C++ Software Engineer Job Trends

Software Engineer - C++
UK

The median Software Engineer - C++ salary in the UK is £75,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 6 July 2026.

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

6 months to
6 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 433 618 524
Rank change year-on-year +185 -94 +170
Permanent jobs requiring a C++ Software Engineer 364 64 393
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.37% 0.13% 0.38%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.40% 0.15% 0.40%
Number of salaries quoted 288 45 329
10th Percentile £51,100 £51,250 £39,750
25th Percentile £63,875 - £47,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £75,000 £65,000 £60,000
Median % change year-on-year +15.38% +8.33% +4.35%
75th Percentile £100,000 £106,250 £66,250
90th Percentile £103,375 £111,250 £80,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £65,000 £65,000 £60,000
% change year-on-year - +8.33% +4.35%

All Permanent IT Job Roles
UK

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies. 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 UK with a recognized job title 91,659 43,150 98,619
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 94.16% 89.93% 94.75%
Number of salaries quoted 62,930 25,242 71,006
10th Percentile £30,000 £28,750 £28,500
25th Percentile £40,000 £38,000 £38,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £55,000 £52,500
Median % change year-on-year - +4.76% -12.50%
75th Percentile £75,000 £75,360 £70,000
90th Percentile £95,000 £97,500 £90,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £52,130 £50,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year +4.26% - -5.66%

C++ Software Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend

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

C++ Software Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK

C++ Software Engineer
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for C++ Software Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Salary distribution trend for C++ Software Engineer job vacancies in the UK

C++ Software Engineer
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing C++ Software Engineer over the 6 months to 6 July 2026.

Salary histogram for C++ Software Engineer in the UK

C++ Software Engineer
Top 16 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing C++ Software Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 6 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
England +175 347 £76,250 +17.31% 75
UK excluding London +152 275 £65,000 - 58
South East +95 139 £65,000 - 14
London +38 85 £100,000 -3.61% 20
Work from Home +27 63 £80,000 +23.08% 46
South West -29 49 £60,000 -7.69% 15
East of England +16 33 £80,000 +23.08% 19
North of England -14 27 £90,000 +80.00% 5
North East - 21 £100,000 - 2
Midlands - 14 £45,000 - 4
East Midlands - 12 £45,000 - 3
Scotland +24 10 £65,000 - 3
North West -10 6 £70,000 +40.00% 2
Wales - 2 £35,000 -
West Midlands - 2 £70,000 - 1
Northern Ireland - 1 £65,000 -

C++ Software Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 6 July 2026, C++ 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 featuring C++ Software Engineer in the job title.

1 364 (100.00%) C++
2 355 (97.53%) Software Engineering
3 102 (28.02%) Python
4 78 (21.43%) Linux
5 65 (17.86%) Degree
6 54 (14.84%) Low Latency
7 52 (14.29%) AI
8 48 (13.19%) Computer Science
8 48 (13.19%) Computer Science Degree
9 47 (12.91%) Rust
10 45 (12.36%) C#
11 42 (11.54%) SDLC
12 36 (9.89%) Agile
13 35 (9.62%) C
14 34 (9.34%) Mathematics
15 30 (8.24%) SC Cleared
15 30 (8.24%) Security Cleared
16 28 (7.69%) OOP
16 28 (7.69%) Technical Leadership
17 27 (7.42%) Boost C++ Libraries
18 24 (6.59%) Workflow
19 23 (6.32%) AWS
19 23 (6.32%) Machine Learning
19 23 (6.32%) Multithreading
20 21 (5.77%) Master's Degree
21 20 (5.49%) Embedded C++
21 20 (5.49%) Fintech
21 20 (5.49%) PhD
22 19 (5.22%) QA
23 18 (4.95%) JIRA

C++ Software Engineer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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:

