C++ Software Engineer Job Trends

Software Engineer - C++
UK

The median Software Engineer - C++ salary in the UK is £65,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 14 September 2026.

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

6 months to
14 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 449 607 504
Rank change year-on-year +158 -103 +136
Permanent jobs requiring a C++ Software Engineer 392 56 305
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.35% 0.11% 0.39%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.37% 0.13% 0.41%
Number of salaries quoted 294 44 230
10th Percentile £50,000 £50,750 £35,000
25th Percentile £60,000 - £45,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £65,000 £65,000 £60,000
Median % change year-on-year - +8.33% +4.35%
75th Percentile £94,063 £106,250 £67,500
90th Percentile £100,000 £122,125 £75,500
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 106,119 44,341 74,255
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 93.46% 89.67% 95.26%
Number of salaries quoted 73,014 26,036 45,320
10th Percentile £30,000 £28,250 £30,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £36,250 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £59,000 £55,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year +7.27% - -8.33%
75th Percentile £77,500 £74,258 £73,750
90th Percentile £100,000 £95,000 £92,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £55,000 £47,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year +15.79% -5.00% -4.76%

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 14 September 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 14 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
England +181 367 £65,000 - 129
UK excluding London +144 326 £65,000 - 75
South East +76 132 £65,000 -23.53% 18
Work from Home +52 96 £77,500 +19.23% 148
South West -16 72 £60,000 -7.69% 18
London -11 61 £100,000 -9.09% 46
East of England +28 60 £75,000 +15.38% 27
North of England -38 26 £90,000 +80.00% 4
North East - 22 £100,000 - 1
Midlands - 16 £57,500 - 7
Scotland - 15 £85,000 - 3
East Midlands - 14 £45,000 - 4
North West -14 4 £70,000 +40.00% 3
Wales - 4 £35,000 - 1
West Midlands - 2 £70,000 - 3
Northern Ireland - 1 £65,000 -

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

For the 6 months to 14 September 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.

1 392 (100.00%) C++
2 384 (97.96%) Software Engineering
3 102 (26.02%) Linux
4 97 (24.74%) Python
5 69 (17.60%) Degree
6 67 (17.09%) AI
7 48 (12.24%) Computer Science Degree
8 46 (11.73%) Computer Science
9 45 (11.48%) C
10 44 (11.22%) Low Latency
11 43 (10.97%) C#
12 42 (10.71%) Security Cleared
13 41 (10.46%) SDLC
14 35 (8.93%) Rust
15 34 (8.67%) SC Cleared
16 31 (7.91%) Agile
16 31 (7.91%) Mathematics
17 29 (7.40%) AWS
17 29 (7.40%) Embedded C++
18 26 (6.63%) Data Science
19 24 (6.12%) Machine Learning
20 23 (5.87%) Fintech
20 23 (5.87%) Master's Degree
20 23 (5.87%) OOP
20 23 (5.87%) PhD
21 21 (5.36%) Problem-Solving
22 20 (5.10%) Boost C++ Libraries
23 19 (4.85%) Computational Fluid Dynamics
23 19 (4.85%) Finite Element Analysis
23 19 (4.85%) Software Architecture

