Lead Developer Job Trends

Lead Developer
UK

The median Lead Developer salary in the UK is £76,500 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 21 November 2025.

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

6 months to
21 Nov 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 359 252 301
Rank change year-on-year -107 +49 +29
Permanent jobs requiring a Lead Developer 338 715 546
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.63% 1.06% 1.05%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.70% 1.12% 1.10%
Number of salaries quoted 248 580 474
10th Percentile £57,500 £47,000 £57,750
25th Percentile £67,500 £50,000 £63,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £76,500 £67,500 £80,000
Median % change year-on-year +13.33% -15.63% +3.23%
75th Percentile £90,000 £85,000 £97,500
90th Percentile £120,750 £127,750 £120,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £70,000 £65,000 £70,000
% change year-on-year +7.69% -7.14% -

All Permanent IT Job Vacancies
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 48,105 63,733 49,629
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 90.16% 94.54% 95.38%
Number of salaries quoted 30,175 35,701 38,478
10th Percentile £28,250 £31,750 £31,250
25th Percentile £35,500 £42,500 £42,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £53,048 £57,500 £60,000
Median % change year-on-year -7.74% -4.17% -
75th Percentile £73,750 £76,000 £80,000
90th Percentile £92,500 £95,000 £97,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £47,500 £51,500 £52,500
% change year-on-year -7.77% -1.90% -

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 21 November 2025.

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 21 November 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 -70 305 £76,500 +9.29% 143
UK excluding London -83 183 £70,000 +7.69% 92
Work from Home -45 143 £80,000 +23.08% 83
London -40 130 £96,250 +1.32% 63
North of England -18 73 £70,000 +7.69% 36
Midlands +21 37 £74,500 +56.84% 13
North West -5 37 £70,000 +7.69% 18
West Midlands +26 34 £73,250 +55.85% 10
South East +9 33 £85,000 +28.30% 17
Yorkshire +6 30 £70,000 +48.94% 12
South West -10 18 £68,750 +46.28% 11
Scotland +3 9 £65,000 - 5
East of England +1 7 £65,000 -7.14% 9
North East +1 6 £68,500 +5.38% 6
Wales -7 6 £75,000 +7.14% 2
East Midlands +13 3 £75,000 +25.00% 3

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

For the 6 months to 21 November 2025, 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.

1 134 (39.64%) Agile
2 128 (37.87%) Azure
3 118 (34.91%) AWS
4 101 (29.88%) Mentoring
5 95 (28.11%) CI/CD
6 87 (25.74%) Python
7 83 (24.56%) React
8 79 (23.37%) Problem-Solving
9 78 (23.08%) .NET
10 77 (22.78%) C#
11 73 (21.60%) Full-Stack Development
11 73 (21.60%) Software Engineering
11 73 (21.60%) Technical Leadership
12 71 (21.01%) Microservices
13 64 (18.93%) SQL
14 61 (18.05%) Java
14 61 (18.05%) JavaScript
15 58 (17.16%) DevOps
16 57 (16.86%) Continuous Improvement
17 56 (16.57%) TypeScript
18 50 (14.79%) QA
19 49 (14.50%) AI
20 47 (13.91%) SQL Server
21 43 (12.72%) Microsoft
21 43 (12.72%) RESTful
21 43 (12.72%) Test Automation
22 42 (12.43%) Docker
23 41 (12.13%) Containerisation
23 41 (12.13%) Node.js
23 41 (12.13%) NoSQL

