Software Engineer Job Trends in the South East

Software Engineer
England > South East

The median Software Engineer salary in the South East is £65,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 27 July 2026.

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

6 months to
27 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 21 105 28
Rank change year-on-year +84 -77 +43
Permanent jobs requiring a Software Engineer 965 247 962
As % of all permanent jobs in the South East 5.97% 2.84% 6.51%
As % of the Job Titles category 6.24% 3.18% 6.91%
Number of salaries quoted 699 169 728
10th Percentile £45,000 £43,500 £39,750
25th Percentile £54,375 £53,750 £45,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £65,000 £65,000 £53,500
Median % change year-on-year - +21.50% -10.83%
75th Percentile £83,750 £80,000 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £95,000 £80,000
England median annual salary £70,000 £80,000 £61,000
% change year-on-year -12.50% +31.15% -12.86%

All Permanent IT Job Roles
South East

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies in the South East. 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 the South East with a recognized job title 15,461 7,768 13,912
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 95.63% 89.46% 94.15%
Number of salaries quoted 10,934 4,342 9,663
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,500 £29,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £35,750 £37,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £50,000 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +10.00% - -9.09%
75th Percentile £70,000 £67,500 £65,000
90th Percentile £86,250 £81,250 £80,000
England median annual salary £57,500 £55,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year +4.55% - -8.33%

Software Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

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

Software Engineer job vacancy trend in the South East

Software Engineer
Salary Trend in the South East

Salary distribution trend for Software Engineer job vacancies in the South East.

Salary distribution trend for Software Engineer job vacancies in the South East

Software Engineer
Salary Histogram in the South East

Salary distribution for jobs citing Software Engineer in the South East over the 6 months to 27 July 2026.

Salary histogram for Software Engineer in the South East

Software Engineer
Job Locations in the South East

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Software Engineer within the South East region over the 6 months to 27 July 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
Hampshire +35 415 £65,000 - 38
Thames Valley +104 355 £65,000 - 55
Oxfordshire +25 170 £65,000 -3.70% 30
Surrey +14 113 £80,000 +6.67% 11
Berkshire +87 104 £65,000 +8.33% 19
Buckinghamshire +44 81 £81,250 +47.73% 6
Kent -14 31 £35,000 -44.00% 1
East Sussex +9 26 £65,000 -27.78%
West Sussex -3 21 £75,000 +11.11% 7
Sussex - 4 £85,000 - 5
Software Engineer
England

Software Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East

For the 6 months to 27 July 2026, Software 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 South East region featuring Software Engineer in the job title.

1 956 (99.07%) Software Engineering
2 255 (26.42%) C++
3 202 (20.93%) Python
4 197 (20.41%) C#
5 179 (18.55%) Degree
6 126 (13.06%) .NET
7 121 (12.54%) Agile
8 116 (12.02%) Security Cleared
9 115 (11.92%) AWS
10 94 (9.74%) Linux
11 90 (9.33%) AI
12 89 (9.22%) Computer Science Degree
13 88 (9.12%) Azure
14 87 (9.02%) Computer Science
15 86 (8.91%) C
16 83 (8.60%) SC Cleared
17 82 (8.50%) CI/CD
18 81 (8.39%) Full-Stack Development
19 75 (7.77%) DevOps
20 68 (7.05%) Problem-Solving
21 66 (6.84%) Docker
22 61 (6.32%) JavaScript
23 59 (6.11%) Mentoring
23 59 (6.11%) TypeScript
24 57 (5.91%) Test Automation
25 55 (5.70%) Containerisation
25 55 (5.70%) Git
25 55 (5.70%) SaaS
26 53 (5.49%) SDLC
27 52 (5.39%) Software Architecture

