Lead Developer Job Trends

Lead Developer
UK

The median Lead Developer salary in the UK is £85,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 8 August 2026.

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

6 months to
8 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 311 396 224
Rank change year-on-year +85 -172 +104
Permanent jobs requiring a Lead Developer 648 333 1,025
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.62% 0.67% 1.24%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.65% 0.75% 1.30%
Number of salaries quoted 544 234 913
10th Percentile £63,746 £53,750 £47,000
25th Percentile £70,000 £63,750 £55,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £85,000 £75,000 £70,000
Median % change year-on-year +13.33% +7.14% -9.68%
75th Percentile £100,000 £90,000 £90,000
90th Percentile - £120,000 £142,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £75,000 £70,000 £65,000
% change year-on-year +7.14% +7.69% -3.70%

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 99,002 44,694 78,791
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 94.08% 90.02% 94.96%
Number of salaries quoted 67,676 26,534 53,124
10th Percentile £30,000 £28,250 £30,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £36,750 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £55,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year - - -8.33%
75th Percentile £75,000 £75,000 £72,450
90th Percentile £96,250 £95,000 £91,250
UK excluding London median annual salary £52,500 £49,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year +7.14% -2.00% -6.79%

Lead Developer
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'Lead Developer' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.

Lead Developer job vacancy trend in the UK

Lead Developer
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for Lead Developer job vacancies in the UK.

Salary distribution trend for Lead Developer job vacancies in the UK

Lead Developer
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing Lead Developer over the 6 months to 8 August 2026.

Salary histogram for Lead Developer in the UK

Lead Developer
Top 16 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Lead Developer within the UK over the 6 months to 8 August 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 +71 606 £85,000 +13.33% 107
UK excluding London +61 395 £75,000 +7.14% 58
Work from Home +80 249 £95,000 +27.52% 44
London +34 223 £95,000 +5.56% 58
North of England +34 147 £75,000 +7.14% 23
North West +54 96 £72,500 - 10
Midlands +25 85 £70,000 +2.56% 14
South East +9 85 £90,000 +20.00% 7
West Midlands +9 54 £65,000 -6.47% 6
East Midlands -1 31 £70,000 +5.66% 8
South West -63 31 £70,000 +24.44% 4
East of England -6 27 £60,100 -19.87% 2
Yorkshire -33 26 £70,000 +1.82% 10
North East -31 25 £90,000 +12.50% 3
Northern Ireland -59 13 £80,000 - 1
Scotland +11 7 £70,000 +20.69% 5

Lead Developer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 8 August 2026, Lead Developer 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 Lead Developer in the job title.

1 195 (30.09%) Full-Stack Development
2 151 (23.30%) C#
3 149 (22.99%) Mentoring
4 146 (22.53%) JavaScript
5 145 (22.38%) .NET
5 145 (22.38%) AWS
6 144 (22.22%) Azure
7 142 (21.91%) TypeScript
8 127 (19.60%) Technical Leadership
9 118 (18.21%) Software Engineering
10 106 (16.36%) Agile
11 104 (16.05%) CI/CD
12 102 (15.74%) React
13 96 (14.81%) Node.js
14 84 (12.96%) DevOps
14 84 (12.96%) Python
15 81 (12.50%) AI
16 77 (11.88%) SaaS
17 72 (11.11%) Microservices
18 68 (10.49%) Continuous Improvement
18 68 (10.49%) SQL
19 63 (9.72%) Microsoft
20 58 (8.95%) Java
20 58 (8.95%) RESTful
21 51 (7.87%) Problem-Solving
22 48 (7.41%) Dynamics 365
22 48 (7.41%) Event-Driven
22 48 (7.41%) PostgreSQL
22 48 (7.41%) SQL Server
23 45 (6.94%) GraphQL

Lead Developer 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:

