Embedded Software Engineer Job Trends

Embedded Software Engineer
UK

The median Embedded Software Engineer salary in the UK is £65,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 9 May 2026.

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

6 months to
9 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 340 536 299
Rank change year-on-year +196 -237 +377
Permanent jobs requiring an Embedded Software Engineer 467 118 946
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.52% 0.27% 0.98%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.55% 0.30% 1.04%
Number of salaries quoted 372 96 732
10th Percentile £45,250 £42,500 £40,000
25th Percentile £55,000 £46,875 £45,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £65,000 £54,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year +20.37% -1.82% -5.58%
75th Percentile £70,000 £65,000 £65,000
90th Percentile £75,000 £67,500 £75,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £65,000 £54,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year +20.37% -1.82% -

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 84,369 38,923 91,211
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 93.07% 89.45% 94.57%
Number of salaries quoted 55,003 23,201 67,042
10th Percentile £30,000 £30,000 £28,500
25th Percentile £40,000 £41,250 £38,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £58,000 £52,777
Median % change year-on-year -5.17% +9.90% -12.04%
75th Percentile £75,000 £77,500 £71,250
90th Percentile £95,000 £100,000 £90,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,000 £52,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year -4.76% +5.00% -5.66%

Embedded Software Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'Embedded Software Engineer' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.

Embedded Software Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK

Embedded Software Engineer
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for Embedded Software Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Salary distribution trend for Embedded Software Engineer job vacancies in the UK

Embedded Software Engineer
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing Embedded Software Engineer over the 6 months to 9 May 2026.

Salary histogram for Embedded Software Engineer in the UK

Embedded 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 Embedded Software Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 9 May 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 +166 448 £65,000 +20.37% 134
England +211 381 £65,000 +18.18% 142
South West +41 102 £65,000 +30.00% 27
South East +53 100 £65,000 +4.00% 44
Work from Home +52 83 £65,000 +16.59% 41
Scotland +30 71 £65,000 +36.84% 2
Midlands +13 61 £67,500 +28.57% 15
East of England +31 60 £70,000 +29.63% 29
North of England -32 46 £55,000 - 20
West Midlands 0 34 £70,000 +55.56% 9
Yorkshire -29 29 £55,000 +10.00% 13
East Midlands -7 27 £54,000 +2.86% 6
North West -11 13 £50,000 -9.09% 3
London -10 11 £70,000 +9.80% 9
Wales -24 8 £44,000 -32.31%
North East -46 4 £58,250 -4.51% 4

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

For the 6 months to 9 May 2026, Embedded 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 Embedded Software Engineer in the job title.

1 467 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 116 (24.84%) C
3 95 (20.34%) C++
4 92 (19.70%) Firmware
5 50 (10.71%) Embedded C
6 47 (10.06%) Linux
7 34 (7.28%) Embedded Firmware
7 34 (7.28%) Embedded Linux
8 32 (6.85%) Embedded Software Development
9 31 (6.64%) Security Cleared
10 25 (5.35%) Ethernet
11 24 (5.14%) Python
12 23 (4.93%) Wireless
13 21 (4.50%) Agile
14 19 (4.07%) Degree
14 19 (4.07%) RS-232
15 18 (3.85%) SC Cleared
16 17 (3.64%) IEC 61508
17 16 (3.43%) FreeRTOS
17 16 (3.43%) MISRA
17 16 (3.43%) MISRA C
17 16 (3.43%) Yocto
18 15 (3.21%) Bluetooth
18 15 (3.21%) Collaborative Culture
18 15 (3.21%) Validation
19 14 (3.00%) Embedded C++
19 14 (3.00%) Git
19 14 (3.00%) Scrum
20 13 (2.78%) Functional Safety
20 13 (2.78%) SDLC

Embedded 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:

