Python
13 29 (4.65%) Model-Based Systems Engineering
13 29 (4.65%) Requirements Management
13 29 (4.65%) Windows Server
14 28 (4.49%) Active Directory
15 25 (4.01%) Configuration Management
15 25 (4.01%) Problem-Solving
16 23 (3.69%) VMware
17 22 (3.53%) VMware Infrastructure
18 21 (3.37%) Ansible
18 21 (3.37%) Disaster Recovery
19 20 (3.21%) ITIL
19 20 (3.21%) MATLAB
20 19 (3.04%) Hyper-V
20 19 (3.04%) PowerShell
20 19 (3.04%) Simulink
21 18 (2.88%) DNS
21 18 (2.88%) Infrastructure as Code
22 17 (2.72%) Entra ID

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 7 (1.12%) Microsoft Exchange
2 4 (0.64%) JBoss
3 3 (0.48%) SAS
3 3 (0.48%) SharePoint
4 2 (0.32%) Confluence
4 2 (0.32%) Exchange Server 2013
5 1 (0.16%) IIS
Applications
1 19 (3.04%) Simulink
2 4 (0.64%) Stateflow
3 2 (0.32%) Solid Edge
Business Applications
1 3 (0.48%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 33 (5.29%) Azure
2 17 (2.72%) Entra ID
3 15 (2.40%) AWS
3 15 (2.40%) Microsoft 365
4 12 (1.92%) OpenShift
5 6 (0.96%) GCP
6 5 (0.80%) GitHub
6 5 (0.80%) IaaS
7 4 (0.64%) SaaS
8 3 (0.48%) Azure Monitor
8 3 (0.48%) GitHub Actions
9 2 (0.32%) Azure Logic Apps
9 2 (0.32%) Cloudflare
9 2 (0.32%) OneDrive
9 2 (0.32%) PaaS
10 1 (0.16%) Amazon EC2
10 1 (0.16%) Amazon S3
10 1 (0.16%) AWS Direct Connect
10 1 (0.16%) Azure Sentinel
10 1 (0.16%) Cloud Computing
Communications & Networking
1 18 (2.88%) DNS
2 14 (2.24%) DHCP
3 13 (2.08%) Firewall
3 13 (2.08%) TCP/IP
4 12 (1.92%) VPN
5 9 (1.44%) Network Security
6 8 (1.28%) LAN
6 8 (1.28%) Modbus
7 6 (0.96%) IPv4
7 6 (0.96%) Kerberos
8 5 (0.80%) ATM
8 5 (0.80%) VLAN
9 4 (0.64%) WAN
10 3 (0.48%) 4G
10 3 (0.48%) Ethernet
10 3 (0.48%) NAS
10 3 (0.48%) Remote Desktop
10 3 (0.48%) SAN
10 3 (0.48%) Software-Defined Networking
10 3 (0.48%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 6 (0.96%) 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 43 (6.89%) Rational DOORS
2 7 (1.12%) Rational Rhapsody
3 4 (0.64%) JIRA
4 3 (0.48%) Git
4 3 (0.48%) Jenkins
5 1 (0.16%) Claude Code
5 1 (0.16%) Storybook
General
1 106 (16.99%) Aerospace
2 58 (9.29%) Avionics
3 46 (7.37%) Social Skills
4 30 (4.81%) Manufacturing
5 22 (3.53%) Analytical Skills
5 22 (3.53%) Automotive
6 18 (2.88%) Military
7 11 (1.76%) Finance
8 10 (1.60%) Law
9 7 (1.12%) Electronics
10 6 (0.96%) Aviation
11 4 (0.64%) Games
11 4 (0.64%) Influencing Skills
11 4 (0.64%) Telecoms
12 3 (0.48%) Presentation Skills
13 2 (0.32%) Documentation Skills
14 1 (0.16%) Financial Institution
14 1 (0.16%) Local Government
14 1 (0.16%) Pharmaceutical
14 1 (0.16%) Public Sector
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 13 (2.08%) Terraform
2 6 (0.96%) NETCONF
3 5 (0.80%) XML
4 3 (0.48%) ARM Templates
4 3 (0.48%) FastAPI
4 3 (0.48%) React
5 2 (0.32%) HTML
5 2 (0.32%) Microsoft Graph
5 2 (0.32%) ODBC
6 1 (0.16%) CSS
6 1 (0.16%) Middleware
6 1 (0.16%) OpenGL
6 1 (0.16%) OpenLayers
6 1 (0.16%) Qt
6 1 (0.16%) REST
6 1 (0.16%) RESTful
6 1 (0.16%) SailPoint
6 1 (0.16%) Streamlit
Miscellaneous
1 17 (2.72%) SCADA
2 13 (2.08%) Operational Technology
3 10 (1.60%) Algorithms
4 8 (1.28%) Cloud Native
4 8 (1.28%) Renewable Energy
5 7 (1.12%) CUDA
5 7 (1.12%) Hybrid Cloud
6 6 (0.96%) CCTV
6 6 (0.96%) Security Operations Centre
6 6 (0.96%) Virtual Team
7 5 (0.80%) AI Agents
7 5 (0.80%) CAN bus
7 5 (0.80%) Clustering
7 5 (0.80%) Management Information System
8 4 (0.64%) Animation
8 4 (0.64%) Distributed Architecture
8 4 (0.64%) Distributed Computing
8 4 (0.64%) Distributed Systems
8 4 (0.64%) Enterprise Software
8 4 (0.64%) Legacy Systems
Operating Systems
1 49 (7.85%) Linux
2 46 (7.37%) Windows
3 29 (4.65%) Windows Server
4 14 (2.24%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 9 (1.44%) Windows 10
