Lead Developer Job Trends

Lead Developer
UK

The median Lead Developer salary in the UK is £80,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 17 September 2026.

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

6 months to
17 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 305 394 248
Rank change year-on-year +89 -146 +63
Permanent jobs requiring a Lead Developer 678 307 861
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.59% 0.62% 1.11%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.63% 0.69% 1.16%
Number of salaries quoted 558 216 726
10th Percentile £65,000 £54,625 £47,000
25th Percentile £70,000 £65,000 £52,539
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £80,000 £75,000 £70,000
Median % change year-on-year +6.67% +7.14% -11.95%
75th Percentile £95,938 £90,000 £90,000
90th Percentile £100,000 £122,500 £142,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £75,000 £70,000 £65,000
% change year-on-year +7.14% +7.69% -7.14%

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 107,222 44,266 74,164
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 93.32% 89.67% 95.25%
Number of salaries quoted 73,597 26,014 44,625
10th Percentile £30,000 £28,250 £30,000
25th Percentile £40,400 £36,250 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £59,000 £55,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year +7.27% - -8.33%
75th Percentile £77,500 £75,000 £73,750
90th Percentile £100,000 £95,000 £92,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £55,000 £47,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year +15.79% -5.00% -4.76%

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 17 September 2026.

Salary histogram for Lead Developer in the UK

Lead Developer
Top 17 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 17 September 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 +92 627 £83,500 +11.33% 214
UK excluding London +72 433 £75,000 +7.14% 124
Work from Home +60 225 £95,000 +26.67% 98
London +24 213 £90,000 -10.00% 110
North of England +20 150 £75,000 +7.14% 44
Midlands +30 107 £70,000 -1.75% 31
South East +9 93 £90,000 +22.03% 13
North West +24 84 £75,000 +7.14% 15
West Midlands +2 64 £70,000 -3.45% 19
East Midlands -5 43 £70,000 +3.70% 12
Yorkshire -27 41 £75,000 +11.11% 19
East of England -6 30 £70,000 +27.27% 9
North East -44 25 £90,000 +12.50% 10
South West -66 25 £70,000 +40.00% 5
Northern Ireland - 11 £80,000 - 6
Scotland +2 9 £70,000 +33.33% 11
Wales -71 8 £55,000 -26.67% 5

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

For the 6 months to 17 September 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.

1 177 (26.11%) Full-Stack Development
2 158 (23.30%) C#
3 154 (22.71%) Technical Leadership
4 142 (20.94%) .NET
5 140 (20.65%) Azure
6 131 (19.32%) JavaScript
7 129 (19.03%) Mentoring
8 123 (18.14%) TypeScript
9 122 (17.99%) AWS
10 101 (14.90%) CI/CD
11 88 (12.98%) Node.js
12 87 (12.83%) SaaS
13 81 (11.95%) AI
14 79 (11.65%) DevOps
15 78 (11.50%) Software Engineering
16 75 (11.06%) Agile
17 72 (10.62%) SQL
18 71 (10.47%) Microservices
19 70 (10.32%) Microsoft
20 66 (9.73%) Continuous Improvement
20 66 (9.73%) Python
20 66 (9.73%) React
21 60 (8.85%) Dynamics 365
22 52 (7.67%) RESTful
23 51 (7.52%) SQL Server
24 50 (7.37%) Roadmaps
25 49 (7.23%) Event-Driven
25 49 (7.23%) Power Platform
26 47 (6.93%) Docker
27 46 (6.78%) Problem-Solving

