Hardware Engineer Job Trends

Hardware Engineer
UK

The median Hardware Engineer salary in the UK is £50,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 3 March 2026.

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

6 months to
3 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 544 595 533
Rank change year-on-year +51 -62 +293
Permanent jobs requiring a Hardware Engineer 130 76 298
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.18% 0.17% 0.38%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.20% 0.18% 0.40%
Number of salaries quoted 45 42 218
10th Percentile £26,000 £41,375 £22,750
25th Percentile £28,000 £45,000 £30,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £50,000 £55,000 £47,500
Median % change year-on-year -9.09% +15.79% +35.71%
75th Percentile £62,500 £60,938 £60,000
90th Percentile £78,000 £70,000 £70,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £53,500 £55,000 £47,500
% change year-on-year -2.73% +15.79% +35.71%

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 64,631 41,533 74,664
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 91.51% 91.12% 94.69%
Number of salaries quoted 40,860 22,616 57,810
10th Percentile £29,500 £32,500 £28,500
25th Percentile £38,000 £45,000 £39,073
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £60,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year -8.33% +9.09% -8.33%
75th Percentile £75,000 £80,000 £73,250
90th Percentile £95,000 £100,000 £92,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,000 £55,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year -9.09% +10.00% -5.25%

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 job vacancy trend in the UK

Hardware Engineer
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for Hardware Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

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 3 March 2026.

Salary histogram for Hardware Engineer in the UK

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 3 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 +38 118 £53,500 -2.73% 64
England +26 101 £53,500 -2.73% 58
Work from Home +56 57 - - 9
South East -25 30 £55,000 -2.22% 23
North of England -18 26 £75,000 +57.89% 4
South West -2 19 £26,000 -50.00% 5
North West +19 18 £75,000 +57.89% 1
Midlands -5 13 £55,000 +10.00% 7
East of England +2 11 £55,000 - 15
West Midlands +26 9 - - 3
Scotland -3 8 £50,000 - 12
Yorkshire -37 8 - - 1
Wales - 6 £80,000 -
Northern Ireland - 5 - - 3
East Midlands -25 4 £55,000 +10.00% 4
London - 2 £63,500 - 6

Hardware Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 3 March 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.

1 49 (37.69%) Cybersecurity
2 17 (13.08%) Degree
3 15 (11.54%) BPSS Clearance
4 13 (10.00%) Break/Fix
4 13 (10.00%) Validation
5 10 (7.69%) Coaching
6 9 (6.92%) Problem-Solving
7 8 (6.15%) HND
7 8 (6.15%) MATLAB
8 7 (5.38%) HNC
8 7 (5.38%) Mentor Graphics
8 7 (5.38%) Schematic Capture
8 7 (5.38%) Security Cleared
8 7 (5.38%) Simulink
9 6 (4.62%) Prototyping
9 6 (4.62%) Test Automation
10 5 (3.85%) EMC
10 5 (3.85%) Project Delivery
11 4 (3.08%) 5G
11 4 (3.08%) Agile
11 4 (3.08%) B2B
11 4 (3.08%) C
11 4 (3.08%) C++
11 4 (3.08%) Customer Engagement
11 4 (3.08%) Firmware
11 4 (3.08%) Linux
11 4 (3.08%) Requirements Analysis
11 4 (3.08%) Requirements Gathering
11 4 (3.08%) SC Cleared
11 4 (3.08%) SD-WAN

Hardware 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 7 (5.38%) Simulink
2 2 (1.54%) Microsoft Office
2 2 (1.54%) OrCAD
3 1 (0.77%) SOLIDWORKS
Cloud Services
1 2 (1.54%) Microsoft 365
Communications & Networking
1 4 (3.08%) 5G
1 4 (3.08%) SD-WAN
1 4 (3.08%) Structured Cabling
1 4 (3.08%) WAN
2 1 (0.77%) Ethernet
2 1 (0.77%) RS-232
2 1 (0.77%) RS-485
2 1 (0.77%) SAN
Development Applications
1 2 (1.54%) Rational DOORS
2 1 (0.77%) LabVIEW
General
1 27 (20.77%) Electronics
2 10 (7.69%) Analytical Skills
3 8 (6.15%) Social Skills
4 6 (4.62%) Avionics
4 6 (4.62%) Public Sector
5 5 (3.85%) Aerospace
5 5 (3.85%) Manufacturing
6 4 (3.08%) Documentation Skills
7 3 (2.31%) Health Technology
7 3 (2.31%) Wearables
8 1 (0.77%) Advertising
8 1 (0.77%) Legal
8 1 (0.77%) Presentation Skills
Miscellaneous
1 12 (9.23%) Analogue Electronics
2 5 (3.85%) Self-Driving Car
3 4 (3.08%) GNSS
4 3 (2.31%) Acoustics
4 3 (2.31%) Data Centre
4 3 (2.31%) FPGA
4 3 (2.31%) IoT
4 3 (2.31%) Self-Motivation
5 2 (1.54%) Driving Licence
5 2 (1.54%) Robotics
6 1 (0.77%) Algorithms
6 1 (0.77%) Analytical Mindset
6 1 (0.77%) ARM Cortex
6 1 (0.77%) Device Driver
6 1 (0.77%) Embedded Systems
6 1 (0.77%) Fibre Optics
6 1 (0.77%) Smartphone
6 1 (0.77%) VHDL
Operating Systems
1 4 (3.08%) Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 49 (37.69%) Cybersecurity
2 13 (10.00%) Break/Fix
2 13 (10.00%) Validation
3 10 (7.69%) Coaching
4 9 (6.92%) Problem-Solving
5 7 (5.38%) Schematic Capture
6 6 (4.62%) Prototyping
6 6 (4.62%) Test Automation
7 5 (3.85%) Project Delivery
8 4 (3.08%) Agile
8 4 (3.08%) B2B
8 4 (3.08%) Customer Engagement
8 4 (3.08%) Requirements Analysis
8 4 (3.08%) Requirements Gathering
8 4 (3.08%) Stakeholder Management
8 4 (3.08%) Test Assurance
9 3 (2.31%) Performance Analysis
9 3 (2.31%) Performance Testing
9 3 (2.31%) Test Strategy
9 3 (2.31%) Virtual Environments
Programming Languages
1 8 (6.15%) MATLAB
2 4 (3.08%) C
2 4 (3.08%) C++
3 3 (2.31%) Python
4 1 (0.77%) Embedded C
4 1 (0.77%) Embedded C++
Qualifications
1 17 (13.08%) Degree
2 15 (11.54%) BPSS Clearance
3 8 (6.15%) HND
4 7 (5.38%) HNC
4 7 (5.38%) Security Cleared
5 4 (3.08%) SC Cleared
6 2 (1.54%) Master's Degree
7 1 (0.77%) A+ Certification
7 1 (0.77%) CCNA
7 1 (0.77%) Cisco Certification
7 1 (0.77%) MCSE
7 1 (0.77%) Microsoft Certification
7 1 (0.77%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 1 (0.77%) ISO 9001
1 1 (0.77%) ISO/IEC 27001
1 1 (0.77%) PCI DSS
1 1 (0.77%) SLA
System Software
1 4 (3.08%) Firmware
2 1 (0.77%) Embedded Firmware
Systems Management
1 1 (0.77%) BMC PATROL
Vendors
1 7 (5.38%) Mentor Graphics
2 5 (3.85%) EMC
3 2 (1.54%) Dell
3 2 (1.54%) Microsoft
3 2 (1.54%) Siemens
4 1 (0.77%) Snow