Hardware Engineer Job Trends

Hardware Engineer
UK

The median Hardware Engineer salary in the UK is £55,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 22 April 2026.

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

6 months to
22 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 576 586 511
Rank change year-on-year +10 -75 +235
Permanent jobs requiring a Hardware Engineer 142 61 398
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.16% 0.15% 0.42%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.17% 0.16% 0.45%
Number of salaries quoted 60 39 294
10th Percentile £26,675 £34,750 £22,750
25th Percentile £31,875 £43,625 £33,938
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £52,000 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +5.77% +4.00% +20.48%
75th Percentile £65,000 £60,625 £60,000
90th Percentile £75,000 £70,000 £67,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £55,000 £52,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year +5.77% +4.00% +16.28%

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 81,450 37,439 89,409
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 92.76% 89.27% 94.57%
Number of salaries quoted 52,076 23,545 66,095
10th Percentile £30,000 £30,750 £28,500
25th Percentile £40,000 £42,500 £38,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £60,000 £53,000
Median % change year-on-year -8.33% +13.21% -11.67%
75th Percentile £75,000 £78,750 £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% -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 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 22 April 2026.

Salary histogram for Hardware Engineer in the UK

Hardware Engineer
Top 17 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 22 April 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 -18 123 £55,000 +5.77% 44
England -15 106 £55,000 +5.77% 46
Work from Home +41 51 - - 7
South East -40 34 £60,000 +6.67% 24
North of England -32 26 £75,000 +100.00% 3
North West -12 17 £75,000 +100.00% 3
South West -40 17 £26,075 -49.86% 5
Midlands -39 15 £50,000 +42.86% 2
East of England -25 11 £45,000 -18.18% 11
West Midlands -18 10 - - 1
Scotland -13 8 £50,000 - 3
Yorkshire -55 8 - -
Wales - 6 £80,000 -
Northern Ireland - 6 £65,000 -
East Midlands -46 5 £50,000 +66.67% 1
London - 3 £70,000 - 4
North East - 1 - -

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

For the 6 months to 22 April 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 (34.51%) Cybersecurity
2 21 (14.79%) Degree
3 14 (9.86%) BPSS Clearance
3 14 (9.86%) Coaching
4 13 (9.15%) Break/Fix
5 12 (8.45%) HND
5 12 (8.45%) MATLAB
6 11 (7.75%) Mentor Graphics
6 11 (7.75%) Simulink
7 10 (7.04%) Firmware
8 9 (6.34%) Security Cleared
9 8 (5.63%) Prototyping
9 8 (5.63%) Schematic Capture
9 8 (5.63%) Validation
10 6 (4.23%) C
10 6 (4.23%) EMC
10 6 (4.23%) Mentoring
10 6 (4.23%) Problem-Solving
11 5 (3.52%) Python
12 4 (2.82%) Agile
12 4 (2.82%) C++
12 4 (2.82%) Embedded Firmware
12 4 (2.82%) Software Testing
12 4 (2.82%) Structured Cabling
13 3 (2.11%) Collaborative Working
13 3 (2.11%) Embedded C
13 3 (2.11%) HNC
13 3 (2.11%) Linux
13 3 (2.11%) SC Cleared
13 3 (2.11%) Test Strategy

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 11 (7.75%) Simulink
2 2 (1.41%) Microsoft Office
2 2 (1.41%) OrCAD
3 1 (0.70%) SOLIDWORKS
Cloud Services
1 2 (1.41%) Microsoft 365
Communications & Networking
1 4 (2.82%) Structured Cabling
2 1 (0.70%) SAN
Development Applications
1 2 (1.41%) Rational DOORS
2 1 (0.70%) LabVIEW
General
1 39 (27.46%) Electronics
2 12 (8.45%) Aerospace
3 11 (7.75%) Manufacturing
4 8 (5.63%) Social Skills
5 6 (4.23%) Public Sector
6 5 (3.52%) Health Technology
6 5 (3.52%) Wearables
7 3 (2.11%) Finance
8 2 (1.41%) Analytical Skills
8 2 (1.41%) Avionics
8 2 (1.41%) Presentation Skills
9 1 (0.70%) Advertising
9 1 (0.70%) Legal
Miscellaneous
1 20 (14.08%) Analogue Electronics
2 6 (4.23%) FPGA
3 4 (2.82%) Self-Motivation
4 3 (2.11%) Acoustics
4 3 (2.11%) Data Centre
4 3 (2.11%) IoT
5 2 (1.41%) Algorithms
5 2 (1.41%) Device Driver
5 2 (1.41%) Driving Licence
5 2 (1.41%) Robotics
5 2 (1.41%) VHDL
6 1 (0.70%) Analytical Mindset
6 1 (0.70%) ARM Cortex
6 1 (0.70%) Embedded Systems
6 1 (0.70%) Smartphone
Operating Systems
1 3 (2.11%) Linux
2 1 (0.70%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 49 (34.51%) Cybersecurity
2 14 (9.86%) Coaching
3 13 (9.15%) Break/Fix
4 8 (5.63%) Prototyping
4 8 (5.63%) Schematic Capture
4 8 (5.63%) Validation
5 6 (4.23%) Mentoring
5 6 (4.23%) Problem-Solving
6 4 (2.82%) Agile
6 4 (2.82%) Software Testing
7 3 (2.11%) Collaborative Working
7 3 (2.11%) Test Strategy
8 2 (1.41%) Collaborative Culture
8 2 (1.41%) Customer Service
8 2 (1.41%) Device Driver Development
8 2 (1.41%) Embedded Software Development
8 2 (1.41%) Roadmaps
8 2 (1.41%) Systems Engineering
8 2 (1.41%) Test Automation
8 2 (1.41%) Use Case
Programming Languages
1 12 (8.45%) MATLAB
2 6 (4.23%) C
3 5 (3.52%) Python
4 4 (2.82%) C++
5 3 (2.11%) Embedded C
6 2 (1.41%) C#
6 2 (1.41%) Embedded C++
Qualifications
1 21 (14.79%) Degree
2 14 (9.86%) BPSS Clearance
3 12 (8.45%) HND
4 9 (6.34%) Security Cleared
5 3 (2.11%) HNC
5 3 (2.11%) SC Cleared
6 1 (0.70%) A+ Certification
6 1 (0.70%) CCNA
6 1 (0.70%) Cisco Certification
6 1 (0.70%) Master's Degree
6 1 (0.70%) MCSE
6 1 (0.70%) Microsoft Certification
6 1 (0.70%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 1 (0.70%) ISO 9001
1 1 (0.70%) ISO/IEC 27001
1 1 (0.70%) PCI DSS
1 1 (0.70%) SLA
System Software
1 10 (7.04%) Firmware
2 4 (2.82%) Embedded Firmware
Vendors
1 11 (7.75%) Mentor Graphics
2 6 (4.23%) EMC
3 2 (1.41%) Dell
3 2 (1.41%) Microsoft
3 2 (1.41%) Siemens
4 1 (0.70%) Snow