Embedded Software Development Job Trends

Embedded Software Development
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs requiring Embedded Software Development skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 26 January 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
26 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 596 606 660
Rank change year-on-year +10 +54 +274
Permanent jobs citing Embedded Software Development 58 96 119
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.093% 0.18% 0.18%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 0.12% 0.20% 0.20%
Number of salaries quoted 53 67 85
10th Percentile £45,750 £47,500 £43,750
25th Percentile £48,750 £57,500 £45,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £66,500 £62,500
Median % change year-on-year -9.77% +6.40% +25.00%
75th Percentile £80,000 £85,000 £71,000
90th Percentile - - £87,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £60,000 £66,500 £62,500
% change year-on-year -9.77% +6.40% +13.64%

All Process & Methodology Skills
UK

Embedded Software Development falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 50,302 48,021 60,136
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 80.24% 91.22% 88.90%
Number of salaries quoted 29,664 23,067 46,526
10th Percentile £28,675 £35,000 £30,000
25th Percentile £37,500 £45,000 £41,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £60,000 £57,500
Median % change year-on-year -8.33% +4.35% -8.00%
75th Percentile £75,000 £80,000 £76,250
90th Percentile £95,000 £100,000 £95,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,000 £55,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year -9.09% +10.00% -9.09%

Embedded Software Development
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Embedded Software Development job vacancy trend in the UK

Embedded Software Development
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Embedded Software Development.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Embedded Software Development

Embedded Software Development
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing Embedded Software Development over the 6 months to 26 January 2026.

Salary histogram for Embedded Software Development in the UK

Embedded Software Development
Top 11 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Embedded Software Development within the UK over the 6 months to 26 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
UK excluding London -22 57 £60,000 -9.77% 62
England +4 47 £65,000 -5.45% 60
Work from Home +52 35 £60,000 -14.29% 21
East of England +11 16 £80,000 +14.29% 16
South West +4 14 £65,000 -7.14% 12
Scotland +5 10 £60,000 -4.00% 5
North West +28 8 £46,500 -40.00% 5
North of England +8 8 £46,500 -40.00% 6
South East +1 5 £57,500 -28.13% 22
West Midlands +14 4 £52,500 -15.32% 2
Midlands +3 4 £52,500 -15.32% 5

Embedded Software Development
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 4 (6.90%) Simulink
Cloud Services
1 1 (1.72%) SaaS
Communications & Networking
1 6 (10.34%) Software-Defined Radio
1 6 (10.34%) TCP/IP
2 4 (6.90%) 3G
2 4 (6.90%) GPRS
2 4 (6.90%) GSM
2 4 (6.90%) Modbus
2 4 (6.90%) RS-232
2 4 (6.90%) RS-485
2 4 (6.90%) SSL
3 2 (3.45%) 2G
3 2 (3.45%) 4G
3 2 (3.45%) 5G
3 2 (3.45%) DNS
3 2 (3.45%) Ethernet
3 2 (3.45%) HTTP
3 2 (3.45%) ICMP
3 2 (3.45%) SpaceWire
Development Applications
1 4 (6.90%) IDA Disassembler
2 3 (5.17%) Git
3 1 (1.72%) GitLab
3 1 (1.72%) Visual Studio Code
3 1 (1.72%) Zephyr
General
1 21 (36.21%) Electronics
2 7 (12.07%) Social Skills
3 4 (6.90%) Analytical Skills
3 4 (6.90%) Manufacturing
4 1 (1.72%) Documentation Skills
Job Titles
1 33 (56.90%) Embedded Engineer
1 33 (56.90%) Software Engineer
2 25 (43.10%) Embedded Software Engineer
3 17 (29.31%) Senior
4 16 (27.59%) Senior Software Engineer
5 10 (17.24%) Senior Embedded Engineer
5 10 (17.24%) Senior Embedded Software Engineer
6 8 (13.79%) Electronics Engineer
7 5 (8.62%) Project Manager
7 5 (8.62%) Software Manager
8 4 (6.90%) C++ Software Engineer
8 4 (6.90%) Lead
8 4 (6.90%) Lead Embedded Software Engineer
8 4 (6.90%) Lead Software Engineer
8 4 (6.90%) Software Project Manager
9 2 (3.45%) C/C++ Embedded Software Engineer
9 2 (3.45%) C/C++ Software Engineer
9 2 (3.45%) Embedded Linux Engineer
9 2 (3.45%) FPGA Engineer
9 2 (3.45%) Vulnerability Researcher
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 2 (3.45%) Flash
1 2 (3.45%) Qt
Miscellaneous
1 22 (37.93%) Embedded Systems
2 10 (17.24%) CAN bus
3 9 (15.52%) Algorithms
4 4 (6.90%) Linux Command Line
5 3 (5.17%) FPGA
6 2 (3.45%) Arduino
6 2 (3.45%) Cyber Threat
6 2 (3.45%) PCIe
6 2 (3.45%) Raspberry Pi
7 1 (1.72%) ARM Cortex
7 1 (1.72%) Device Driver
7 1 (1.72%) Self-Motivation
7 1 (1.72%) VHDL
Operating Systems
1 12 (20.69%) Linux
2 5 (8.62%) FreeRTOS
3 4 (6.90%) Embedded Linux
4 2 (3.45%) VxWorks
Processes & Methodologies
1 36 (62.07%) Software Engineering
2 12 (20.69%) SDLC
3 10 (17.24%) Cybersecurity
3 10 (17.24%) Safety Engineering
4 7 (12.07%) Signal Processing
5 5 (8.62%) Mentoring
5 5 (8.62%) Secure Coding
5 5 (8.62%) Software Testing
6 4 (6.90%) Agile
6 4 (6.90%) Digital Signal Processing
6 4 (6.90%) Linear Algebra
6 4 (6.90%) Mathematical Modelling
6 4 (6.90%) Mathematics
6 4 (6.90%) Physics
6 4 (6.90%) Problem-Solving
6 4 (6.90%) Prototyping
6 4 (6.90%) Reverse Engineering
6 4 (6.90%) Systems Engineering
6 4 (6.90%) Test Automation
6 4 (6.90%) Vulnerability Research
Programming Languages
1 42 (72.41%) C++
2 36 (62.07%) C
3 10 (17.24%) Embedded C++
4 9 (15.52%) Embedded C
5 8 (13.79%) Python
6 4 (6.90%) MATLAB
6 4 (6.90%) Rust
7 3 (5.17%) C#
8 2 (3.45%) Shell Script
9 1 (1.72%) JavaScript
Qualifications
1 15 (25.86%) Security Cleared
2 10 (17.24%) Degree
3 8 (13.79%) DV Cleared
4 7 (12.07%) Master's Degree
5 5 (8.62%) SC Cleared
6 3 (5.17%) PhD
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 14 (24.14%) MISRA
2 10 (17.24%) IEC 61508
2 10 (17.24%) MISRA C
3 2 (3.45%) AUTOSAR
3 2 (3.45%) ECSS
3 2 (3.45%) ISO 26262
System Software
1 14 (24.14%) Firmware
2 12 (20.69%) Embedded Firmware
3 1 (1.72%) Docker
Systems Management
1 12 (20.69%) Functional Safety
Vendors
1 8 (13.79%) EMC
2 2 (3.45%) Altera