Software Engineer Job Trends in the South East

Software Engineer
England > South East

The median Software Engineer salary in the South East is £70,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 28 September 2026.

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

6 months to
28 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 23 101 24
Rank change year-on-year +78 -77 +42
Permanent jobs requiring a Software Engineer 1,016 224 889
As % of all permanent jobs in the South East 5.38% 2.51% 6.98%
As % of the Job Titles category 5.72% 2.81% 7.26%
Number of salaries quoted 717 134 579
10th Percentile £45,000 £42,000 £40,000
25th Percentile £53,750 £58,313 £45,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £70,000 £69,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year +1.45% +25.45% -8.33%
75th Percentile £85,000 £80,000 £66,250
90th Percentile £90,000 £95,000 £80,000
England median annual salary £70,000 £82,500 £65,000
% change year-on-year -15.15% +26.92% -7.14%

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 17,758 7,971 12,249
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 93.96% 89.47% 96.17%
Number of salaries quoted 12,582 4,423 6,977
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,500 £30,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £33,750 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £50,000 £52,500
Median % change year-on-year +10.00% -4.76% -4.55%
75th Percentile £70,000 £66,250 £67,500
90th Percentile £90,000 £81,250 £82,500
England median annual salary £59,522 £55,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year +8.22% - -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 28 September 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 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
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
Hampshire +41 439 £65,000 - 104
Thames Valley +113 392 £70,000 +7.69% 142
Oxfordshire +29 189 £65,000 -7.14% 81
Berkshire +92 130 £75,000 +20.00% 43
Surrey -3 95 £80,000 -5.88% 21
Buckinghamshire +53 73 £80,000 +128.57% 18
Kent +3 34 £35,000 -44.00% 3
West Sussex +9 29 £75,000 +7.14% 22
East Sussex +8 22 £65,000 -24.64% 10
Sussex - 5 £85,000 - 2
Software Engineer
England

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

For the 6 months to 28 September 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 1,011 (99.51%) Software Engineering
2 254 (25.00%) C++
3 212 (20.87%) C#
4 195 (19.19%) Python
5 144 (14.17%) Degree
6 120 (11.81%) Security Cleared
7 114 (11.22%) .NET
8 110 (10.83%) Agile
9 108 (10.63%) AI
10 106 (10.43%) AWS
11 95 (9.35%) Linux
12 93 (9.15%) CI/CD
13 84 (8.27%) SC Cleared
14 81 (7.97%) Azure
14 81 (7.97%) C
15 72 (7.09%) Docker
15 72 (7.09%) Full-Stack Development
16 71 (6.99%) JavaScript
17 70 (6.89%) Computer Science Degree
18 69 (6.79%) Problem-Solving
19 68 (6.69%) Computer Science
20 67 (6.59%) TypeScript
21 65 (6.40%) DevOps
22 64 (6.30%) Mentoring
23 62 (6.10%) Git
24 59 (5.81%) Software Architecture
25 56 (5.51%) Java
25 56 (5.51%) SDLC
26 51 (5.02%) React
27 50 (4.92%) SaaS

