C++ Software Engineer Job Trends

Software Engineer - C++
UK

The median Software Engineer - C++ salary in the UK is £70,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 14 December 2025.

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

6 months to
14 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 543 568 561
Rank change year-on-year +25 -7 +196
Permanent jobs requiring a C++ Software Engineer 103 148 134
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.18% 0.25% 0.27%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.20% 0.27% 0.28%
Number of salaries quoted 85 88 98
10th Percentile £46,100 £44,250 £41,000
25th Percentile £60,000 £55,500 £47,125
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £70,000 £65,000 £57,500
Median % change year-on-year +7.69% +13.04% -
75th Percentile £100,000 £82,500 £65,000
90th Percentile £111,250 £95,000 £82,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £65,000 £65,000 £57,500
% change year-on-year - +13.04% +2.22%

All Permanent IT Job Vacancies
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 52,344 54,757 47,045
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 90.08% 93.89% 95.24%
Number of salaries quoted 32,163 29,820 36,466
10th Percentile £28,500 £32,725 £31,250
25th Percentile £36,250 £43,750 £42,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £59,430 £60,000
Median % change year-on-year -7.45% -0.95% -
75th Percentile £75,000 £77,500 £80,000
90th Percentile £92,500 £96,250 £97,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £48,500 £52,500 £52,500
% change year-on-year -7.62% - -

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 December 2025.

Salary histogram for C++ Software Engineer in the UK

C++ Software Engineer
Top 13 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 December 2025. 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 +60 102 £70,000 +7.69% 107
UK excluding London +19 80 £65,000 - 104
South East +30 30 £67,500 -3.57% 30
South West +13 26 £65,000 +8.33% 23
London +76 22 £100,000 - 15
North of England +26 12 £45,000 -36.17% 13
Work from Home +32 10 £75,000 +15.38% 73
Yorkshire - 10 £45,000 - 7
East of England +22 9 £70,000 +3.70% 20
Midlands +15 3 £53,750 -9.66% 12
North West +31 2 £50,000 - 5
West Midlands +18 2 £53,750 -12.60% 3
East Midlands -2 1 - - 8

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

For the 6 months to 14 December 2025, 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.

1 103 (100.00%) C++
1 103 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 35 (33.98%) Linux
3 23 (22.33%) Degree
3 23 (22.33%) Python
4 22 (21.36%) Agile
4 22 (21.36%) Mathematics
5 18 (17.48%) C#
5 18 (17.48%) Multithreading
5 18 (17.48%) Windows
6 16 (15.53%) Low Latency
6 16 (15.53%) Qt
7 15 (14.56%) Continuous Integration
7 15 (14.56%) JIRA
8 14 (13.59%) SDLC
9 13 (12.62%) Embedded C++
10 12 (11.65%) Computer Science
10 12 (11.65%) Embedded Firmware
10 12 (11.65%) Firmware
10 12 (11.65%) Git
11 11 (10.68%) Boost C++ Libraries
11 11 (10.68%) FIX Protocol
11 11 (10.68%) Multicast
11 11 (10.68%) OOP
11 11 (10.68%) Process Improvement
11 11 (10.68%) pytest
11 11 (10.68%) QA
11 11 (10.68%) Technical Leadership
11 11 (10.68%) Workflow
12 10 (9.71%) Visual Studio

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:

Applications
1 1 (0.97%) Photoshop
Cloud Services
1 4 (3.88%) GitHub
2 2 (1.94%) AWS
3 1 (0.97%) Azure
3 1 (0.97%) Azure DevOps
Communications & Networking
1 11 (10.68%) Multicast
2 6 (5.83%) TCP/IP
3 5 (4.85%) Wireless
4 4 (3.88%) DNS
4 4 (3.88%) HTTP
4 4 (3.88%) SMTP
5 3 (2.91%) ATM
6 2 (1.94%) 3G
6 2 (1.94%) GPRS
6 2 (1.94%) GSM
6 2 (1.94%) Modbus
6 2 (1.94%) RS-232
6 2 (1.94%) RS-485
6 2 (1.94%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 3 (2.91%) GIS
Development Applications
1 15 (14.56%) JIRA
2 12 (11.65%) Git
3 10 (9.71%) Visual Studio
4 3 (2.91%) Jenkins
4 3 (2.91%) TestRail
General
1 16 (15.53%) Finance
2 11 (10.68%) Banking
3 8 (7.77%) Manufacturing
4 6 (5.83%) Analytical Skills
5 3 (2.91%) Social Skills
6 2 (1.94%) Aerospace
6 2 (1.94%) Military
7 1 (0.97%) Electronics
7 1 (0.97%) Tech for Good
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 16 (15.53%) Qt
2 11 (10.68%) Boost C++ Libraries
2 11 (10.68%) FIX Protocol
2 11 (10.68%) pytest
3 3 (2.91%) WPF
4 2 (1.94%) Middleware
4 2 (1.94%) ZeroMQ
Miscellaneous
1 18 (17.48%) Algorithms
2 12 (11.65%) Fixed Income
3 11 (10.68%) Derivative
3 11 (10.68%) Equities
4 6 (5.83%) 3D Graphics
5 4 (3.88%) GNSS
5 4 (3.88%) Satnav
5 4 (3.88%) Self-Motivation
6 3 (2.91%) Data Structures
7 2 (1.94%) Embedded Systems
7 2 (1.94%) Robotics
Operating Systems
1 35 (33.98%) Linux
2 18 (17.48%) Windows
3 2 (1.94%) Embedded Linux
3 2 (1.94%) FreeRTOS
4 1 (0.97%) Mac OS
Processes & Methodologies
1 103 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 22 (21.36%) Agile
2 22 (21.36%) Mathematics
3 18 (17.48%) Multithreading
4 16 (15.53%) Low Latency
5 15 (14.56%) Continuous Integration
6 14 (13.59%) SDLC
7 12 (11.65%) Computer Science
8 11 (10.68%) OOP
8 11 (10.68%) Process Improvement
8 11 (10.68%) Technical Leadership
8 11 (10.68%) Workflow
9 9 (8.74%) Digital Signal Processing
9 9 (8.74%) Machine Learning
9 9 (8.74%) Mentoring
9 9 (8.74%) Signal Processing
10 8 (7.77%) AI
11 7 (6.80%) Test Automation
12 6 (5.83%) Mathematical Modelling
12 6 (5.83%) Problem-Solving
Programming Languages
1 103 (100.00%) C++
2 23 (22.33%) Python
3 18 (17.48%) C#
4 13 (12.62%) Embedded C++
5 7 (6.80%) C
6 5 (4.85%) Bash
7 4 (3.88%) SQL
8 3 (2.91%) Java
8 3 (2.91%) Julia
8 3 (2.91%) Rust
9 1 (0.97%) JavaScript
9 1 (0.97%) Perl
9 1 (0.97%) TypeScript
9 1 (0.97%) VBA
Qualifications
1 23 (22.33%) Degree
2 9 (8.74%) Master's Degree
2 9 (8.74%) PhD
3 4 (3.88%) Computer Science Degree
4 3 (2.91%) SC Cleared
4 3 (2.91%) Security Cleared
5 2 (1.94%) DV Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 11 (10.68%) QA
2 2 (1.94%) MISRA
System Software
1 12 (11.65%) Embedded Firmware
1 12 (11.65%) Firmware
Vendors
1 1 (0.97%) Apple
1 1 (0.97%) Foundry
1 1 (0.97%) Palantir