Software Engineer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East 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 (0.73%) Apache
2 3 (0.31%) Confluence
3 1 (0.10%) ArchestrA
Applications
1 12 (1.24%) Lightworks
2 5 (0.52%) Simulink
3 4 (0.41%) Microsoft Office
4 3 (0.31%) Microsoft Excel
4 3 (0.31%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.21%) AutoCAD
5 2 (0.21%) EPLAN
6 1 (0.10%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 2 (0.21%) Oracle Applications
Cloud Services
1 115 (11.92%) AWS
2 88 (9.12%) Azure
3 55 (5.70%) SaaS
4 37 (3.83%) GCP
5 16 (1.66%) Azure DevOps
6 14 (1.45%) GitHub
7 13 (1.35%) Serverless
8 11 (1.14%) Firebase
9 6 (0.62%) Anthropic Claude
9 6 (0.62%) Cloud Run
9 6 (0.62%) PaaS
10 5 (0.52%) Figma
11 4 (0.41%) AWS Lambda
11 4 (0.41%) Azure Functions
11 4 (0.41%) GitHub Actions
12 3 (0.31%) Amazon EKS
12 3 (0.31%) Azure Monitor
13 2 (0.21%) Amazon S3
13 2 (0.21%) Azure Key Vault
13 2 (0.21%) WhatsApp
Communications & Networking
1 19 (1.97%) Wireless
2 11 (1.14%) TCP/IP
3 9 (0.93%) ATM
4 8 (0.83%) MQTT
5 6 (0.62%) Wireshark
6 3 (0.31%) Ethernet
6 3 (0.31%) Software-Defined Radio
7 1 (0.10%) Broadband
7 1 (0.10%) HTTP
7 1 (0.10%) Internet
7 1 (0.10%) LAN
7 1 (0.10%) Multicast
7 1 (0.10%) Software-Defined Networking
7 1 (0.10%) VoIP
7 1 (0.10%) WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 33 (3.42%) SQL Server
2 20 (2.07%) PostgreSQL
3 10 (1.04%) MySQL
4 8 (0.83%) MongoDB
5 6 (0.62%) Pinecone
6 5 (0.52%) Relational Database
7 3 (0.31%) Elasticsearch
7 3 (0.31%) Redis
8 2 (0.21%) NoSQL
9 1 (0.10%) Data Warehouse
9 1 (0.10%) Electronic Patient Records
9 1 (0.10%) Oracle Reports
9 1 (0.10%) RDBMS
Development Applications
1 55 (5.70%) Git
2 19 (1.97%) GitLab
2 19 (1.97%) Visual Studio Code
3 7 (0.73%) JIRA
4 6 (0.62%) Jenkins
4 6 (0.62%) Yeoman
5 4 (0.41%) CMake
6 3 (0.31%) Bitbucket
6 3 (0.31%) Eclipse
6 3 (0.31%) Eclipse RCP
6 3 (0.31%) JUnit
6 3 (0.31%) PetaLinux
6 3 (0.31%) Rational Rhapsody
6 3 (0.31%) Visual Studio
7 2 (0.21%) NUnit
7 2 (0.21%) Postman
7 2 (0.21%) SpecFlow
8 1 (0.10%) Rational DOORS
8 1 (0.10%) Storybook
8 1 (0.10%) utPLSQL
General
1 70 (7.25%) Manufacturing
2 69 (7.15%) Social Skills
3 62 (6.42%) Electronics
4 34 (3.52%) Aerospace
5 30 (3.11%) Aviation
5 30 (3.11%) Finance
6 20 (2.07%) Analytical Skills
7 17 (1.76%) Telecoms
8 14 (1.45%) Pharmaceutical
9 13 (1.35%) Military
10 12 (1.24%) Games
11 10 (1.04%) Automotive
11 10 (1.04%) Public Sector
12 6 (0.62%) Law
12 6 (0.62%) Organisational Skills
13 4 (0.41%) Digital Health
13 4 (0.41%) Health Technology
14 3 (0.31%) Banking
15 2 (0.21%) Documentation Skills
15 2 (0.21%) Tech for Good
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 126 (13.06%) .NET
2 47 (4.87%) React
3 31 (3.21%) CSS
4 30 (3.11%) HTML
5 22 (2.28%) Django
5 22 (2.28%) Vue
6 20 (2.07%) AngularJS
6 20 (2.07%) Unreal Engine
7 18 (1.87%) Node.js
8 17 (1.76%) WPF
9 16 (1.66%) REST
10 14 (1.45%) JSON
10 14 (1.45%) WebSockets
11 13 (1.35%) ASP.NET
12 12 (1.24%) XML
13 8 (0.83%) .NET Core
13 8 (0.83%) Blazor
14 7 (0.73%) Qt
15 6 (0.62%) RESTful
15 6 (0.62%) Yocto