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 9 (0.89%) Apache
2 2 (0.20%) Confluence
3 1 (0.098%) ArchestrA
Applications
1 19 (1.87%) Lightworks
2 6 (0.59%) Simulink
3 3 (0.30%) Microsoft Excel
3 3 (0.30%) Microsoft Office
3 3 (0.30%) Microsoft PowerPoint
Business Applications
1 6 (0.59%) Oracle Applications
2 1 (0.098%) Payment Gateway
Cloud Services
1 106 (10.43%) AWS
2 81 (7.97%) Azure
3 50 (4.92%) SaaS
4 26 (2.56%) GCP
5 15 (1.48%) Azure DevOps
5 15 (1.48%) Serverless
6 13 (1.28%) GitHub
7 12 (1.18%) Firebase
8 8 (0.79%) Anthropic Claude
9 7 (0.69%) Cloud Run
10 6 (0.59%) GitHub Actions
10 6 (0.59%) PaaS
11 5 (0.49%) Azure Functions
12 4 (0.39%) Amazon EKS
13 3 (0.30%) Amazon S3
13 3 (0.30%) AWS Lambda
13 3 (0.30%) Azure Key Vault
13 3 (0.30%) Azure Monitor
13 3 (0.30%) GitHub Copilot
14 2 (0.20%) Google Analytics
Communications & Networking
1 29 (2.85%) Wireless
2 12 (1.18%) TCP/IP
3 10 (0.98%) ATM
3 10 (0.98%) MQTT
4 9 (0.89%) 5G
5 7 (0.69%) Wireshark
6 5 (0.49%) Ethernet
7 4 (0.39%) HTTP
8 3 (0.30%) Software-Defined Radio
9 1 (0.098%) LAN
9 1 (0.098%) NGN
9 1 (0.098%) SNMP
9 1 (0.098%) Software-Defined Networking
9 1 (0.098%) VLAN
9 1 (0.098%) VoIP
9 1 (0.098%) WAN
9 1 (0.098%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 28 (2.76%) PostgreSQL
2 27 (2.66%) SQL Server
3 13 (1.28%) MySQL
4 10 (0.98%) MongoDB
4 10 (0.98%) Relational Database
5 7 (0.69%) Chroma
5 7 (0.69%) Pinecone
5 7 (0.69%) Redis
6 6 (0.59%) Elasticsearch
7 2 (0.20%) Data Warehouse
7 2 (0.20%) NoSQL
7 2 (0.20%) RDBMS
8 1 (0.098%) Amazon Aurora
8 1 (0.098%) DynamoDB
8 1 (0.098%) Electronic Patient Records
Development Applications
1 62 (6.10%) Git
2 21 (2.07%) GitLab
3 18 (1.77%) Visual Studio Code
4 10 (0.98%) Jenkins
5 7 (0.69%) JIRA
6 5 (0.49%) CMake
6 5 (0.49%) Yeoman
7 4 (0.39%) PetaLinux
7 4 (0.39%) Rational Rhapsody
7 4 (0.39%) Visual Studio
8 3 (0.30%) Eclipse
8 3 (0.30%) Eclipse RCP
8 3 (0.30%) JUnit
8 3 (0.30%) Storybook
9 2 (0.20%) Bitbucket
9 2 (0.20%) ESLint
9 2 (0.20%) NUnit
9 2 (0.20%) Vite
10 1 (0.098%) IntelliJ
10 1 (0.098%) Subversion
General
1 87 (8.56%) Manufacturing
2 74 (7.28%) Electronics
3 62 (6.10%) Social Skills
4 49 (4.82%) Aviation
5 44 (4.33%) Finance
6 40 (3.94%) Aerospace
7 17 (1.67%) Analytical Skills
8 15 (1.48%) Automotive
9 14 (1.38%) Telecoms
10 12 (1.18%) Military
11 11 (1.08%) Health Technology
11 11 (1.08%) Public Sector
12 9 (0.89%) Games
13 8 (0.79%) Pharmaceutical
14 6 (0.59%) Law
14 6 (0.59%) Organisational Skills
15 4 (0.39%) Banking
15 4 (0.39%) Digital Health
16 3 (0.30%) Marketing
16 3 (0.30%) Tech for Good
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 114 (11.22%) .NET
2 51 (5.02%) React
3 32 (3.15%) CSS
4 29 (2.85%) HTML
5 27 (2.66%) WPF
6 24 (2.36%) Vue
7 22 (2.17%) AngularJS
7 22 (2.17%) Node.js
8 21 (2.07%) Django
9 17 (1.67%) Terraform
10 14 (1.38%) JSON
10 14 (1.38%) React Native
11 13 (1.28%) XML
12 11 (1.08%) ASP.NET
13 10 (0.98%) WebSockets
13 10 (0.98%) Yocto
14 9 (0.89%) REST
15 8 (0.79%) .NET Core
16 7 (0.69%) Kafka
16 7 (0.69%) Unreal Engine
Miscellaneous
