IEC 61508 Job Trends

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 25 March 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
25 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 654 607 805
Rank change year-on-year -47 +198 +56
Permanent jobs citing IEC 61508 43 35 27
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.056% 0.085% 0.031%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 0.49% 0.52% 0.22%
Number of salaries quoted 23 5 15
10th Percentile £51,250 £50,100 £46,250
25th Percentile £52,500 - £50,875
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £61,500 £75,000
Median % change year-on-year -2.44% -18.00% +15.38%
75th Percentile £65,000 - £86,875
90th Percentile - £69,600 £105,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £60,000 £61,500 £75,000
% change year-on-year -2.44% -18.00% +20.00%

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 8,749 6,681 12,421
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 11.37% 16.24% 14.21%
Number of salaries quoted 4,977 3,767 8,863
10th Percentile £30,750 £30,580 £27,300
25th Percentile £42,500 £42,500 £36,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £60,000 £52,520
Median % change year-on-year - +14.24% -8.66%
75th Percentile £80,000 £77,500 £71,250
90th Percentile £95,000 £95,000 £90,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £51,058 £53,000 £47,500
% change year-on-year -3.66% +11.58% -5.00%

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 25 March 2026.

Salary histogram for IEC 61508 in the UK

IEC 61508
Top 13 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 25 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 -53 37 £60,000 -2.44% 29
England -58 22 £55,000 -10.57% 33
Work from Home +23 14 £60,000 - 13
North West -23 13 £60,000 - 3
North of England -50 13 £60,000 +33.33% 6
Scotland -9 11 £60,000 -
Wales -14 7 £57,500 -
Midlands - 4 £65,000 - 11
London -5 3 £55,000 -21.43% 8
West Midlands - 3 £65,000 - 7
South East -28 2 - - 4
South West -56 1 £50,000 -18.70% 7
East Midlands - 1 - - 4

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:

Applications
1 6 (13.95%) Microsoft Office
2 2 (4.65%) AutoCAD
3 1 (2.33%) EPLAN
Communications & Networking
1 2 (4.65%) Profibus
1 2 (4.65%) RS-485
Development Applications
1 4 (9.30%) Git
General
1 12 (27.91%) Social Skills
2 7 (16.28%) Manufacturing
3 4 (9.30%) Aerospace
3 4 (9.30%) Automotive
3 4 (9.30%) Aviation
4 3 (6.98%) Analytical Skills
5 1 (2.33%) Electronics
Job Titles
1 29 (67.44%) Senior
2 17 (39.53%) Embedded Engineer
3 14 (32.56%) Embedded Software Engineer
3 14 (32.56%) Software Engineer
4 13 (30.23%) Senior Embedded Engineer
4 13 (30.23%) Senior Embedded Software Engineer
4 13 (30.23%) Senior Software Engineer
5 11 (25.58%) Systems Engineer
6 10 (23.26%) Instrumentation Engineer
6 10 (23.26%) Senior Electrical Engineer
7 8 (18.60%) Control Systems Engineer
8 6 (13.95%) Senior Systems Engineer
9 4 (9.30%) Firmware Engineer
9 4 (9.30%) Safety Engineer
10 3 (6.98%) Embedded Firmware Engineer
10 3 (6.98%) Engineering Manager
10 3 (6.98%) Principal Engineer
10 3 (6.98%) Systems Safety Engineer
11 2 (4.65%) Software Support Engineer
11 2 (4.65%) Support Engineer
Miscellaneous
1 11 (25.58%) CAN bus
1 11 (25.58%) Embedded Systems
2 7 (16.28%) SCADA
3 4 (9.30%) Algorithms
3 4 (9.30%) FPGA
3 4 (9.30%) Onboarding
4 3 (6.98%) Robotics
5 1 (2.33%) ARM Cortex
5 1 (2.33%) Driving Licence
5 1 (2.33%) Operational Technology
Operating Systems
1 3 (6.98%) FreeRTOS
2 1 (2.33%) SafeRTOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 18 (41.86%) Software Engineering
1 18 (41.86%) Systems Engineering
2 15 (34.88%) Safety Engineering
3 13 (30.23%) SDLC
4 12 (27.91%) Cybersecurity
5 11 (25.58%) Embedded Software Development
6 10 (23.26%) Acceptance Criteria
6 10 (23.26%) System Testing
7 8 (18.60%) Control Theory
8 7 (16.28%) Validation
9 6 (13.95%) Collaborative Working
9 6 (13.95%) Continuous Improvement
10 5 (11.63%) Technical Leadership
11 4 (9.30%) Agile
11 4 (9.30%) CI/CD
11 4 (9.30%) OO
11 4 (9.30%) Problem-Solving
11 4 (9.30%) Test Automation
12 3 (6.98%) AI
12 3 (6.98%) FMECA
Programming Languages
1 18 (41.86%) C
2 12 (27.91%) C++
3 1 (2.33%) Embedded C
3 1 (2.33%) Embedded C++
3 1 (2.33%) Ladder Logic
3 1 (2.33%) R
Qualifications
1 24 (55.81%) Degree
2 20 (46.51%) BPSS Clearance
3 13 (30.23%) Master's Degree
4 3 (6.98%) PhD
5 2 (4.65%) SC Cleared
5 2 (4.65%) Security Cleared
6 1 (2.33%) Chartered Engineer
6 1 (2.33%) HND
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 13 (30.23%) MISRA
1 13 (30.23%) MISRA C
2 8 (18.60%) ISO 26262
3 4 (9.30%) DO-254
3 4 (9.30%) HAZOP
4 3 (6.98%) Def Stans
5 1 (2.33%) IEC 61131
5 1 (2.33%) IEC 62304
System Software
1 7 (16.28%) Firmware
2 4 (9.30%) Embedded Firmware
Systems Management
1 22 (51.16%) Functional Safety
Vendors
1 7 (16.28%) Allen-Bradley
1 7 (16.28%) Siemens
2 2 (4.65%) EMC
2 2 (4.65%) Rockwell