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 31 July 2026.

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

6 months to
31 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 22 100 27
Rank change year-on-year +78 -73 +44
Permanent jobs requiring a Software Engineer 973 248 951
As % of all permanent jobs in the South East 5.91% 2.86% 6.54%
As % of the Job Titles category 6.19% 3.20% 6.95%
Number of salaries quoted 695 165 720
10th Percentile £45,000 £45,000 £40,000
25th Percentile £54,375 £55,000 £45,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £65,000 £65,000 £53,000
Median % change year-on-year - +22.64% -11.67%
75th Percentile £83,750 £80,000 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £95,000 £77,750
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 15,723 7,756 13,693
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 95.48% 89.37% 94.22%
Number of salaries quoted 11,133 4,331 9,450
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,500 £29,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £35,500 £38,000
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 £86,450 £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 31 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 31 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 +40 415 £65,000 - 31
Thames Valley +102 361 £66,250 +1.92% 53
Oxfordshire +28 170 £65,000 -3.70% 26
Surrey +15 113 £80,000 +6.67% 8
Berkshire +92 109 £65,000 +8.33% 21
Buckinghamshire +51 82 £81,250 +47.73% 6
Kent -12 32 £35,000 -44.00% 2
East Sussex +11 26 £65,000 -27.78% 1
West Sussex 0 22 £75,000 +9.09% 4
Sussex - 4 £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 31 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.

1 964 (99.08%) Software Engineering
2 257 (26.41%) C++
3 203 (20.86%) Python
4 197 (20.25%) C#
5 177 (18.19%) Degree
6 125 (12.85%) .NET
7 122 (12.54%) Agile
8 116 (11.92%) AWS
8 116 (11.92%) Security Cleared
9 96 (9.87%) Linux
10 93 (9.56%) AI
11 89 (9.15%) Azure
12 88 (9.04%) Computer Science Degree
13 87 (8.94%) C
14 86 (8.84%) Computer Science
15 83 (8.53%) CI/CD
15 83 (8.53%) Full-Stack Development
15 83 (8.53%) SC Cleared
16 75 (7.71%) DevOps
17 69 (7.09%) Docker
17 69 (7.09%) Problem-Solving
18 61 (6.27%) JavaScript
19 60 (6.17%) TypeScript
20 59 (6.06%) Mentoring
21 57 (5.86%) Git
21 57 (5.86%) Test Automation
22 56 (5.76%) Containerisation
23 55 (5.65%) SaaS
24 54 (5.55%) Software Architecture
25 53 (5.45%) SDLC