1 48 (4.72%) Algorithms
2 42 (4.13%) Embedded Systems
3 38 (3.74%) Robotics
4 24 (2.36%) Distributed Computing
5 22 (2.17%) Product Ownership
6 20 (1.97%) Cloud Native
7 13 (1.28%) Data Structures
8 12 (1.18%) AI Agents
9 11 (1.08%) IoT
10 9 (0.89%) Enterprise Software
11 8 (0.79%) Distributed Systems
12 7 (0.69%) Life Science
12 7 (0.69%) Self-Motivation
13 6 (0.59%) Client/Server
13 6 (0.59%) Greenfield Project
13 6 (0.59%) Legacy Systems
13 6 (0.59%) NHS
14 5 (0.49%) FPGA
14 5 (0.49%) Management Information System
15 4 (0.39%) VHDL
Operating Systems
1 95 (9.35%) Linux
2 25 (2.46%) Windows
3 11 (1.08%) Embedded Linux
4 7 (0.69%) FreeRTOS
5 6 (0.59%) Android
6 5 (0.49%) Apple iOS
6 5 (0.49%) Debian
7 3 (0.30%) Gentoo
8 2 (0.20%) Robot Operating System
9 1 (0.098%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 1,011 (99.51%) Software Engineering
2 110 (10.83%) Agile
3 108 (10.63%) AI
4 93 (9.15%) CI/CD
5 72 (7.09%) Full-Stack Development
6 69 (6.79%) Problem-Solving
7 68 (6.69%) Computer Science
8 65 (6.40%) DevOps
9 64 (6.30%) Mentoring
10 59 (5.81%) Software Architecture
11 56 (5.51%) SDLC
12 45 (4.43%) Test Automation
13 44 (4.33%) Containerisation
14 43 (4.23%) Microservices
15 40 (3.94%) Machine Learning
16 36 (3.54%) Continuous Improvement
17 34 (3.35%) Data Science
18 32 (3.15%) Code Quality
19 30 (2.95%) Embedded Software Development
20 29 (2.85%) Technical Leadership
Programming Languages
1 254 (25.00%) C++
2 212 (20.87%) C#
3 195 (19.19%) Python
4 81 (7.97%) C
5 71 (6.99%) JavaScript
6 67 (6.59%) TypeScript
7 56 (5.51%) Java
8 41 (4.04%) SQL
9 29 (2.85%) Rust
10 19 (1.87%) Go
11 13 (1.28%) PHP
12 11 (1.08%) Ada
13 8 (0.79%) MATLAB
14 6 (0.59%) T-SQL
15 5 (0.49%) Embedded C++
16 4 (0.39%) Bash
16 4 (0.39%) Ruby
16 4 (0.39%) VB.NET
17 3 (0.30%) Julia
17 3 (0.30%) PowerShell
Qualifications
1 144 (14.17%) Degree
2 120 (11.81%) Security Cleared
3 84 (8.27%) SC Cleared
4 70 (6.89%) Computer Science Degree
5 34 (3.35%) Master's Degree
6 33 (3.25%) DV Cleared
7 20 (1.97%) PhD
8 11 (1.08%) BPSS Clearance
9 8 (0.79%) Azure Certification
10 3 (0.30%) Chartered Engineer
11 2 (0.20%) AWS Certification
11 2 (0.20%) Microsoft Certification
11 2 (0.20%) Numerate Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 11 (1.08%) QA
2 4 (0.39%) DO-178B
2 4 (0.39%) ECSS
3 3 (0.30%) GAMP
4 2 (0.20%) AUTOSAR
4 2 (0.20%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 2 (0.20%) MISRA
4 2 (0.20%) MISRA C
5 1 (0.098%) Accessibility
System Software
1 72 (7.09%) Docker
2 29 (2.85%) Firmware
3 13 (1.28%) Embedded Firmware
4 4 (0.39%) Virtual Machines
5 2 (0.20%) Active Directory
5 2 (0.20%) KVM
5 2 (0.20%) VMware Infrastructure
6 1 (0.098%) Hyper-V
Systems Management
1 41 (4.04%) Kubernetes
2 15 (1.48%) Ansible
3 6 (0.59%) Podman
4 2 (0.20%) Puppet
Vendors
1 13 (1.28%) Salesforce
2 11 (1.08%) Microsoft
3 10 (0.98%) Oracle
4 8 (0.79%) Sage
5 5 (0.49%) Google
6 4 (0.39%) Xilinx
7 2 (0.20%) Atlassian
7 2 (0.20%) ServiceNow
7 2 (0.20%) VMware
7 2 (0.20%) Yahoo!
8 1 (0.098%) Adobe
8 1 (0.098%) IBM
8 1 (0.098%) NVIDIA
8 1 (0.098%) Xamarin