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 8 January 2026.

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

 6 months to
8 Jan 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 535 583 560
Rank change year-on-year +48 -23 +130
Permanent jobs requiring a C++ Software Engineer 112 125 150
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.19% 0.23% 0.28%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.21% 0.25% 0.29%
Number of salaries quoted 87 63 115
10th Percentile £47,400 £49,000 £40,000
25th Percentile £60,000 £56,250 £47,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £70,000 £65,000 £57,500
Median % change year-on-year +7.69% +13.04% -2.13%
75th Percentile £100,000 £88,750 £70,000
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% -

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 54,184 50,447 51,400
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 90.62% 92.94% 95.28%
Number of salaries quoted 33,461 26,369 39,567
10th Percentile £28,500 £33,200 £30,750
25th Percentile £36,250 £45,000 £41,566
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £60,000 £57,500
Median % change year-on-year -8.33% +4.35% -4.17%
75th Percentile £75,000 £78,750 £77,500
90th Percentile £93,750 £97,500 £96,539
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,000 £52,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year -4.76% +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 8 January 2026.

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 8 January 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 +72 111 £70,000 +7.69% 62
UK excluding London +24 79 £65,000 - 57
South East +22 35 £67,500 +3.85% 18
London +79 32 £100,000 - 9
South West +11 20 £65,000 +57.58% 17
Work from Home +25 13 £100,000 +53.85% 19
North of England +18 11 £45,000 -43.75% 1
Yorkshire - 10 £45,000 -
Midlands +6 7 £53,750 -12.60% 4
East of England +20 6 £70,000 +3.70% 16
East Midlands +6 5 - - 4
West Midlands +10 2 £53,750 -14.00%
North West +24 1 £50,000 -9.91% 1

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

For the 6 months to 8 January 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.

1 112 (100.00%) C++
1 112 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 37 (33.04%) Linux
3 26 (23.21%) Python
4 23 (20.54%) Agile
4 23 (20.54%) Mathematics
5 22 (19.64%) Low Latency
6 21 (18.75%) Degree
7 18 (16.07%) Qt
7 18 (16.07%) Windows
8 17 (15.18%) C#
8 17 (15.18%) Continuous Integration
8 17 (15.18%) JIRA
8 17 (15.18%) SDLC
9 16 (14.29%) Multithreading
10 15 (13.39%) Computer Science
11 14 (12.50%) Boost C++ Libraries
11 14 (12.50%) FIX Protocol
11 14 (12.50%) Git
11 14 (12.50%) Multicast
11 14 (12.50%) OOP
11 14 (12.50%) Process Improvement
11 14 (12.50%) pytest
11 14 (12.50%) QA
11 14 (12.50%) Technical Leadership
11 14 (12.50%) Workflow
12 12 (10.71%) Embedded C++
12 12 (10.71%) Embedded Firmware
12 12 (10.71%) Firmware
13 10 (8.93%) 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 (0.89%) Photoshop
Cloud Services
1 7 (6.25%) GitHub
2 2 (1.79%) AWS
3 1 (0.89%) Azure
3 1 (0.89%) Azure DevOps
Communications & Networking
1 14 (12.50%) Multicast
2 8 (7.14%) Wireless
3 6 (5.36%) TCP/IP
4 4 (3.57%) DNS
4 4 (3.57%) HTTP
4 4 (3.57%) SMTP
5 3 (2.68%) ATM
6 2 (1.79%) 3G
6 2 (1.79%) GPRS
6 2 (1.79%) GSM
6 2 (1.79%) Modbus
6 2 (1.79%) RS-232
6 2 (1.79%) RS-485
6 2 (1.79%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 2 (1.79%) GIS
Development Applications
1 17 (15.18%) JIRA
2 14 (12.50%) Git
3 10 (8.93%) Visual Studio
4 2 (1.79%) Jenkins
4 2 (1.79%) TestRail
General
1 19 (16.96%) Finance
2 14 (12.50%) Banking
3 6 (5.36%) Analytical Skills
4 5 (4.46%) Aerospace
4 5 (4.46%) Manufacturing
5 3 (2.68%) Aeronautics
5 3 (2.68%) Automotive
5 3 (2.68%) Social Skills
6 2 (1.79%) Military
7 1 (0.89%) Electronics
7 1 (0.89%) Tech for Good
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 18 (16.07%) Qt
2 14 (12.50%) Boost C++ Libraries
2 14 (12.50%) FIX Protocol
2 14 (12.50%) pytest
3 2 (1.79%) Middleware
3 2 (1.79%) WPF
3 2 (1.79%) ZeroMQ
Miscellaneous
1 20 (17.86%) Algorithms
2 15 (13.39%) Fixed Income
3 14 (12.50%) Derivative
3 14 (12.50%) Equities
4 4 (3.57%) 3D Graphics
4 4 (3.57%) GNSS
4 4 (3.57%) Satnav
4 4 (3.57%) Self-Motivation
5 2 (1.79%) Data Structures
5 2 (1.79%) Robotics
6 1 (0.89%) CUDA
6 1 (0.89%) Embedded Systems
Operating Systems
1 37 (33.04%) Linux
2 18 (16.07%) Windows
3 2 (1.79%) Embedded Linux
3 2 (1.79%) FreeRTOS
3 2 (1.79%) Mac OS
Processes & Methodologies
1 112 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 23 (20.54%) Agile
2 23 (20.54%) Mathematics
3 22 (19.64%) Low Latency
4 17 (15.18%) Continuous Integration
4 17 (15.18%) SDLC
5 16 (14.29%) Multithreading
6 15 (13.39%) Computer Science
7 14 (12.50%) OOP
7 14 (12.50%) Process Improvement
7 14 (12.50%) Technical Leadership
7 14 (12.50%) Workflow
8 9 (8.04%) Digital Signal Processing
8 9 (8.04%) Mentoring
8 9 (8.04%) Signal Processing
9 7 (6.25%) AI
9 7 (6.25%) Machine Learning
9 7 (6.25%) Test Automation
10 6 (5.36%) Problem-Solving
11 5 (4.46%) Validation
Programming Languages
1 112 (100.00%) C++
2 26 (23.21%) Python
3 17 (15.18%) C#
4 12 (10.71%) Embedded C++
5 7 (6.25%) C
6 6 (5.36%) Rust
7 4 (3.57%) Bash
7 4 (3.57%) SQL
8 3 (2.68%) Julia
9 2 (1.79%) Java
10 1 (0.89%) JavaScript
10 1 (0.89%) Perl
10 1 (0.89%) TypeScript
10 1 (0.89%) VBA
Qualifications
1 21 (18.75%) Degree
2 7 (6.25%) Master's Degree
2 7 (6.25%) PhD
2 7 (6.25%) SC Cleared
2 7 (6.25%) Security Cleared
3 4 (3.57%) Computer Science Degree
4 2 (1.79%) DV Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 14 (12.50%) QA
2 2 (1.79%) MISRA
System Software
1 12 (10.71%) Embedded Firmware
1 12 (10.71%) Firmware
Vendors
1 2 (1.79%) Apple
2 1 (0.89%) Foundry
2 1 (0.89%) Palantir
68 C++ Software Engineer jobs Nationwide