Application Platforms
1 1 (0.21%) Confluence
Applications
1 3 (0.64%) CANalyzer
2 2 (0.43%) Simulink
Cloud Services
1 2 (0.43%) AWS
1 2 (0.43%) Azure
1 2 (0.43%) Azure DevOps
Communications & Networking
1 25 (5.35%) Ethernet
2 23 (4.93%) Wireless
3 19 (4.07%) RS-232
4 15 (3.21%) Bluetooth
5 11 (2.36%) Modbus
6 7 (1.50%) ZigBee
7 6 (1.28%) Wi-Fi
8 5 (1.07%) Profibus
9 4 (0.86%) LTE
9 4 (0.86%) RS-485
10 3 (0.64%) Software-Defined Radio
11 2 (0.43%) MQTT
12 1 (0.21%) Multicast
12 1 (0.21%) TCP/IP
Development Applications
1 14 (3.00%) Git
2 5 (1.07%) Eclipse
3 4 (0.86%) Subversion
4 3 (0.64%) CANoe
4 3 (0.64%) Jenkins
5 2 (0.43%) GDB
5 2 (0.43%) GitLab
5 2 (0.43%) JIRA
5 2 (0.43%) Robot Framework
6 1 (0.21%) Bitbucket
6 1 (0.21%) CMake
6 1 (0.21%) GoogleTest
6 1 (0.21%) Qt Creator
6 1 (0.21%) Rational DOORS
6 1 (0.21%) SonarQube
6 1 (0.21%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 48 (10.28%) Electronics
2 25 (5.35%) Manufacturing
3 20 (4.28%) Automotive
4 15 (3.21%) Aerospace
5 12 (2.57%) Social Skills
6 6 (1.28%) Aviation
7 5 (1.07%) Pharmaceutical
8 4 (0.86%) Organisational Skills
9 2 (0.43%) Wearables
10 1 (0.21%) Advertising
10 1 (0.21%) Analytical Skills
10 1 (0.21%) Cyber-Physical System
10 1 (0.21%) Telecoms
10 1 (0.21%) Welsh Language
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 16 (3.43%) Yocto
2 9 (1.93%) Qt
3 4 (0.86%) WebSockets
4 2 (0.43%) pytest
4 2 (0.43%) PyTorch
4 2 (0.43%) TensorFlow
4 2 (0.43%) Unity DI Container
Miscellaneous
1 56 (11.99%) Embedded Systems
2 20 (4.28%) Device Driver
3 19 (4.07%) IoT
4 15 (3.21%) Algorithms
4 15 (3.21%) CAN bus
5 7 (1.50%) ARM Cortex
6 5 (1.07%) Legacy Code
6 5 (1.07%) Robotics
7 4 (0.86%) Raspberry Pi
8 2 (0.43%) FPGA
8 2 (0.43%) Self-Driving Car
9 1 (0.21%) Data Structures
9 1 (0.21%) GNSS
9 1 (0.21%) Smart Energy
Operating Systems
1 47 (10.06%) Linux
2 34 (7.28%) Embedded Linux
3 16 (3.43%) FreeRTOS
4 2 (0.43%) SafeRTOS
4 2 (0.43%) Windows
5 1 (0.21%) Android
5 1 (0.21%) ThreadX
Processes & Methodologies
1 467 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 32 (6.85%) Embedded Software Development
3 21 (4.50%) Agile
4 15 (3.21%) Collaborative Culture
4 15 (3.21%) Validation
5 14 (3.00%) Scrum
6 13 (2.78%) SDLC
6 13 (2.78%) Signal Processing
7 12 (2.57%) Cybersecurity
7 12 (2.57%) Software Testing
8 11 (2.36%) Computer Science
8 11 (2.36%) Safety Engineering
9 10 (2.14%) Roadmaps
10 9 (1.93%) DevOps
10 9 (1.93%) Product Roadmap
11 8 (1.71%) Software Architecture
11 8 (1.71%) Test Automation
12 7 (1.50%) CI/CD
12 7 (1.50%) Problem-Solving
13 6 (1.28%) Continuous Improvement
Programming Languages
1 116 (24.84%) C
2 95 (20.34%) C++
3 50 (10.71%) Embedded C
4 24 (5.14%) Python
5 14 (3.00%) Embedded C++
6 6 (1.28%) Ada
6 6 (1.28%) MATLAB
7 2 (0.43%) Bash
7 2 (0.43%) Rust
8 1 (0.21%) C#
8 1 (0.21%) Java
8 1 (0.21%) Kotlin
8 1 (0.21%) R
Qualifications
1 31 (6.64%) Security Cleared
2 19 (4.07%) Degree
3 18 (3.85%) SC Cleared
4 9 (1.93%) Master's Degree
5 4 (0.86%) HND
6 3 (0.64%) Computer Science Degree
6 3 (0.64%) HNC
7 2 (0.43%) DV Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 17 (3.64%) IEC 61508
2 16 (3.43%) MISRA
2 16 (3.43%) MISRA C
3 2 (0.43%) JTAG
4 1 (0.21%) DO-254
4 1 (0.21%) HAZOP
4 1 (0.21%) IEC 62304
4 1 (0.21%) ISO 26262
4 1 (0.21%) QA
System Software
1 92 (19.70%) Firmware
2 34 (7.28%) Embedded Firmware
Systems Management
1 13 (2.78%) Functional Safety
Vendors
1 4 (0.86%) Atmel
1 4 (0.86%) Peregrine
2 3 (0.64%) Atlassian
3 1 (0.21%) Google