Application Platforms
1 19 (2.93%) Anypoint
1 19 (2.93%) Mule
2 9 (1.39%) SharePoint
3 7 (1.08%) Appian
4 6 (0.93%) Confluence
5 4 (0.62%) WordPress
6 1 (0.15%) CMS
Business Applications
1 9 (1.39%) Dynamics CRM
2 1 (0.15%) NetSuite
Cloud Services
1 145 (22.38%) AWS
2 144 (22.22%) Azure
3 77 (11.88%) SaaS
4 48 (7.41%) Dynamics 365
5 38 (5.86%) Power Platform
6 32 (4.94%) Azure DevOps
7 25 (3.86%) GCP
8 21 (3.24%) Azure Logic Apps
9 20 (3.09%) Serverless
10 19 (2.93%) GitHub
11 16 (2.47%) Microsoft Copilot
11 16 (2.47%) Snowflake
12 15 (2.31%) Azure Service Bus
12 15 (2.31%) Power Automate
13 13 (2.01%) Azure Key Vault
14 12 (1.85%) AWS Lambda
14 12 (1.85%) Azure Cosmos DB
15 11 (1.70%) Azure Monitor
15 11 (1.70%) PowerApps
16 10 (1.54%) Amazon ECS
Communications & Networking
1 14 (2.16%) SSL
2 6 (0.93%) Broadband
3 1 (0.15%) Asterisk PBX
3 1 (0.15%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 48 (7.41%) PostgreSQL
1 48 (7.41%) SQL Server
2 22 (3.40%) Redis
3 16 (2.47%) MySQL
4 12 (1.85%) Amazon RDS
5 11 (1.70%) Power BI
6 10 (1.54%) DynamoDB
6 10 (1.54%) Elasticsearch
6 10 (1.54%) MongoDB
7 6 (0.93%) NoSQL
8 5 (0.77%) Metadata
8 5 (0.77%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 3 (0.46%) MariaDB
9 3 (0.46%) Spatial Data
10 2 (0.31%) Geospatial Data
10 2 (0.31%) InterSystems Cache
10 2 (0.31%) KDB
11 1 (0.15%) Azure SQL Database
11 1 (0.15%) Db2
11 1 (0.15%) SQLite
Development Applications
1 34 (5.25%) Git
2 11 (1.70%) JIRA
3 6 (0.93%) Cypress.io
4 5 (0.77%) Bitbucket
5 4 (0.62%) Maven
6 3 (0.46%) Jenkins
6 3 (0.46%) JUnit
6 3 (0.46%) Mockito
6 3 (0.46%) NUnit
6 3 (0.46%) Vite
6 3 (0.46%) webpack
7 2 (0.31%) CircleCI
7 2 (0.31%) Claude Code
7 2 (0.31%) GitLab
7 2 (0.31%) MSI
7 2 (0.31%) Storybook
7 2 (0.31%) TeamCity
7 2 (0.31%) Terragrunt
8 1 (0.15%) fastlane
8 1 (0.15%) git-flow
General
1 118 (18.21%) Finance
2 64 (9.88%) Social Skills
3 32 (4.94%) Front Office
4 22 (3.40%) Law
5 18 (2.78%) Banking
6 16 (2.47%) Analytical Skills
7 15 (2.31%) Games
8 14 (2.16%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 7 (1.08%) Legal
9 7 (1.08%) Legal Technology
10 6 (0.93%) Public Sector
10 6 (0.93%) Retail
11 3 (0.46%) Investment Banking
12 2 (0.31%) Manufacturing
12 2 (0.31%) Marketing
13 1 (0.15%) Local Government
13 1 (0.15%) Organisational Skills
13 1 (0.15%) Tech for Good
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 145 (22.38%) .NET
2 102 (15.74%) React
3 96 (14.81%) Node.js
4 58 (8.95%) RESTful
5 45 (6.94%) GraphQL
6 39 (6.02%) Vue
7 34 (5.25%) .NET Core
7 34 (5.25%) ASP.NET
8 30 (4.63%) CSS
8 30 (4.63%) React Native
8 30 (4.63%) Redux
9 28 (4.32%) REST
10 27 (4.17%) Kafka
11 26 (4.01%) HTML
12 23 (3.55%) Next.js
12 23 (3.55%) Spring
13 20 (3.09%) AngularJS
14 15 (2.31%) .NET Framework
14 15 (2.31%) Laravel
14 15 (2.31%) OAuth
Miscellaneous
1 43 (6.64%) Cloud Native