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 (2.80%) Anypoint
1 19 (2.80%) Mule
2 13 (1.92%) SharePoint
3 5 (0.74%) Confluence
4 4 (0.59%) WordPress
5 3 (0.44%) Appian
Business Applications
1 15 (2.21%) Dynamics CRM
2 5 (0.74%) Oracle Applications
3 1 (0.15%) NetSuite
Cloud Services
1 140 (20.65%) Azure
2 122 (17.99%) AWS
3 87 (12.83%) SaaS
4 60 (8.85%) Dynamics 365
5 49 (7.23%) Power Platform
6 35 (5.16%) Azure DevOps
7 20 (2.95%) Azure Logic Apps
7 20 (2.95%) Microsoft Copilot
7 20 (2.95%) Power Automate
7 20 (2.95%) Serverless
8 19 (2.80%) Azure Service Bus
8 19 (2.80%) GitHub
9 17 (2.51%) Snowflake
10 15 (2.21%) Azure Key Vault
11 14 (2.06%) Azure Monitor
12 13 (1.92%) Azure Cosmos DB
12 13 (1.92%) GCP
12 13 (1.92%) PowerApps
13 11 (1.62%) Amazon ECS
14 10 (1.47%) Microsoft 365
Communications & Networking
1 14 (2.06%) SSL
2 4 (0.59%) Broadband
3 1 (0.15%) Asterisk PBX
3 1 (0.15%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 51 (7.52%) SQL Server
2 35 (5.16%) PostgreSQL
3 24 (3.54%) Redis
4 16 (2.36%) MySQL
5 15 (2.21%) Power BI
6 12 (1.77%) Elasticsearch
7 10 (1.47%) Amazon RDS
7 10 (1.47%) DynamoDB
8 9 (1.33%) MongoDB
9 5 (0.74%) Metadata
9 5 (0.74%) NoSQL
9 5 (0.74%) SQL Server Integration Services
10 3 (0.44%) KDB
10 3 (0.44%) MariaDB
10 3 (0.44%) Spatial Data
11 2 (0.29%) Db2
11 2 (0.29%) Geospatial Data
11 2 (0.29%) InterSystems Cache
12 1 (0.15%) Azure SQL Database
12 1 (0.15%) SQLite
Development Applications
1 34 (5.01%) Git
2 8 (1.18%) JIRA
3 4 (0.59%) Jenkins
4 3 (0.44%) Bitbucket
4 3 (0.44%) JUnit
4 3 (0.44%) Maven
4 3 (0.44%) Mockito
5 2 (0.29%) CircleCI
5 2 (0.29%) Claude Code
5 2 (0.29%) Cypress.io
5 2 (0.29%) GitLab
5 2 (0.29%) MSI
5 2 (0.29%) NUnit
5 2 (0.29%) TeamCity
5 2 (0.29%) Terragrunt
6 1 (0.15%) fastlane
6 1 (0.15%) git-flow
6 1 (0.15%) Storybook
6 1 (0.15%) Visual Studio Code
6 1 (0.15%) XCUITest
General
1 92 (13.57%) Finance
2 69 (10.18%) Social Skills
3 22 (3.24%) Inclusion and Diversity
4 21 (3.10%) Law
5 20 (2.95%) Banking
6 16 (2.36%) Analytical Skills
7 12 (1.77%) Games
8 9 (1.33%) Public Sector
9 8 (1.18%) Front Office
9 8 (1.18%) Retail
10 7 (1.03%) Legal
10 7 (1.03%) Legal Technology
11 6 (0.88%) Marketing
12 4 (0.59%) Investment Banking
13 2 (0.29%) Manufacturing
14 1 (0.15%) Local Government
14 1 (0.15%) Organisational Skills
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 142 (20.94%) .NET
2 88 (12.98%) Node.js
3 66 (9.73%) React
4 52 (7.67%) RESTful
5 36 (5.31%) ASP.NET
6 34 (5.01%) .NET Core
7 33 (4.87%) REST
8 32 (4.72%) Vue
9 26 (3.83%) CSS
10 24 (3.54%) GraphQL
11 23 (3.39%) HTML
11 23 (3.39%) Next.js
11 23 (3.39%) React Native
12 21 (3.10%) Spring
13 16 (2.36%) Terraform
14 14 (2.06%) JWT
14 14 (2.06%) MUnit
14 14 (2.06%) OAuth
14 14 (2.06%) OAuth2
14 14 (2.06%) RAML
