Principal Engineer Job Trends in Cardiff

Principal Engineer
South Wales > Cardiff

The median Principal Engineer salary in Cardiff is £55,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 20 December 2025.

The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
20 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 36 - 47
Rank change year-on-year - - +29
Permanent jobs requiring a Principal Engineer 3 0 2
As % of all permanent jobs in Cardiff 0.79% - 0.62%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.82% - 0.64%
Number of salaries quoted 3 0 2
10th Percentile - - £59,250
25th Percentile - - £61,875
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 - £67,500
Median % change year-on-year - - +17.39%
75th Percentile - - £71,875
90th Percentile - - £73,750
South Wales median annual salary £55,000 - £67,500
% change year-on-year - - +8.17%

All Permanent IT Job Vacancies
Cardiff

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies in Cardiff. 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 permanent jobs in our overall sample.

Permanent vacancies in Cardiff with a recognized job title 364 376 311
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 96.30% 95.92% 95.99%
Number of salaries quoted 252 250 276
10th Percentile £27,125 £30,000 £32,931
25th Percentile £40,000 £31,250 £42,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £48,750 £52,500
Median % change year-on-year +12.82% -7.14% +4.97%
75th Percentile £60,625 £65,000 £67,500
90th Percentile £80,000 £79,600 £73,125
South Wales median annual salary £50,000 £50,000 £51,104
% change year-on-year - -2.16% +2.21%

Principal Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend in Cardiff

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

Principal Engineer job vacancy trend in Cardiff

Principal Engineer
Salary Trend in Cardiff

Salary distribution trend for Principal Engineer job vacancies in Cardiff.

Salary distribution trend for Principal Engineer job vacancies in Cardiff

Principal Engineer Skill Set
Top 1 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Cardiff

For the 6 months to 20 December 2025, Principal Engineer 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 permanent job ads across the Cardiff region featuring Principal Engineer in the job title.

1 3 (100.00%) Infrastructure Engineering

Principal Engineer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Cardiff 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:

Processes & Methodologies
1 3 (100.00%) Infrastructure Engineering