6 7 (1.12%) Unix
7 2 (0.32%) Debian
7 2 (0.32%) MVS
7 2 (0.32%) VMS
7 2 (0.32%) Windows Server 2012
8 1 (0.16%) Rocky
8 1 (0.16%) Ubuntu
8 1 (0.16%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 117 (18.75%) Systems Engineering
2 59 (9.46%) Validation
3 39 (6.25%) Verification and Validation
4 29 (4.65%) Model-Based Systems Engineering
4 29 (4.65%) Requirements Management
5 25 (4.01%) Configuration Management
5 25 (4.01%) Problem-Solving
6 21 (3.37%) Disaster Recovery
7 20 (3.21%) ITIL
8 18 (2.88%) Infrastructure as Code
9 16 (2.56%) AI
10 15 (2.40%) Root Cause Analysis
11 14 (2.24%) Stakeholder Management
12 13 (2.08%) Business Continuity
12 13 (2.08%) Data Integration
13 12 (1.92%) Agile
13 12 (1.92%) Continuous Improvement
13 12 (1.92%) Digital Transformation Programme
13 12 (1.92%) Performance Tuning
14 11 (1.76%) Infrastructure Engineering
Programming Languages
1 30 (4.81%) Python
2 20 (3.21%) MATLAB
3 19 (3.04%) PowerShell
4 10 (1.60%) Bash
5 8 (1.28%) SQL
6 7 (1.12%) C
6 7 (1.12%) C++
7 4 (0.64%) Bicep
7 4 (0.64%) Rust
8 3 (0.48%) Perl
8 3 (0.48%) REXX
8 3 (0.48%) TypeScript
9 2 (0.32%) Java
10 1 (0.16%) COBOL
10 1 (0.16%) Go
10 1 (0.16%) Ladder Logic
10 1 (0.16%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 109 (17.47%) Security Cleared
2 98 (15.71%) SC Cleared
3 31 (4.97%) Degree
4 13 (2.08%) BPSS Clearance
5 7 (1.12%) Azure Certification
5 7 (1.12%) Microsoft Certification
6 6 (0.96%) DV Cleared
7 5 (0.80%) Chartered Engineer
8 4 (0.64%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
9 3 (0.48%) Cisco Certification
9 3 (0.48%) Computer Science Degree
9 3 (0.48%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
9 3 (0.48%) Master's Degree
10 2 (0.32%) AWS Certification
10 2 (0.32%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
10 2 (0.32%) CCA
10 2 (0.32%) CCNA
11 1 (0.16%) Network+ Certification
11 1 (0.16%) Numerate Degree
11 1 (0.16%) Server+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 7 (1.12%) Def Stans
2 5 (0.80%) QA
3 4 (0.64%) NCSC
4 3 (0.48%) GxP
4 3 (0.48%) ISO/IEC 15288
5 2 (0.32%) DO-254
6 1 (0.16%) Accessibility
6 1 (0.16%) ARP4754
6 1 (0.16%) ARP4761
6 1 (0.16%) Cyber Essentials
6 1 (0.16%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
6 1 (0.16%) Data Quality
6 1 (0.16%) Disclosure Scotland
6 1 (0.16%) GMP
6 1 (0.16%) HAZOP
6 1 (0.16%) ISO 13485
6 1 (0.16%) ISO 9001
6 1 (0.16%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 1 (0.16%) SLA
6 1 (0.16%) WCAG
System Software
1 28 (4.49%) Active Directory
2 22 (3.53%) VMware Infrastructure
3 19 (3.04%) Hyper-V
4 9 (1.44%) Docker
5 6 (0.96%) Slurm Workload Manager
5 6 (0.96%) Virtual Machines
6 4 (0.64%) Virtual Desktop
7 2 (0.32%) Firmware
7 2 (0.32%) KVM
7 2 (0.32%) VMware Workstation
8 1 (0.16%) Embedded Firmware
8 1 (0.16%) Microsoft App-V
8 1 (0.16%) VMware ESXi
8 1 (0.16%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 21 (3.37%) Ansible
2 16 (2.56%) Kubernetes
2 16 (2.56%) Puppet
3 11 (1.76%) Microsoft Intune
4 6 (0.96%) Progress Chef
5 5 (0.80%) Failover Clustering
5 5 (0.80%) Red Hat Satellite
6 4 (0.64%) Grafana
6 4 (0.64%) Prometheus
6 4 (0.64%) SCCM
7 3 (0.48%) Istio
8 2 (0.32%) Salt
8 2 (0.32%) Tivoli NetView
9 1 (0.16%) Amdocs OSS
9 1 (0.16%) Check_MK
9 1 (0.16%) Microsoft Clustering
9 1 (0.16%) Packer
9 1 (0.16%) PingFederate
9 1 (0.16%) Podman
9 1 (0.16%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 37 (5.93%) Microsoft
2 23 (3.69%) VMware
3 16 (2.56%) EMC
4 15 (2.40%) Red Hat
5 11 (1.76%) Cisco
6 10 (1.60%) IBM
7 7 (1.12%) NVIDIA
8 6 (0.96%) SaltStack
8 6 (0.96%) Splunk
9 4 (0.64%) AVEVA
9 4 (0.64%) Perforce
9 4 (0.64%) ServiceNow
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%) Facebook