IC Design Job Trends

Integrated Circuit Design (IC Design)
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs requiring IC Design skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 6 December 2025, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
6 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 644 - 720
Rank change year-on-year - - +346
Permanent jobs citing IC Design 3 0 1
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.005% - 0.002%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 0.006% - 0.002%
Number of salaries quoted 1 0 0
10th Percentile - - -
25th Percentile £60,000 - -
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £65,000 - -
75th Percentile £70,000 - -
90th Percentile - - -
UK excluding London median annual salary £65,000 - -

All Process and Methodology Skills
UK

IC Design falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 46,878 54,401 47,138
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 83.98% 86.62% 93.72%
Number of salaries quoted 28,142 28,251 36,353
10th Percentile £28,250 £35,000 £32,500
25th Percentile £36,250 £45,000 £43,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £60,000 £60,000
Median % change year-on-year -8.33% - -
75th Percentile £75,000 £80,000 £80,000
90th Percentile £95,000 £98,750 £100,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £47,500 £55,000 £52,500
% change year-on-year -13.64% +4.76% -1.70%

IC Design
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing IC Design relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.

IC Design job vacancy trend in the UK

IC Design
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing IC Design.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing IC Design

IC Design
Top 5 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing IC Design within the UK over the 6 months to 6 December 2025. 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
England - 3 £65,000 - 9
UK excluding London - 3 £65,000 - 9
East of England - 2 £65,000 - 1
South East - 1 - - 8
Work from Home - 1 - - 7

IC Design
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:

Communications & Networking
1 1 (33.33%) Wireless
General
1 2 (66.67%) Electronics
2 1 (33.33%) Manufacturing
2 1 (33.33%) Social Skills
Job Titles
1 3 (100.00%) Design Engineer
2 2 (66.67%) IC Design Engineer
2 2 (66.67%) Senior
2 2 (66.67%) Senior Design Engineer
3 1 (33.33%) Analogue Design Engineer
3 1 (33.33%) Analogue IC Design Engineer
3 1 (33.33%) Analogue IC Engineer
3 1 (33.33%) Senior Analogue Design Engineer
Miscellaneous
1 2 (66.67%) Analogue Electronics
2 1 (33.33%) Algorithms
2 1 (33.33%) ASIC
2 1 (33.33%) Embedded Systems
2 1 (33.33%) Renewable Energy
Processes & Methodologies
1 2 (66.67%) Kalman Filter
2 1 (33.33%) Design for Manufacturing
2 1 (33.33%) Digital Signal Processing
2 1 (33.33%) Performance Metrics
2 1 (33.33%) Power Management
2 1 (33.33%) Problem-Solving
2 1 (33.33%) Schematic Capture
2 1 (33.33%) Signal Processing
2 1 (33.33%) Validation
Qualifications
1 3 (100.00%) Degree
2 2 (66.67%) Master's Degree
3 1 (33.33%) PhD
Vendors
1 2 (66.67%) Cadence
2 1 (33.33%) Synopsys