Embedded Linux Job Trends

Embedded Linux
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs requiring Embedded Linux skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 28 March 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
28 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 652 602 646
Rank change year-on-year -50 +44 +199
Permanent jobs citing Embedded Linux 41 40 222
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.053% 0.098% 0.25%
As % of the Operating Systems category 0.76% 0.66% 1.69%
Number of salaries quoted 25 38 185
10th Percentile - £51,250 £45,000
25th Percentile £45,000 £52,813 £52,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £60,000 £65,000
Median % change year-on-year -8.33% -7.69% +4.00%
75th Percentile £67,500 £67,500 £75,000
90th Percentile - £76,250 £80,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £55,000 £62,500 £65,000
% change year-on-year -12.00% -3.85% +18.18%

All Operating Systems
UK

Embedded Linux falls under the Operating Systems category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring operating system skills.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for operating system skills 5,403 6,024 13,126
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 6.92% 14.76% 14.81%
Number of salaries quoted 3,978 4,325 10,700
10th Percentile £27,113 £27,750 £25,759
25th Percentile £31,250 £35,000 £31,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,000 £50,000 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year -10.00% +11.11% -14.29%
75th Percentile £66,250 £71,000 £62,500
90th Percentile £85,000 £90,000 £80,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £40,000 £45,000 £42,500
% change year-on-year -11.11% +5.88% -5.56%

Embedded Linux
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing Embedded Linux relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.

Embedded Linux job vacancy trend in the UK

Embedded Linux
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Embedded Linux.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Embedded Linux

Embedded Linux
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing Embedded Linux over the 6 months to 28 March 2026.

Salary histogram for Embedded Linux in the UK

Embedded Linux
Top 8 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Embedded Linux within the UK over the 6 months to 28 March 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
UK excluding London -53 40 £55,000 -12.00% 75
Scotland -18 23 £65,000 +4.00% 3
England -33 18 £45,000 -23.40% 72
Work from Home -12 14 £65,000 +8.33% 22
East of England -20 13 £45,000 -16.28% 28
West Midlands -11 3 £52,500 -12.50% 4
Midlands -32 3 £52,500 -12.50% 6
South East -36 1 £50,000 -37.50% 25

Embedded Linux
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:

Communications & Networking
1 12 (29.27%) RS-232
2 11 (26.83%) Ethernet
3 3 (7.32%) Bluetooth
3 3 (7.32%) Wi-Fi
3 3 (7.32%) Wireless
4 2 (4.88%) RFID
4 2 (4.88%) TCP/IP
5 1 (2.44%) 3G
5 1 (2.44%) GPRS
5 1 (2.44%) GSM
5 1 (2.44%) LTE
5 1 (2.44%) Modbus
5 1 (2.44%) Multicast
5 1 (2.44%) RS-485
5 1 (2.44%) SSL
Development Applications
1 2 (4.88%) Git
1 2 (4.88%) JIRA
1 2 (4.88%) Visual Studio
2 1 (2.44%) Bitbucket
2 1 (2.44%) CMake
2 1 (2.44%) Zephyr
General
1 4 (9.76%) Electronics
2 2 (4.88%) Manufacturing
3 1 (2.44%) Aerospace
3 1 (2.44%) Automotive
3 1 (2.44%) Cyber-Physical System
3 1 (2.44%) Social Skills
3 1 (2.44%) Wearables
Job Titles
1 35 (85.37%) Embedded Engineer
2 34 (82.93%) Software Engineer
3 31 (75.61%) Embedded Software Engineer
4 26 (63.41%) Linux Engineer
5 25 (60.98%) Senior
6 23 (56.10%) Senior Embedded Engineer
6 23 (56.10%) Senior Embedded Software Engineer
6 23 (56.10%) Senior Software Engineer
7 21 (51.22%) Embedded Linux Engineer
8 18 (43.90%) Embedded Linux Software Engineer
9 14 (34.15%) Senior Linux Engineer
10 3 (7.32%) Firmware Engineer
11 2 (4.88%) Senior Firmware Engineer
12 1 (2.44%) C/C++ Embedded Software Engineer
12 1 (2.44%) C/C++ Software Engineer
12 1 (2.44%) Embedded C/C++ Engineer
12 1 (2.44%) Embedded C/C++ Software Engineer
12 1 (2.44%) Embedded C++ Engineer
12 1 (2.44%) Embedded Firmware Engineer
12 1 (2.44%) Test Technician
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 11 (26.83%) Yocto
2 1 (2.44%) Qt
Miscellaneous
1 15 (36.59%) Device Driver
2 7 (17.07%) Embedded Systems
3 4 (9.76%) IoT
4 3 (7.32%) Robotics
5 2 (4.88%) FPGA
5 2 (4.88%) PCIe
5 2 (4.88%) Photography
5 2 (4.88%) Raspberry Pi
6 1 (2.44%) Data Structures
6 1 (2.44%) NB-IoT
Operating Systems
1 41 (100.00%) Linux
2 2 (4.88%) FreeRTOS
3 1 (2.44%) ThreadX
3 1 (2.44%) Unix
Processes & Methodologies
1 40 (97.56%) Software Engineering
2 12 (29.27%) Agile
2 12 (29.27%) Scrum
3 2 (4.88%) Computer Science
3 2 (4.88%) DevOps
3 2 (4.88%) Memory Management
3 2 (4.88%) Software Testing
3 2 (4.88%) Test Automation
4 1 (2.44%) Collaborative Culture
4 1 (2.44%) Device Driver Development
4 1 (2.44%) Embedded Software Development
4 1 (2.44%) Full-Stack Development
4 1 (2.44%) Integration Testing
4 1 (2.44%) Performance Optimisation
4 1 (2.44%) Performance Tuning
4 1 (2.44%) Problem-Solving
4 1 (2.44%) Prototyping
4 1 (2.44%) Secure Coding
4 1 (2.44%) Systems Thinking
4 1 (2.44%) Use Case
Programming Languages
1 22 (53.66%) C
1 22 (53.66%) C++
2 17 (41.46%) Embedded C
3 6 (14.63%) Embedded C++
4 1 (2.44%) Rust
Qualifications
1 12 (29.27%) Degree
2 1 (2.44%) Computer Science Degree
2 1 (2.44%) Master's Degree
2 1 (2.44%) PhD
2 1 (2.44%) SC Cleared
2 1 (2.44%) Security Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 1 (2.44%) MISRA
System Software
1 5 (12.20%) Embedded Firmware
1 5 (12.20%) Firmware