Miscellaneous
1 39 (5.75%) Cloud Native
2 19 (2.80%) Product Ownership
3 18 (2.65%) Distributed Systems
4 17 (2.51%) Legacy Systems
5 14 (2.06%) Low-Code
6 13 (1.92%) Mobile App
7 12 (1.77%) Enterprise Software
8 9 (1.33%) Virtual Team
9 8 (1.18%) Greenfield Project
10 7 (1.03%) Onboarding
11 6 (0.88%) Algorithms
12 5 (0.74%) Legacy Applications
13 4 (0.59%) Blog
14 3 (0.44%) Equities
14 3 (0.44%) Management Information System
14 3 (0.44%) Operational Technology
14 3 (0.44%) PropTech
14 3 (0.44%) Taxonomies
14 3 (0.44%) Video\Live Streaming
15 2 (0.29%) AI Agents
Operating Systems
1 27 (3.98%) Android
2 26 (3.83%) Apple iOS
3 4 (0.59%) Linux
4 3 (0.44%) Windows
5 1 (0.15%) Debian
Processes & Methodologies
1 177 (26.11%) Full-Stack Development
2 154 (22.71%) Technical Leadership
3 129 (19.03%) Mentoring
4 101 (14.90%) CI/CD
5 81 (11.95%) AI
6 79 (11.65%) DevOps
7 78 (11.50%) Software Engineering
8 75 (11.06%) Agile
9 71 (10.47%) Microservices
10 66 (9.73%) Continuous Improvement
11 50 (7.37%) Roadmaps
12 49 (7.23%) Event-Driven
13 46 (6.78%) Problem-Solving
14 44 (6.49%) Event-Driven Architecture
15 38 (5.60%) Stakeholder Management
16 37 (5.46%) Test Automation
17 32 (4.72%) Design Patterns
18 29 (4.28%) DevSecOps
19 28 (4.13%) Coaching
19 28 (4.13%) Mobile Development
Programming Languages
1 158 (23.30%) C#
2 131 (19.32%) JavaScript
3 123 (18.14%) TypeScript
4 72 (10.62%) SQL
5 66 (9.73%) Python
6 42 (6.19%) Java
7 16 (2.36%) PHP
8 14 (2.06%) DataWeave
9 10 (1.47%) C++
10 8 (1.18%) Go
10 8 (1.18%) Ruby
11 7 (1.03%) Kotlin
12 6 (0.88%) Bicep
12 6 (0.88%) RPG
13 5 (0.74%) PowerShell
13 5 (0.74%) Swift
14 4 (0.59%) Bash
15 3 (0.44%) C
15 3 (0.44%) PL/SQL
15 3 (0.44%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 32 (4.72%) Security Cleared
2 31 (4.57%) SC Cleared
3 30 (4.42%) Degree
4 21 (3.10%) Computer Science Degree
5 5 (0.74%) DBS Check
5 5 (0.74%) ITIL Certification
6 4 (0.59%) Azure Certification
6 4 (0.59%) Microsoft Certification
7 1 (0.15%) BPSS Clearance
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 34 (5.01%) QA
2 12 (1.77%) Accessibility
3 6 (0.88%) Data Quality
4 5 (0.74%) WCAG
5 4 (0.59%) GDPR
6 2 (0.29%) NCSC
7 1 (0.15%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 47 (6.93%) Docker
2 2 (0.29%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 26 (3.83%) Kubernetes
2 14 (2.06%) CloudHub
3 2 (0.29%) Ansible
Vendors
1 70 (10.32%) Microsoft
2 19 (2.80%) MuleSoft
3 16 (2.36%) Salesforce
4 15 (2.21%) ServiceNow
5 14 (2.06%) SAP
6 11 (1.62%) Oracle
7 7 (1.03%) HubSpot
8 6 (0.88%) IBM
9 4 (0.59%) Databricks
9 4 (0.59%) Google
10 3 (0.44%) Adobe
10 3 (0.44%) Bloomberg
11 2 (0.29%) DevExpress
11 2 (0.29%) OpenAI
11 2 (0.29%) Refinitiv
11 2 (0.29%) TikTok
12 1 (0.15%) Apple
12 1 (0.15%) Citrix
12 1 (0.15%) Reuters