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 29 (7.40%) AWS
2 9 (2.30%) Azure
3 8 (2.04%) GitHub
4 4 (1.02%) Amazon EKS
5 2 (0.51%) SaaS
6 1 (0.26%) Azure DevOps
6 1 (0.26%) GCP
6 1 (0.26%) GitHub Actions
6 1 (0.26%) GitHub Copilot
6 1 (0.26%) Microsoft 365
6 1 (0.26%) Microsoft Copilot
Communications & Networking
1 11 (2.81%) Ethernet
1 11 (2.81%) Multicast
2 4 (1.02%) TCP/IP
3 1 (0.26%) 5G
3 1 (0.26%) LTE
3 1 (0.26%) NGN
3 1 (0.26%) SNMP
3 1 (0.26%) VLAN
3 1 (0.26%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 9 (2.30%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 14 (3.57%) Git
2 12 (3.06%) JIRA
3 7 (1.79%) Jenkins
4 5 (1.28%) CMake
5 4 (1.02%) Visual Studio
6 2 (0.51%) GDB
6 2 (0.51%) Rational DOORS
7 1 (0.26%) Valgrind
7 1 (0.26%) WinDbg
General
1 46 (11.73%) Finance
2 21 (5.36%) Manufacturing
3 18 (4.59%) Aerospace
4 15 (3.83%) Automotive
5 11 (2.81%) Banking
5 11 (2.81%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 9 (2.30%) Tech for Good
7 8 (2.04%) Social Skills
8 4 (1.02%) Electronics
8 4 (1.02%) Military
9 3 (0.77%) Analytical Skills
10 2 (0.51%) Aviation
11 1 (0.26%) Documentation Skills
11 1 (0.26%) Telecoms
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 20 (5.10%) Boost C++ Libraries
2 11 (2.81%) FIX Protocol
2 11 (2.81%) pytest
3 10 (2.55%) Django
3 10 (2.55%) Vue
4 8 (2.04%) RESTful
5 6 (1.53%) OpenGL
6 4 (1.02%) Yocto
7 3 (0.77%) GraphQL
7 3 (0.77%) QML
7 3 (0.77%) Qt
8 2 (0.51%) .NET
8 2 (0.51%) Middleware
8 2 (0.51%) STL
8 2 (0.51%) Unreal Engine
8 2 (0.51%) ZeroMQ
9 1 (0.26%) CSS
9 1 (0.26%) HTML
9 1 (0.26%) REST
9 1 (0.26%) WinForms
Miscellaneous
1 32 (8.16%) Algorithms
2 22 (5.61%) Distributed Computing
3 18 (4.59%) Robotics
4 11 (2.81%) Cyber Threat
4 11 (2.81%) Derivative
4 11 (2.81%) Equities
4 11 (2.81%) Fixed Income
5 9 (2.30%) Distributed Architecture
5 9 (2.30%) Embedded Systems
6 8 (2.04%) Data Structures
7 7 (1.79%) Device Driver
7 7 (1.79%) Distributed Systems
8 6 (1.53%) Augmented Reality
8 6 (1.53%) Virtual Reality
9 4 (1.02%) Hedge funds
10 1 (0.26%) AI Agents
10 1 (0.26%) Client/Server
10 1 (0.26%) FPGA
10 1 (0.26%) Greenfield Project
10 1 (0.26%) Linux Command Line
Operating Systems
1 102 (26.02%) Linux
2 17 (4.34%) Windows
3 5 (1.28%) Embedded Linux
4 2 (0.51%) Robot Operating System
5 1 (0.26%) Android
Processes & Methodologies
1 384 (97.96%) Software Engineering
2 67 (17.09%) AI
3 46 (11.73%) Computer Science
4 44 (11.22%) Low Latency
5 41 (10.46%) SDLC
6 31 (7.91%) Agile
6 31 (7.91%) Mathematics
7 26 (6.63%) Data Science
8 24 (6.12%) Machine Learning
9 23 (5.87%) Fintech
9 23 (5.87%) OOP
10 21 (5.36%) Problem-Solving
11 19 (4.85%) Computational Fluid Dynamics
11 19 (4.85%) Finite Element Analysis
11 19 (4.85%) Software Architecture
11 19 (4.85%) Workflow
12 18 (4.59%) CI/CD
13 15 (3.83%) Cybersecurity
13 15 (3.83%) Requirements Management
13 15 (3.83%) Technical Leadership
Programming Languages
1 392 (100.00%) C++
2 97 (24.74%) Python
3 45 (11.48%) C
4 43 (10.97%) C#
5 35 (8.93%) Rust
6 29 (7.40%) Embedded C++
7 12 (3.06%) TypeScript
8 9 (2.30%) JavaScript
8 9 (2.30%) SQL
9 6 (1.53%) Java
10 5 (1.28%) Embedded C
11 3 (0.77%) Bash
11 3 (0.77%) Julia
12 1 (0.26%) Ada
12 1 (0.26%) Fortran
12 1 (0.26%) VB.NET
Qualifications
1 69 (17.60%) Degree
2 48 (12.24%) Computer Science Degree
3 42 (10.71%) Security Cleared
4 34 (8.67%) SC Cleared
5 23 (5.87%) Master's Degree
5 23 (5.87%) PhD
6 11 (2.81%) DV Cleared
7 5 (1.28%) BPSS Clearance
8 2 (0.51%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 12 (3.06%) QA
2 2 (0.51%) AUTOSAR
2 2 (0.51%) MISRA
2 2 (0.51%) MISRA C
3 1 (0.26%) Accessibility
3 1 (0.26%) ISO 9001
System Software
1 15 (3.83%) Docker
2 2 (0.51%) Embedded Firmware
2 2 (0.51%) Firmware
2 2 (0.51%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 11 (2.81%) Kubernetes
Vendors
1 4 (1.02%) Microsoft
2 1 (0.26%) Atlassian
2 1 (0.26%) IBM
2 1 (0.26%) Intel