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 (0.72%) Apache
2 3 (0.31%) Confluence
3 1 (0.10%) ArchestrA
Applications
1 12 (1.23%) Lightworks
2 5 (0.51%) 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
1 116 (11.92%) AWS
2 89 (9.15%) Azure
3 55 (5.65%) SaaS
4 38 (3.91%) GCP
5 16 (1.64%) Azure DevOps
6 14 (1.44%) GitHub
7 13 (1.34%) Serverless
8 12 (1.23%) Firebase
9 7 (0.72%) Anthropic Claude
9 7 (0.72%) Cloud Run
10 6 (0.62%) PaaS
11 5 (0.51%) Figma
12 4 (0.41%) Amazon EKS
12 4 (0.41%) AWS Lambda
12 4 (0.41%) Azure Functions
12 4 (0.41%) GitHub Actions
13 3 (0.31%) Azure Monitor
14 2 (0.21%) Amazon S3
14 2 (0.21%) Azure Key Vault
14 2 (0.21%) WhatsApp
Communications & Networking
1 19 (1.95%) Wireless
2 12 (1.23%) TCP/IP
3 9 (0.92%) ATM
4 8 (0.82%) 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 34 (3.49%) SQL Server
2 20 (2.06%) PostgreSQL
3 10 (1.03%) MySQL
4 8 (0.82%) MongoDB
5 7 (0.72%) Pinecone
6 5 (0.51%) 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 57 (5.86%) Git
2 19 (1.95%) GitLab
2 19 (1.95%) Visual Studio Code
3 7 (0.72%) Jenkins
3 7 (0.72%) JIRA
4 6 (0.62%) Yeoman
5 5 (0.51%) CMake
6 4 (0.41%) Rational Rhapsody
7 3 (0.31%) Bitbucket
7 3 (0.31%) Eclipse
7 3 (0.31%) Eclipse RCP
7 3 (0.31%) JUnit
7 3 (0.31%) PetaLinux
7 3 (0.31%) Visual Studio
8 2 (0.21%) NUnit
8 2 (0.21%) Postman
8 2 (0.21%) SpecFlow
9 1 (0.10%) GDB
9 1 (0.10%) Storybook
9 1 (0.10%) utPLSQL
General
1 75 (7.71%) Manufacturing
2 67 (6.89%) Social Skills
3 66 (6.78%) Electronics
4 35 (3.60%) Aerospace
5 31 (3.19%) Aviation
5 31 (3.19%) Finance
6 20 (2.06%) Analytical Skills
7 17 (1.75%) Telecoms
8 14 (1.44%) Pharmaceutical
9 13 (1.34%) Military
10 10 (1.03%) Automotive
10 10 (1.03%) Games
10 10 (1.03%) Public Sector
11 6 (0.62%) Law
11 6 (0.62%) Organisational Skills
12 4 (0.41%) Digital Health
12 4 (0.41%) Health Technology
13 3 (0.31%) Banking
14 2 (0.21%) Documentation Skills
14 2 (0.21%) Tech for Good
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 125 (12.85%) .NET
2 48 (4.93%) React
3 31 (3.19%) CSS
4 30 (3.08%) HTML
5 24 (2.47%) Django
6 23 (2.36%) Vue
7 20 (2.06%) AngularJS
8 18 (1.85%) Node.js
8 18 (1.85%) Unreal Engine
9 17 (1.75%) WPF
10 16 (1.64%) REST
11 14 (1.44%) JSON
11 14 (1.44%) WebSockets
12 13 (1.34%) ASP.NET
13 12 (1.23%) XML
14 8 (0.82%) .NET Core
14 8 (0.82%) Blazor
15 7 (0.72%) pgvector
15 7 (0.72%) Qt
15 7 (0.72%) Yocto
Miscellaneous
1 48 (4.93%) Algorithms
2 34 (3.49%) Robotics
3 32 (3.29%) Embedded Systems
4 25 (2.57%) Product Ownership
5 21 (2.16%) Cloud Native
6 18 (1.85%) Distributed Computing
6 18 (1.85%) Distributed Systems
7 16 (1.64%) Client/Server
7 16 (1.64%) IoT
8 13 (1.34%) AI Agents
8 13 (1.34%) Self-Motivation
9 11 (1.13%) Data Structures
10 7 (0.72%) Life Science
11 6 (0.62%) Legacy Systems
11 6 (0.62%) Management Information System
11 6 (0.62%) Smart Energy
12 5 (0.51%) Video Conferencing
13 4 (0.41%) Driving Licence
13 4 (0.41%) FPGA
13 4 (0.41%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 96 (9.87%) Linux
2 23 (2.36%) Windows
3 9 (0.92%) Embedded Linux
4 5 (0.51%) Debian
5 3 (0.31%) Android
5 3 (0.31%) FreeRTOS
5 3 (0.31%) Gentoo
6 2 (0.21%) Robot Operating System
7 1 (0.10%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 964 (99.08%) Software Engineering
2 122 (12.54%) Agile
3 93 (9.56%) AI
4 86 (8.84%) Computer Science
5 83 (8.53%) CI/CD
5 83 (8.53%) Full-Stack Development
6 75 (7.71%) DevOps
7 69 (7.09%) Problem-Solving
8 59 (6.06%) Mentoring
9 57 (5.86%) Test Automation
10 56 (5.76%) Containerisation
11 54 (5.55%) Software Architecture
12 53 (5.45%) SDLC
13 49 (5.04%) Machine Learning
14 44 (4.52%) Continuous Improvement
15 41 (4.21%) Code Quality
16 40 (4.11%) Microservices
17 36 (3.70%) Software Testing
18 33 (3.39%) Embedded Software Development
19 28 (2.88%) Data Science
Programming Languages
1 257 (26.41%) C++
2 203 (20.86%) Python
3 197 (20.25%) C#
4 87 (8.94%) C
5 61 (6.27%) JavaScript
6 60 (6.17%) TypeScript
7 43 (4.42%) SQL
8 42 (4.32%) Java
9 30 (3.08%) Rust
10 13 (1.34%) Go
11 10 (1.03%) Ada
12 8 (0.82%) PHP
13 7 (0.72%) MATLAB
13 7 (0.72%) Ruby
14 6 (0.62%) PL/SQL
15 5 (0.51%) T-SQL
16 4 (0.41%) Apex Code
16 4 (0.41%) Bash
16 4 (0.41%) Julia
16 4 (0.41%) VB.NET
Qualifications
1 177 (18.19%) Degree
2 116 (11.92%) Security Cleared
3 88 (9.04%) Computer Science Degree
4 83 (8.53%) SC Cleared
5 45 (4.62%) Master's Degree
6 30 (3.08%) DV Cleared
7 24 (2.47%) PhD
8 8 (0.82%) Azure Certification
9 7 (0.72%) 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 (2.47%) QA
2 4 (0.41%) DO-178B
3 3 (0.31%) ECSS
3 3 (0.31%) GAMP
4 2 (0.21%) GDPR
4 2 (0.21%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 1 (0.10%) AUTOSAR
5 1 (0.10%) ISO 9001
5 1 (0.10%) MISRA
5 1 (0.10%) MISRA C
System Software
1 69 (7.09%) Docker
2 34 (3.49%) Firmware
3 11 (1.13%) Embedded Firmware
3 11 (1.13%) KVM
3 11 (1.13%) VMware Infrastructure
4 10 (1.03%) Hyper-V
5 8 (0.82%) Virtual Machines
6 1 (0.10%) Active Directory
Systems Management
1 39 (4.01%) Kubernetes
2 15 (1.54%) Terraform
3 11 (1.13%) Ansible
4 5 (0.51%) Podman
5 1 (0.10%) Puppet
Vendors
1 12 (1.23%) Microsoft
1 12 (1.23%) Oracle
2 11 (1.13%) VMware
3 9 (0.92%) Salesforce
4 4 (0.41%) Google
5 3 (0.31%) Allen-Bradley
5 3 (0.31%) Siemens
5 3 (0.31%) Wonderware
5 3 (0.31%) Xilinx
6 2 (0.21%) Atlassian
6 2 (0.21%) Yahoo!
7 1 (0.10%) Adobe
7 1 (0.10%) IBM
7 1 (0.10%) NVIDIA
7 1 (0.10%) ServiceNow
7 1 (0.10%) Typelevel
7 1 (0.10%) Xamarin