Hardware Engineer Job Trends

Hardware Engineer
UK

The median Hardware Engineer salary in the UK is £60,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 11 June 2026.

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

6 months to
11 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 616 648 463
Rank change year-on-year +32 -185 +267
Permanent jobs requiring a Hardware Engineer 117 36 507
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.13% 0.081% 0.48%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.13% 0.091% 0.50%
Number of salaries quoted 83 21 347
10th Percentile £28,000 £25,000 £26,300
25th Percentile £37,000 £40,250 £37,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £47,500 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +26.32% -5.00% +5.26%
75th Percentile £70,000 £67,500 £61,250
90th Percentile £75,000 £73,750 £67,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £60,000 £47,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year +26.32% -5.00% +5.26%

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 86,830 39,579 100,813
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 93.99% 89.52% 94.70%
Number of salaries quoted 59,401 22,377 72,921
10th Percentile £30,000 £29,000 £28,500
25th Percentile £40,000 £39,878 £38,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £57,500 £52,500
Median % change year-on-year -4.35% +9.52% -12.50%
75th Percentile £75,000 £77,500 £70,000
90th Percentile £95,000 £98,750 £90,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,000 £50,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year - - -6.54%

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 11 June 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 11 June 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 +28 100 £60,000 +26.32% 33
England +8 96 £60,000 +25.65% 32
South East +14 46 £60,000 -7.69% 12
Midlands -12 16 £75,000 +76.47% 2
West Midlands -8 15 £75,000 - 2
East of England - 12 £55,000 - 11
South West -39 11 £26,075 -47.85% 5
Work from Home +9 10 £75,000 +57.89% 6
North of England -27 7 £36,250 -27.50%
Scotland +15 5 £52,500 +105.88% 3
North West +12 5 £27,500 -45.00%
London - 4 £80,000 - 2
North East - 2 £45,000 -
Wales - 2 £80,000 -
East Midlands -28 1 £50,000 +17.65%
Northern Ireland - 1 £65,000 -

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

For the 6 months to 11 June 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 36 (30.77%) Degree
2 18 (15.38%) BPSS Clearance
2 18 (15.38%) Coaching
3 15 (12.82%) Security Cleared
4 14 (11.97%) HND
5 13 (11.11%) Firmware
5 13 (11.11%) Mentor Graphics
6 12 (10.26%) MATLAB
6 12 (10.26%) Problem-Solving
6 12 (10.26%) Simulink
6 12 (10.26%) Validation
7 11 (9.40%) Prototyping
7 11 (9.40%) Schematic Capture
8 10 (8.55%) Break/Fix
9 9 (7.69%) EMC
9 9 (7.69%) Mentoring
10 7 (5.98%) C
10 7 (5.98%) Embedded Firmware
10 7 (5.98%) Python
11 6 (5.13%) Technical Leadership
12 5 (4.27%) ISO 9001
12 5 (4.27%) Project Delivery
12 5 (4.27%) Software Testing
13 4 (3.42%) Business Development
13 4 (3.42%) C++
13 4 (3.42%) Commercial Awareness
13 4 (3.42%) Continuous Improvement
13 4 (3.42%) Cost Management
13 4 (3.42%) Cybersecurity
13 4 (3.42%) DBS Check

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 12 (10.26%) Simulink
2 2 (1.71%) Microsoft Office
2 2 (1.71%) OrCAD
3 1 (0.85%) Microsoft Excel
3 1 (0.85%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 1 (0.85%) SOLIDWORKS
Cloud Services
1 3 (2.56%) Microsoft 365
Communications & Networking
1 2 (1.71%) Structured Cabling
2 1 (0.85%) SAN
Development Applications
1 1 (0.85%) LabVIEW
General
1 58 (49.57%) Electronics
2 18 (15.38%) Manufacturing
3 16 (13.68%) Aerospace
4 10 (8.55%) Social Skills
5 7 (5.98%) Analytical Skills
6 6 (5.13%) Public Sector
7 5 (4.27%) Finance
8 3 (2.56%) Advertising
8 3 (2.56%) Health Technology
8 3 (2.56%) Wearables
9 2 (1.71%) Automotive
9 2 (1.71%) Presentation Skills
10 1 (0.85%) Documentation Skills
10 1 (0.85%) Legal
10 1 (0.85%) Marketing
Miscellaneous
1 22 (18.80%) Analogue Electronics
2 8 (6.84%) FPGA
3 4 (3.42%) Acoustics
3 4 (3.42%) IoT
4 3 (2.56%) Embedded Systems
4 3 (2.56%) Self-Motivation
5 2 (1.71%) Algorithms
5 2 (1.71%) Data Centre
5 2 (1.71%) Device Driver
5 2 (1.71%) Driving Licence
5 2 (1.71%) Robotics
5 2 (1.71%) VHDL
6 1 (0.85%) Analytical Mindset
6 1 (0.85%) ARM Cortex
6 1 (0.85%) Smartphone
Operating Systems
1 3 (2.56%) Linux
2 1 (0.85%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 18 (15.38%) Coaching
2 12 (10.26%) Problem-Solving
2 12 (10.26%) Validation
3 11 (9.40%) Prototyping
3 11 (9.40%) Schematic Capture
4 10 (8.55%) Break/Fix
5 9 (7.69%) Mentoring
6 6 (5.13%) Technical Leadership
7 5 (4.27%) Project Delivery
7 5 (4.27%) Software Testing
8 4 (3.42%) Business Development
8 4 (3.42%) Commercial Awareness
8 4 (3.42%) Continuous Improvement
8 4 (3.42%) Cost Management
8 4 (3.42%) Line Management
8 4 (3.42%) People Management
8 4 (3.42%) Stakeholder Engagement
8 4 (3.42%) Strategic Planning
8 4 (3.42%) Test Automation
8 4 (3.42%) Test Strategy
Programming Languages
1 12 (10.26%) MATLAB
2 7 (5.98%) C
2 7 (5.98%) Python
3 4 (3.42%) C++
3 4 (3.42%) Embedded C
4 2 (1.71%) C#
4 2 (1.71%) Embedded C++
Qualifications
1 36 (30.77%) Degree
2 18 (15.38%) BPSS Clearance
3 15 (12.82%) Security Cleared
4 14 (11.97%) HND
5 4 (3.42%) DBS Check
6 2 (1.71%) Master's Degree
6 2 (1.71%) SC Cleared
7 1 (0.85%) A+ Certification
7 1 (0.85%) CCNA
7 1 (0.85%) Cisco Certification
7 1 (0.85%) HNC
7 1 (0.85%) MCSE
7 1 (0.85%) Microsoft Certification
7 1 (0.85%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 5 (4.27%) ISO 9001
2 4 (3.42%) ISO 14001
3 2 (1.71%) DO-254
4 1 (0.85%) ISO 13485
4 1 (0.85%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 1 (0.85%) PCI DSS
4 1 (0.85%) QA
System Software
1 13 (11.11%) Firmware
2 7 (5.98%) Embedded Firmware
Systems Management
1 4 (3.42%) Functional Safety
Vendors
1 13 (11.11%) Mentor Graphics
2 9 (7.69%) EMC
3 3 (2.56%) Microsoft
4 1 (0.85%) Dell