IEC 61508
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs requiring IEC 61508 skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 6 October 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
6 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 775 637 748
Rank change year-on-year -138 +111 -38
Permanent jobs citing IEC 61508 43 29 21
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.036% 0.059% 0.029%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 0.35% 0.38% 0.21%
Number of salaries quoted 32 6 2
10th Percentile - £48,125 £65,625
25th Percentile £42,215 £58,125 £66,563
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £52,500 £75,000 £71,250
Median % change year-on-year -30.00% +5.26% +3.64%
75th Percentile £71,250 - £74,688
90th Percentile £82,500 - £74,875
UK excluding London median annual salary £52,500 £55,000 £72,500
% change year-on-year -4.55% -24.14% +5.45%

All Quality Assurance and Compliance Skills
UK

IEC 61508 falls under the Quality Assurance and Compliance category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring quality assurance or compliance skills.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for quality assurance or compliance skills 12,355 7,703 10,227
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 10.44% 15.55% 13.95%
Number of salaries quoted 7,640 4,199 4,845
10th Percentile £31,000 £30,000 £30,000
25th Percentile £41,250 £40,000 £41,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £57,500 £57,500
Median % change year-on-year -4.35% - -4.17%
75th Percentile £75,000 £76,250 £77,500
90th Percentile £95,000 £93,750 £97,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,000 £50,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year - - -4.76%

IEC 61508
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing IEC 61508 relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.

IEC 61508 job vacancy trend in the UK

IEC 61508
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing IEC 61508.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing IEC 61508

IEC 61508
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing IEC 61508 over the 6 months to 6 October 2026.

Salary histogram for IEC 61508 in the UK

IEC 61508
Top 11 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing IEC 61508 within the UK over the 6 months to 6 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
England -116 39 £52,500 -30.00% 62
UK excluding London -130 38 £52,500 -4.55% 49
North of England -56 18 £42,215 -11.13% 10
North West -20 17 £42,215 - 2
South West -69 12 £80,000 +45.45% 10
Work from Home -32 10 £80,000 +6.67% 28
South East -41 6 £45,000 - 13
West Midlands -39 2 £61,750 -17.67% 1
Midlands -61 2 £61,750 +0.82% 6
Yorkshire -34 1 - - 6
London -72 1 - - 6

IEC 61508
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:

Application Platforms
1 2 (4.65%) WinCC
2 1 (2.33%) FactoryTalk
Applications
1 1 (2.33%) AutoCAD
1 1 (2.33%) EPLAN
1 1 (2.33%) SOLIDWORKS
Communications & Networking
1 2 (4.65%) Ethernet
1 2 (4.65%) Modbus
2 1 (2.33%) Profibus
Development Applications
1 1 (2.33%) Git
1 1 (2.33%) Polyspace
1 1 (2.33%) VectorCAST
General
1 18 (41.86%) Aerospace
2 16 (37.21%) Finance
3 9 (20.93%) Electronics
4 6 (13.95%) Military
5 4 (9.30%) Social Skills
6 3 (6.98%) Aviation
6 3 (6.98%) Manufacturing
7 2 (4.65%) Retail
8 1 (2.33%) Analytical Skills
8 1 (2.33%) Avionics
8 1 (2.33%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 1 (2.33%) Organisational Skills
Job Titles
1 14 (32.56%) Instrumentation Engineer
2 11 (25.58%) Senior
3 10 (23.26%) Safety Engineer
3 10 (23.26%) Senior Electrical Engineer
4 7 (16.28%) Systems Safety Engineer
5 6 (13.95%) Consultant
5 6 (13.95%) Control Systems Engineer
5 6 (13.95%) Lead
5 6 (13.95%) Safety Consultant
6 3 (6.98%) Principal Engineer
6 3 (6.98%) Software Engineer
6 3 (6.98%) Systems Engineer
7 2 (4.65%) Embedded Engineer
7 2 (4.65%) Functional Consultant
7 2 (4.65%) Principal Software Engineer
7 2 (4.65%) Principal Systems Engineer
8 1 (2.33%) Design Engineer
8 1 (2.33%) Embedded Software Engineer
8 1 (2.33%) Senior Software Engineer
8 1 (2.33%) Team Leader
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 1 (2.33%) pytest
Miscellaneous
1 9 (20.93%) Operational Technology
2 5 (11.63%) SCADA
3 4 (9.30%) Replication
4 2 (4.65%) Embedded Systems
4 2 (4.65%) Renewable Energy
5 1 (2.33%) ARM Cortex
5 1 (2.33%) FPGA
5 1 (2.33%) Onboarding
5 1 (2.33%) Self-Driving Car
Operating Systems
1 1 (2.33%) FreeRTOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 19 (44.19%) Validation
2 15 (34.88%) Systems Engineering
3 13 (30.23%) Cybersecurity
4 10 (23.26%) Acceptance Criteria
5 9 (20.93%) Mentoring
5 9 (20.93%) Technical Leadership
6 7 (16.28%) FMEA
6 7 (16.28%) Problem-Solving
6 7 (16.28%) Software Engineering
7 6 (13.95%) Stakeholder Engagement
8 5 (11.63%) Computer Science
8 5 (11.63%) Line Management
8 5 (11.63%) Project Delivery
8 5 (11.63%) Project Management
8 5 (11.63%) Verification and Validation
9 4 (9.30%) Hazard Analysis
9 4 (9.30%) Root Cause Analysis
9 4 (9.30%) Safety Engineering
9 4 (9.30%) Six Sigma
10 3 (6.98%) Risk Analysis
Programming Languages
1 4 (9.30%) Ladder Logic
2 2 (4.65%) Python
3 1 (2.33%) Bash
3 1 (2.33%) C
3 1 (2.33%) C++
3 1 (2.33%) MATLAB
Qualifications
1 35 (81.40%) Degree
2 18 (41.86%) Master's Degree
3 12 (27.91%) BPSS Clearance
4 11 (25.58%) Chartered Engineer
5 5 (11.63%) GIAC
5 5 (11.63%) GISP
6 4 (9.30%) CITP
6 4 (9.30%) DV Cleared
6 4 (9.30%) SC Cleared
6 4 (9.30%) Security Cleared
7 2 (4.65%) Computer Science Degree
8 1 (2.33%) HNC
8 1 (2.33%) HND
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 12 (27.91%) DO-254
2 8 (18.60%) Def Stans
3 6 (13.95%) ISO 26262
4 4 (9.30%) ARP4761
4 4 (9.30%) HAZOP
5 3 (6.98%) ISO 9001
6 2 (4.65%) IEC 61131
7 1 (2.33%) Accessibility
7 1 (2.33%) AQAP
7 1 (2.33%) MISRA
7 1 (2.33%) MISRA C
7 1 (2.33%) NEBOSH
System Software
1 3 (6.98%) Firmware
2 2 (4.65%) Embedded Firmware
Systems Management
1 33 (76.74%) Functional Safety
Vendors
1 15 (34.88%) Siemens
2 7 (16.28%) Allen-Bradley
2 7 (16.28%) Rockwell
3 1 (2.33%) EMC