2 27 (4.17%) Fixed Income
3 22 (3.40%) Product Ownership
4 18 (2.78%) Legacy Systems
4 18 (2.78%) Mobile App
5 17 (2.62%) Distributed Systems
5 17 (2.62%) Enterprise Software
6 14 (2.16%) Equities
6 14 (2.16%) Low-Code
7 13 (2.01%) Derivative
8 9 (1.39%) Legacy Applications
9 8 (1.23%) PropTech
10 7 (1.08%) Onboarding
11 6 (0.93%) Algorithms
11 6 (0.93%) Virtual Team
12 5 (0.77%) Greenfield Project
13 4 (0.62%) Video\Live Streaming
14 3 (0.46%) Blog
14 3 (0.46%) Operational Technology
14 3 (0.46%) Photography
Operating Systems
1 36 (5.56%) Apple iOS
2 34 (5.25%) Android
3 4 (0.62%) Linux
4 3 (0.46%) Windows
5 1 (0.15%) Debian
Processes & Methodologies
1 195 (30.09%) Full-Stack Development
2 149 (22.99%) Mentoring
3 127 (19.60%) Technical Leadership
4 118 (18.21%) Software Engineering
5 106 (16.36%) Agile
6 104 (16.05%) CI/CD
7 84 (12.96%) DevOps
8 81 (12.50%) AI
9 72 (11.11%) Microservices
10 68 (10.49%) Continuous Improvement
11 51 (7.87%) Problem-Solving
12 48 (7.41%) Event-Driven
13 44 (6.79%) Event-Driven Architecture
14 43 (6.64%) Roadmaps
15 38 (5.86%) Test Automation
16 36 (5.56%) Coaching
17 35 (5.40%) Design Patterns
18 33 (5.09%) Mobile Development
19 31 (4.78%) Fintech
19 31 (4.78%) Infrastructure as Code
Programming Languages
1 151 (23.30%) C#
2 146 (22.53%) JavaScript
3 142 (21.91%) TypeScript
4 84 (12.96%) Python
5 68 (10.49%) SQL
6 58 (8.95%) Java
7 24 (3.70%) Go
8 16 (2.47%) PHP
9 14 (2.16%) DataWeave
10 11 (1.70%) C++
10 11 (1.70%) Swift
11 10 (1.54%) Kotlin
12 9 (1.39%) Bicep
13 8 (1.23%) Ruby
14 6 (0.93%) RPG
15 5 (0.77%) PowerShell
16 4 (0.62%) Bash
16 4 (0.62%) Dart
17 3 (0.46%) PL/SQL
17 3 (0.46%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 32 (4.94%) Degree
2 30 (4.63%) SC Cleared
2 30 (4.63%) Security Cleared
3 19 (2.93%) Computer Science Degree
4 9 (1.39%) DBS Check
5 6 (0.93%) ITIL Certification
6 1 (0.15%) Azure Certification
6 1 (0.15%) BPSS Clearance
6 1 (0.15%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 33 (5.09%) QA
2 14 (2.16%) Accessibility
3 6 (0.93%) Data Quality
4 2 (0.31%) NCSC
4 2 (0.31%) WCAG
5 1 (0.15%) GDPR
5 1 (0.15%) HL7
5 1 (0.15%) SNOMED CT
5 1 (0.15%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 43 (6.64%) Docker
2 3 (0.46%) Firmware
3 1 (0.15%) Active Directory
Systems Management
1 26 (4.01%) Kubernetes
2 16 (2.47%) Terraform
3 14 (2.16%) CloudHub
4 2 (0.31%) Ansible
5 1 (0.15%) Grafana
5 1 (0.15%) Kibana
5 1 (0.15%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 63 (9.72%) Microsoft
2 19 (2.93%) MuleSoft
3 18 (2.78%) Salesforce
4 16 (2.47%) ServiceNow
5 14 (2.16%) SAP
6 7 (1.08%) HubSpot
7 6 (0.93%) IBM
7 6 (0.93%) Oracle
8 4 (0.62%) Apple
9 3 (0.46%) Bloomberg
9 3 (0.46%) DevExpress
10 2 (0.31%) Google
10 2 (0.31%) OpenAI
10 2 (0.31%) Refinitiv
10 2 (0.31%) TikTok
11 1 (0.15%) Citrix
11 1 (0.15%) Reuters