Cloud Services
1 23 (6.32%) AWS
2 13 (3.57%) GitHub
3 6 (1.65%) Azure
4 3 (0.82%) Amazon EKS
5 2 (0.55%) SaaS
6 1 (0.27%) Azure DevOps
6 1 (0.27%) GitHub Actions
6 1 (0.27%) GitHub Copilot
6 1 (0.27%) Microsoft 365
6 1 (0.27%) Microsoft Copilot
Communications & Networking
1 17 (4.67%) Multicast
2 7 (1.92%) Ethernet
3 1 (0.27%) LTE
Database & Business Intelligence
1 4 (1.10%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 18 (4.95%) JIRA
2 13 (3.57%) Git
3 3 (0.82%) Visual Studio
4 1 (0.27%) GDB
4 1 (0.27%) Jenkins
4 1 (0.27%) Rational DOORS
4 1 (0.27%) WinDbg
General
1 55 (15.11%) Finance
2 21 (5.77%) Manufacturing
3 18 (4.95%) Aerospace
4 17 (4.67%) Banking
5 13 (3.57%) Automotive
6 9 (2.47%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 7 (1.92%) Social Skills
8 3 (0.82%) Analytical Skills
9 2 (0.55%) Aviation
9 2 (0.55%) Games
9 2 (0.55%) Military
10 1 (0.27%) Aeronautics
10 1 (0.27%) Documentation Skills
10 1 (0.27%) Influencing Skills
10 1 (0.27%) Tech for Good
10 1 (0.27%) Telecoms
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 27 (7.42%) Boost C++ Libraries
2 17 (4.67%) FIX Protocol
2 17 (4.67%) pytest
3 15 (4.12%) Unreal Engine
4 10 (2.75%) Qt
5 6 (1.65%) Django
5 6 (1.65%) OpenGL
5 6 (1.65%) Vue
6 5 (1.37%) RESTful
7 3 (0.82%) Middleware
7 3 (0.82%) ZeroMQ
8 2 (0.55%) .NET
8 2 (0.55%) Blazor
8 2 (0.55%) QML
8 2 (0.55%) STL
9 1 (0.27%) React
9 1 (0.27%) REST
9 1 (0.27%) WebRTC
9 1 (0.27%) WinForms
Miscellaneous
1 42 (11.54%) Algorithms
2 17 (4.67%) Derivative
2 17 (4.67%) Distributed Computing
2 17 (4.67%) Equities
2 17 (4.67%) Fixed Income
3 13 (3.57%) Distributed Systems
3 13 (3.57%) Robotics
4 11 (3.02%) Data Structures
5 8 (2.20%) Embedded Systems
6 7 (1.92%) Device Driver
7 6 (1.65%) Augmented Reality
7 6 (1.65%) Distributed Architecture
7 6 (1.65%) Virtual Reality
8 3 (0.82%) CUDA
8 3 (0.82%) Cyber Threat
8 3 (0.82%) Hedge funds
9 1 (0.27%) AI Agents
9 1 (0.27%) FPGA
9 1 (0.27%) Greenfield Project
Operating Systems
1 78 (21.43%) Linux
2 11 (3.02%) Windows
3 2 (0.55%) Mac OS
3 2 (0.55%) Robot Operating System
Processes & Methodologies
1 355 (97.53%) Software Engineering
2 54 (14.84%) Low Latency
3 52 (14.29%) AI
4 48 (13.19%) Computer Science
5 42 (11.54%) SDLC
6 36 (9.89%) Agile
7 34 (9.34%) Mathematics
8 28 (7.69%) OOP
8 28 (7.69%) Technical Leadership
9 24 (6.59%) Workflow
10 23 (6.32%) Machine Learning
10 23 (6.32%) Multithreading
11 20 (5.49%) Fintech
12 17 (4.67%) Continuous Integration
12 17 (4.67%) Process Improvement
13 16 (4.40%) Data Science
13 16 (4.40%) High-Frequency Trading
14 15 (4.12%) Physics
14 15 (4.12%) Problem-Solving
14 15 (4.12%) Software Architecture
Programming Languages
1 364 (100.00%) C++
2 102 (28.02%) Python
3 47 (12.91%) Rust
4 45 (12.36%) C#
5 35 (9.62%) C
6 20 (5.49%) Embedded C++
7 11 (3.02%) SQL
8 8 (2.20%) TypeScript
9 6 (1.65%) Java
9 6 (1.65%) JavaScript
10 4 (1.10%) Julia
11 3 (0.82%) Bash
12 1 (0.27%) Ada
12 1 (0.27%) Erlang
12 1 (0.27%) OCaml
12 1 (0.27%) VB.NET
Qualifications
1 65 (17.86%) Degree
2 48 (13.19%) Computer Science Degree
3 30 (8.24%) SC Cleared
3 30 (8.24%) Security Cleared
4 21 (5.77%) Master's Degree
5 20 (5.49%) PhD
6 2 (0.55%) BPSS Clearance
6 2 (0.55%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 19 (5.22%) QA
System Software
1 4 (1.10%) Docker
2 1 (0.27%) Embedded Firmware
2 1 (0.27%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 6 (1.65%) Kubernetes
2 2 (0.55%) Terraform
Vendors
1 3 (0.82%) Microsoft
2 2 (0.55%) Apple
3 1 (0.27%) IBM