Test Engineer Job Trends in Manchester
Test Engineer
North West > Manchester
The median Test Engineer salary in Manchester is £50,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 17 October 2026.
The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 17 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 148 | 148 | 171 |
| Rank change year-on-year | 0 | +23 | -25 |
| Permanent jobs requiring a Test Engineer | 60 | 2 | 8 |
| As % of all permanent jobs in Manchester | 0.77% | 0.088% | 0.21% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.83% | 0.095% | 0.22% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 46 | 1 | 0 |
| 10th Percentile | £35,000 | - | - |
| 25th Percentile | £40,000 | £61,250 | - |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £50,000 | £67,500 | - |
| Median % change year-on-year | -25.93% | - | - |
| 75th Percentile | £75,000 | £73,750 | - |
| 90th Percentile | £77,500 | - | - |
| North West median annual salary | £50,000 | £40,000 | - |
| % change year-on-year | +25.00% | - | - |
All Permanent IT Job Roles
Manchester
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies in Manchester. 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.
| 6 months to 17 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent vacancies in Manchester with a recognized job title | 7,235 | 2,096 | 3,594 |
| % of permanent jobs with a recognized job title | 93.39% | 91.93% | 94.60% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 5,417 | 1,281 | 1,852 |
| 10th Percentile | £32,790 | £28,250 | £33,275 |
| 25th Percentile | £45,000 | £35,000 | £41,438 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £60,000 | £52,500 | £55,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +14.29% | -4.55% | -8.33% |
| 75th Percentile | £78,750 | £70,000 | £69,850 |
| 90th Percentile | £96,250 | £85,000 | £85,000 |
| North West median annual salary | £55,000 | £50,000 | £50,000 |
| % change year-on-year | +10.00% | - | -9.09% |
Test Engineer Job Vacancy Trend in Manchester
Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'Test Engineer' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in Manchester.
Test Engineer Salary Trend in Manchester
Salary distribution trend for Test Engineer job vacancies in Manchester.
Test Engineer Salary Histogram in Manchester
Salary distribution for jobs citing Test Engineer in Manchester over the 6 months to 17 October 2026.
Test Engineer Job Locations in Manchester
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Test Engineer within the Manchester region over the 6 months to 17 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 Permanent IT Job Ads |
Median Salary Past 6 Months |
Median Salary % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolton | - | 3 | - | - | 18 |
| Stockport | - | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| Test Engineer North West |
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Test Engineer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Manchester
For the 6 months to 17 October 2026, Test 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 Manchester region featuring Test Engineer in the job title.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Test Automation | 33.3% | 20 |
| 2 | Python | 16.7% | 10 |
| 3 | Software Testing | 15.0% | 9 |
| 4 | Continuous Improvement | 13.3% | 8 |
| 5 | Azure | 11.7% | 7 |
| 6 | AWS | 10.0% | 6 |
| 6 | Security Cleared | 10.0% | 6 |
| 6 | SQL | 10.0% | 6 |
| 6 | Test Strategy | 10.0% | 6 |
| 10 | Agile | 8.3% | 5 |
| 10 | Java | 8.3% | 5 |
| 10 | JavaScript | 8.3% | 5 |
| 10 | Kubernetes | 8.3% | 5 |
| 10 | Problem-Solving | 8.3% | 5 |
| 10 | QA | 8.3% | 5 |
| 10 | Test Scripting | 8.3% | 5 |
| 10 | TypeScript | 8.3% | 5 |
| 10 | Validation | 8.3% | 5 |
| 19 | AngularJS | 6.7% | 4 |
| 19 | CI/CD | 6.7% | 4 |
| 19 | Cucumber | 6.7% | 4 |
| 19 | Cypress.io | 6.7% | 4 |
| 19 | Docker | 6.7% | 4 |
| 19 | Elasticsearch | 6.7% | 4 |
| 19 | End-to-End Testing | 6.7% | 4 |
| 19 | Firmware | 6.7% | 4 |
| 19 | MERN Stack | 6.7% | 4 |
| 19 | Neo4j | 6.7% | 4 |
| 19 | React | 6.7% | 4 |
| 19 | Robot Framework | 6.7% | 4 |
Test Engineer Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Manchester 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 | Lead Test Engineer | 20.0% | 12 |
| 2 | Manufacturing Engineer | 16.7% | 10 |
| 3 | Systems Test Engineer | 13.3% | 8 |
| 4 | Software Test Engineer | 10.0% | 6 |
| 5 | Electrical Engineer | 8.3% | 5 |
| 6 | Data Engineer | 6.7% | 4 |
| 6 | Electronics Engineer | 6.7% | 4 |
| 6 | Electronics Test Engineer | 6.7% | 4 |
| 6 | Firmware Engineer | 6.7% | 4 |
| 10 | PCB Engineer | 3.3% | 2 |
| 10 | Senior Test Engineer | 3.3% | 2 |
| 12 | DevSecOps Engineer | 1.7% | 1 |
| 12 | Principal Test Engineer | 1.7% | 1 |
| 12 | QA Test Engineer | 1.7% | 1 |
| 12 | Test and Integration Engineer | 1.7% | 1 |
| 12 | Test and Validation Engineer | 1.7% | 1 |
| 12 | Test Automation Engineer | 1.7% | 1 |
| 12 | Test Development Engineer | 1.7% | 1 |