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 29 June 2026.

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

6 months to
29 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 430 628 540
Rank change year-on-year +198 -88 +167
Permanent jobs requiring a C++ Software Engineer 356 58 400
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.37% 0.13% 0.38%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.39% 0.14% 0.40%
Number of salaries quoted 282 38 336
10th Percentile £51,250 £50,875 £39,375
25th Percentile £65,000 £63,125 £47,188
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 £109,063 £66,313
90th Percentile £110,125 £116,875 £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 90,300 41,384 100,134
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 94.10% 89.50% 94.73%
Number of salaries quoted 61,954 23,849 72,187
10th Percentile £30,000 £28,750 £28,500
25th Percentile £40,000 £38,500 £38,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £57,000 £52,500
Median % change year-on-year -3.51% +8.57% -12.50%
75th Percentile £75,000 £76,250 £70,000
90th Percentile £95,000 £97,500 £90,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £51,250 £50,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year +2.50% - -6.54%

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 29 June 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 29 June 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 +193 342 £77,500 +19.23% 54
UK excluding London +143 263 £65,000 - 46
South East +81 135 £65,000 - 14
London +56 89 £100,000 -3.61% 9
Work from Home +49 60 £80,000 +10.34% 26
South West -34 47 £60,000 -7.69% 12
East of England +13 30 £80,000 +23.08% 15
North of England -33 26 £95,000 +90.00% 3
North East - 20 £100,000 - 2
Midlands - 15 £45,000 - 4
East Midlands - 13 £45,000 - 3
Scotland +25 7 £65,000 - 1
North West +5 6 £70,000 +40.00% 1
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 29 June 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.

1 356 (100.00%) C++
2 347 (97.47%) Software Engineering
3 99 (27.81%) Python
4 74 (20.79%) Linux
5 62 (17.42%) Degree
6 55 (15.45%) Low Latency
7 50 (14.04%) AI
8 48 (13.48%) Computer Science Degree
9 47 (13.20%) Rust
10 46 (12.92%) Computer Science
11 44 (12.36%) C#
12 40 (11.24%) SDLC
13 36 (10.11%) Agile
14 33 (9.27%) C
14 33 (9.27%) Mathematics
15 29 (8.15%) SC Cleared
15 29 (8.15%) Security Cleared
16 28 (7.87%) Technical Leadership
17 27 (7.58%) Boost C++ Libraries
18 26 (7.30%) OOP
19 24 (6.74%) Workflow
20 23 (6.46%) AWS
20 23 (6.46%) Machine Learning
20 23 (6.46%) Multithreading
21 21 (5.90%) Master's Degree
22 20 (5.62%) Fintech
22 20 (5.62%) PhD
23 19 (5.34%) Embedded C++
23 19 (5.34%) QA
24 17 (4.78%) Continuous Integration

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 (6.46%) AWS
2 13 (3.65%) GitHub
3 6 (1.69%) Azure
4 3 (0.84%) Amazon EKS
5 2 (0.56%) SaaS
6 1 (0.28%) Azure DevOps
6 1 (0.28%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 17 (4.78%) Multicast
2 7 (1.97%) Ethernet
3 1 (0.28%) LTE
3 1 (0.28%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 3 (0.84%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 17 (4.78%) JIRA
2 13 (3.65%) Git
3 2 (0.56%) Visual Studio
4 1 (0.28%) GDB
4 1 (0.28%) Jenkins
4 1 (0.28%) WinDbg
General
1 54 (15.17%) Finance
2 21 (5.90%) Manufacturing
3 20 (5.62%) Aerospace
4 17 (4.78%) Banking
5 15 (4.21%) Automotive
6 9 (2.53%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 7 (1.97%) Social Skills
8 4 (1.12%) Aeronautics
9 3 (0.84%) Analytical Skills
10 2 (0.56%) Aviation
10 2 (0.56%) Games
10 2 (0.56%) Military
11 1 (0.28%) Influencing Skills
11 1 (0.28%) Tech for Good
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 27 (7.58%) Boost C++ Libraries
2 17 (4.78%) FIX Protocol
2 17 (4.78%) pytest
3 15 (4.21%) Unreal Engine
4 11 (3.09%) Qt
5 6 (1.69%) Django
5 6 (1.69%) OpenGL
5 6 (1.69%) Vue
6 5 (1.40%) RESTful
7 3 (0.84%) Middleware
7 3 (0.84%) ZeroMQ
8 2 (0.56%) .NET
8 2 (0.56%) Blazor
9 1 (0.28%) QML
9 1 (0.28%) React
9 1 (0.28%) REST
9 1 (0.28%) STL
9 1 (0.28%) WebRTC
9 1 (0.28%) WinForms
Miscellaneous
1 41 (11.52%) Algorithms
2 17 (4.78%) Derivative
2 17 (4.78%) Distributed Computing
2 17 (4.78%) Equities
2 17 (4.78%) Fixed Income
3 12 (3.37%) Distributed Systems
4 11 (3.09%) Data Structures
4 11 (3.09%) Robotics
5 8 (2.25%) Embedded Systems
6 7 (1.97%) Device Driver
7 6 (1.69%) Augmented Reality
7 6 (1.69%) Distributed Architecture
7 6 (1.69%) Virtual Reality
8 3 (0.84%) CUDA
8 3 (0.84%) Cyber Threat
8 3 (0.84%) Hedge funds
9 1 (0.28%) AI Agents
9 1 (0.28%) FPGA
9 1 (0.28%) Greenfield Project
Operating Systems
1 74 (20.79%) Linux
2 10 (2.81%) Windows
3 2 (0.56%) Mac OS
4 1 (0.28%) Robot Operating System
Processes & Methodologies
1 347 (97.47%) Software Engineering
2 55 (15.45%) Low Latency
3 50 (14.04%) AI
4 46 (12.92%) Computer Science
5 40 (11.24%) SDLC
6 36 (10.11%) Agile
7 33 (9.27%) Mathematics
8 28 (7.87%) Technical Leadership
9 26 (7.30%) OOP
10 24 (6.74%) Workflow
11 23 (6.46%) Machine Learning
11 23 (6.46%) Multithreading
12 20 (5.62%) Fintech
13 17 (4.78%) Continuous Integration
13 17 (4.78%) High-Frequency Trading
13 17 (4.78%) Process Improvement
14 15 (4.21%) Data Science
14 15 (4.21%) Problem-Solving
15 14 (3.93%) Physics
15 14 (3.93%) Software Architecture
Programming Languages
1 356 (100.00%) C++
2 99 (27.81%) Python
3 47 (13.20%) Rust
4 44 (12.36%) C#
5 33 (9.27%) C
6 19 (5.34%) Embedded C++
7 11 (3.09%) SQL
8 8 (2.25%) TypeScript
9 6 (1.69%) Java
9 6 (1.69%) JavaScript
10 4 (1.12%) Julia
11 3 (0.84%) Bash
12 1 (0.28%) Erlang
12 1 (0.28%) OCaml
12 1 (0.28%) VB.NET
Qualifications
1 62 (17.42%) Degree
2 48 (13.48%) Computer Science Degree
3 29 (8.15%) SC Cleared
3 29 (8.15%) Security Cleared
4 21 (5.90%) Master's Degree
5 20 (5.62%) PhD
6 1 (0.28%) BPSS Clearance
6 1 (0.28%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 19 (5.34%) QA
System Software
1 3 (0.84%) Docker
2 1 (0.28%) Embedded Firmware
2 1 (0.28%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 6 (1.69%) Kubernetes
2 2 (0.56%) Terraform
Vendors
1 2 (0.56%) Apple
2 1 (0.28%) Microsoft