Miscellaneous
1 48 (4.97%) Algorithms
2 33 (3.42%) Robotics
3 32 (3.32%) Embedded Systems
4 25 (2.59%) Product Ownership
5 20 (2.07%) Cloud Native
6 18 (1.87%) Distributed Computing
6 18 (1.87%) Distributed Systems
7 16 (1.66%) Client/Server
7 16 (1.66%) IoT
8 13 (1.35%) Self-Motivation
9 12 (1.24%) AI Agents
10 11 (1.14%) Data Structures
11 7 (0.73%) Life Science
12 6 (0.62%) Legacy Systems
12 6 (0.62%) Management Information System
12 6 (0.62%) Smart Energy
13 5 (0.52%) Video Conferencing
14 4 (0.41%) Driving Licence
14 4 (0.41%) FPGA
14 4 (0.41%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 94 (9.74%) Linux
2 22 (2.28%) Windows
3 8 (0.83%) Embedded Linux
4 5 (0.52%) Debian
5 4 (0.41%) Android
6 3 (0.31%) FreeRTOS
6 3 (0.31%) Gentoo
7 2 (0.21%) Robot Operating System
8 1 (0.10%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 956 (99.07%) Software Engineering
2 121 (12.54%) Agile
3 90 (9.33%) AI
4 87 (9.02%) Computer Science
5 82 (8.50%) CI/CD
6 81 (8.39%) Full-Stack Development
7 75 (7.77%) DevOps
8 68 (7.05%) Problem-Solving
9 59 (6.11%) Mentoring
10 57 (5.91%) Test Automation
11 55 (5.70%) Containerisation
12 53 (5.49%) SDLC
13 52 (5.39%) Software Architecture
14 48 (4.97%) Machine Learning
15 44 (4.56%) Continuous Improvement
16 41 (4.25%) Code Quality
17 40 (4.15%) Microservices
18 36 (3.73%) Software Testing
19 32 (3.32%) Embedded Software Development
20 29 (3.01%) Data Science
Programming Languages
1 255 (26.42%) C++
2 202 (20.93%) Python
3 197 (20.41%) C#
4 86 (8.91%) C
5 61 (6.32%) JavaScript
6 59 (6.11%) TypeScript
7 43 (4.46%) SQL
8 42 (4.35%) Java
9 30 (3.11%) Rust
10 13 (1.35%) Go
11 10 (1.04%) Ada
12 8 (0.83%) PHP
13 7 (0.73%) MATLAB
13 7 (0.73%) Ruby
14 6 (0.62%) PL/SQL
15 5 (0.52%) T-SQL
16 4 (0.41%) Apex Code
16 4 (0.41%) Julia
16 4 (0.41%) VB.NET
17 3 (0.31%) Bash
Qualifications
1 179 (18.55%) Degree
2 116 (12.02%) Security Cleared
3 89 (9.22%) Computer Science Degree
4 83 (8.60%) SC Cleared
5 45 (4.66%) Master's Degree
6 29 (3.01%) DV Cleared
7 24 (2.49%) PhD
8 8 (0.83%) Azure Certification
9 5 (0.52%) BPSS Clearance
10 3 (0.31%) HNC
10 3 (0.31%) HND
11 2 (0.21%) AWS Certification
11 2 (0.21%) Microsoft Certification
11 2 (0.21%) NVQ Level 3
12 1 (0.10%) Numerate Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 24 (2.49%) QA
2 3 (0.31%) DO-178B
2 3 (0.31%) ECSS
2 3 (0.31%) GAMP
3 2 (0.21%) GDPR
3 2 (0.21%) ISO 9001
3 2 (0.21%) ISO/IEC 27001
System Software
1 66 (6.84%) Docker
2 36 (3.73%) Firmware
3 11 (1.14%) Embedded Firmware
3 11 (1.14%) KVM
3 11 (1.14%) VMware Infrastructure
4 10 (1.04%) Hyper-V
5 7 (0.73%) Virtual Machines
6 1 (0.10%) Active Directory
Systems Management
1 38 (3.94%) Kubernetes
2 15 (1.55%) Terraform
3 11 (1.14%) Ansible
4 5 (0.52%) Podman
5 1 (0.10%) Puppet
Vendors
1 13 (1.35%) Oracle
2 12 (1.24%) Microsoft
3 11 (1.14%) VMware
4 9 (0.93%) Salesforce
5 4 (0.41%) Google
6 3 (0.31%) Allen-Bradley
6 3 (0.31%) Siemens
6 3 (0.31%) Wonderware
6 3 (0.31%) Xilinx
7 2 (0.21%) Atlassian
7 2 (0.21%) Yahoo!
8 1 (0.10%) Adobe
8 1 (0.10%) IBM
8 1 (0.10%) NVIDIA
8 1 (0.10%) ServiceNow
8 1 (0.10%) Typelevel
8 1 (0.10%) Xamarin