Hardware Engineer Job Trends
Hardware Engineer
UK
The median Hardware Engineer salary in the UK is £65,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 20 October 2026.
The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 20 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 525 | 605 | 495 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +80 | -110 | +147 |
| Permanent jobs requiring a Hardware Engineer | 309 | 56 | 268 |
| As % of all permanent jobs in the UK | 0.26% | 0.11% | 0.39% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.28% | 0.13% | 0.41% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 189 | 34 | 146 |
| 10th Percentile | £31,250 | £35,800 | £35,000 |
| 25th Percentile | £50,000 | £44,063 | £43,750 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £65,000 | £50,000 | £50,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +30.00% | - | +11.11% |
| 75th Percentile | £70,000 | £69,375 | £65,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £75,000 | £75,000 | £70,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £65,000 | £50,000 | £51,250 |
| % change year-on-year | +30.00% | -2.44% | +13.89% |
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.
| 6 months to 20 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent vacancies in the UK with a recognized job title | 110,883 | 43,839 | 65,925 |
| % of permanent jobs with a recognized job title | 92.32% | 89.78% | 95.36% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 74,898 | 25,844 | 37,668 |
| 10th Percentile | £30,450 | £28,000 | £31,250 |
| 25th Percentile | £41,250 | £35,000 | £41,254 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £59,000 | £52,500 | £56,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +12.38% | -6.25% | -6.67% |
| 75th Percentile | £76,250 | £73,750 | £75,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £98,750 | £93,750 | £95,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £55,000 | £45,000 | £50,000 |
| % change year-on-year | +22.22% | -10.00% | -4.76% |
Hardware Engineer Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'Hardware Engineer' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.
Hardware Engineer Salary Trend
Salary distribution trend for Hardware Engineer job vacancies in the UK.
Hardware Engineer Salary Histogram
Salary distribution for jobs citing Hardware Engineer over the 6 months to 20 October 2026.
Hardware 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 Hardware Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 20 October 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 | +98 | 296 | £65,000 | +30.00% | 230 |
| England | +65 | 250 | £65,000 | +30.00% | 284 |
| South East | +51 | 116 | £65,000 | -11.86% | 66 |
| East of England | +9 | 57 | £65,000 | +8.33% | 63 |
| Scotland | +53 | 49 | £65,000 | +148.57% | 25 |
| Work from Home | -45 | 32 | £70,625 | +48.68% | 69 |
| South West | -57 | 32 | £30,000 | -40.00% | 20 |
| North of England | -49 | 24 | £50,500 | -32.67% | 23 |
| Midlands | -48 | 16 | £75,000 | +66.67% | 28 |
| North East | - | 13 | £50,500 | - | 3 |
| West Midlands | -46 | 12 | £75,000 | +30.43% | 9 |
| North West | -36 | 10 | £55,000 | -26.67% | 8 |
| London | - | 5 | £80,000 | - | 53 |
| East Midlands | -49 | 4 | - | - | 19 |
| Northern Ireland | - | 2 | £30,000 | - | |
| Yorkshire | -35 | 1 | £50,000 | - | 12 |
Hardware Engineer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 20 October 2026, Hardware 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 Hardware Engineer in the job title.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Degree | 18.4% | 57 |
| 2 | Validation | 13.3% | 41 |
| 3 | Problem-Solving | 12.3% | 38 |
| 4 | BPSS Clearance | 11.0% | 34 |
| 5 | HND | 8.4% | 26 |
| 6 | Coaching | 8.1% | 25 |
| 7 | EMC | 7.1% | 22 |
| 7 | Software Engineering | 7.1% | 22 |
| 9 | DO-254 | 6.8% | 21 |
| 10 | Technical Leadership | 6.5% | 20 |
| 11 | Mentor Graphics | 6.1% | 19 |
| 12 | Schematic Capture | 5.8% | 18 |
| 13 | Security Cleared | 5.5% | 17 |
| 14 | Test Automation | 5.2% | 16 |
| 15 | Firmware | 4.5% | 14 |
| 15 | Verification and Validation | 4.5% | 14 |
| 15 | Wireless | 4.5% | 14 |
| 18 | Python | 3.9% | 12 |
| 19 | Design for Manufacturing | 3.2% | 10 |
| 20 | Mentoring | 2.9% | 9 |
| 20 | Prototyping | 2.9% | 9 |
| 22 | C | 2.6% | 8 |
| 22 | Software Testing | 2.6% | 8 |
| 24 | Collaborative Culture | 2.3% | 7 |
| 24 | Embedded C | 2.3% | 7 |
| 24 | Ethernet | 2.3% | 7 |
| 24 | HNC | 2.3% | 7 |
| 24 | Kalman Filter | 2.3% | 7 |
| 24 | Logistics | 2.3% | 7 |
| 24 | SC Cleared | 2.3% | 7 |
Hardware Engineer Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Job Titles
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Senior Hardware Engineer | 29.8% | 92 |
| 2 | Electronics Engineer | 23.0% | 71 |
| 2 | Electronics Hardware Engineer | 23.0% | 71 |
| 4 | Hardware Design Engineer | 19.7% | 61 |
| 5 | Principal Hardware Engineer | 12.6% | 39 |
| 6 | Systems Engineer | 11.3% | 35 |
| 7 | Embedded Engineer | 9.7% | 30 |
| 7 | Senior Electronics Engineer | 9.7% | 30 |
| 9 | Electronics Design Engineer | 5.2% | 16 |
| 9 | Hardware Test Engineer | 5.2% | 16 |
| 9 | Junior Hardware Engineer | 5.2% | 16 |
| 12 | Software Engineer | 4.5% | 14 |
| 13 | Test Automation Engineer | 3.2% | 10 |
| 14 | IT Engineer | 2.6% | 8 |
| 14 | Junior Electronics Engineer | 2.6% | 8 |
| 16 | Field Hardware Engineer | 2.3% | 7 |
| 16 | RF Engineer | 2.3% | 7 |
| 16 | Robotics Software Engineer | 2.3% | 7 |
| 16 | Senior Software Engineer | 2.3% | 7 |
| 20 | Electronics Test Engineer | 1.9% | 6 |