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 4 (1.18%) Apache
2 3 (0.89%) Confluence
2 3 (0.89%) SharePoint
2 3 (0.89%) WordPress
3 1 (0.30%) Anypoint
3 1 (0.30%) Appian
3 1 (0.30%) CMS
3 1 (0.30%) Umbraco
Applications
1 2 (0.59%) Microsoft Excel
2 1 (0.30%) Microsoft Office
Business Applications
1 15 (4.44%) Dynamics CRM
2 3 (0.89%) Magento
2 3 (0.89%) Shopify
3 2 (0.59%) NEC Housing
4 1 (0.30%) Endur
4 1 (0.30%) Payment Gateway
Cloud Services
1 128 (37.87%) Azure
2 118 (34.91%) AWS
3 41 (12.13%) SaaS
4 40 (11.83%) Serverless
5 37 (10.95%) GitHub
6 36 (10.65%) Power Platform
7 27 (7.99%) Azure DevOps
8 23 (6.80%) GCP
9 19 (5.62%) Dynamics 365
9 19 (5.62%) PowerApps
10 17 (5.03%) Amazon S3
10 17 (5.03%) Amazon SQS
11 14 (4.14%) AWS Lambda
11 14 (4.14%) Azure App Service
12 13 (3.85%) GitHub Actions
13 11 (3.25%) Entra ID
13 11 (3.25%) PaaS
13 11 (3.25%) Power Automate
14 8 (2.37%) Azure Cosmos DB
14 8 (2.37%) Azure Data Factory
Communications & Networking
1 1 (0.30%) Broadband
1 1 (0.30%) MQTT
1 1 (0.30%) Network Security
Database & Business Intelligence
1 47 (13.91%) SQL Server
2 41 (12.13%) NoSQL
3 33 (9.76%) PostgreSQL
4 32 (9.47%) MongoDB
5 20 (5.92%) Power BI
6 11 (3.25%) Data Warehouse
6 11 (3.25%) Relational Database
7 9 (2.66%) MySQL
8 8 (2.37%) DynamoDB
8 8 (2.37%) Tick Data
9 7 (2.07%) Amazon RDS
9 7 (2.07%) Azure SQL Database
10 6 (1.78%) SQL Server Integration Services
11 5 (1.48%) Data Lake
12 4 (1.18%) Amazon Athena
12 4 (1.18%) Amazon Aurora
12 4 (1.18%) Apache Iceberg
12 4 (1.18%) Big Data
12 4 (1.18%) RDBMS
13 3 (0.89%) SQL Server Analysis Services
Development Applications
1 36 (10.65%) Git
2 8 (2.37%) Jenkins
3 7 (2.07%) Visual Studio
4 4 (1.18%) JIRA
4 4 (1.18%) SonarQube
4 4 (1.18%) Vite
5 3 (0.89%) Bitbucket Server
5 3 (0.89%) DbUnit
5 3 (0.89%) jMock
5 3 (0.89%) JUnit
5 3 (0.89%) Maven
5 3 (0.89%) Mockito
5 3 (0.89%) Spinnaker
5 3 (0.89%) Xcode
6 2 (0.59%) Subversion
7 1 (0.30%) Android Studio
7 1 (0.30%) Bitbucket
7 1 (0.30%) GitLab
7 1 (0.30%) MSTest
7 1 (0.30%) NUnit
General
1 78 (23.08%) Social Skills
2 63 (18.64%) Finance
3 36 (10.65%) Inclusion and Diversity
4 27 (7.99%) Marketing
5 24 (7.10%) Law
6 21 (6.21%) Front Office
7 18 (5.33%) Analytical Skills
7 18 (5.33%) Public Sector
8 14 (4.14%) Organisational Skills
8 14 (4.14%) Retail
9 13 (3.85%) Banking
9 13 (3.85%) Tech for Good
10 10 (2.96%) Health Technology
11 9 (2.66%) Influencing Skills
11 9 (2.66%) Publishing
12 8 (2.37%) Electronics
13 7 (2.07%) Games
14 6 (1.78%) Legal
15 5 (1.48%) Back Office
16 4 (1.18%) Telecoms
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 83 (24.56%) React
2 78 (23.08%) .NET
3 43 (12.72%) RESTful
4 41 (12.13%) Node.js
5 27 (7.99%) Kafka
6 26 (7.69%) .NET Framework
7 24 (7.10%) AngularJS
8 20 (5.92%) Flask
8 20 (5.92%) GraphQL
9 19 (5.62%) REST
9 19 (5.62%) Vue
10 18 (5.33%) .NET Core
10 18 (5.33%) CSS
10 18 (5.33%) HTML
11 16 (4.73%) FastAPI
11 16 (4.73%) Redux
12 14 (4.14%) Spring Boot
13 13 (3.85%) Blazor
13 13 (3.85%) Entity Framework
13 13 (3.85%) Spring
Miscellaneous
1 30 (8.88%) Cloud Native
2 17 (5.03%) Fixed Income
2 17 (5.03%) Legacy Systems
2 17 (5.03%) Product Ownership
3 16 (4.73%) Distributed Systems
4 9 (2.66%) Marketing Technology
5 8 (2.37%) Clustering
5 8 (2.37%) Derivative
6 7 (2.07%) Data Structures
6 7 (2.07%) Enterprise Software
7 6 (1.78%) Market Risk
8 5 (1.48%) Algorithms
8 5 (1.48%) Greenfield Project
8 5 (1.48%) Mobile App
9 4 (1.18%) AI Agents
9 4 (1.18%) Distributed Applications
9 4 (1.18%) e-Learning
9 4 (1.18%) Equities
9 4 (1.18%) Hedge funds
9 4 (1.18%) PKI
Operating Systems
1 13 (3.85%) Apple iOS
2 10 (2.96%) Linux
3 8 (2.37%) Android
4 5 (1.48%) Unix
Processes & Methodologies
1 134 (39.64%) Agile
2 101 (29.88%) Mentoring
3 95 (28.11%) CI/CD
4 79 (23.37%) Problem-Solving
5 73 (21.60%) Full-Stack Development
5 73 (21.60%) Software Engineering
5 73 (21.60%) Technical Leadership
6 71 (21.01%) Microservices
7 58 (17.16%) DevOps
8 57 (16.86%) Continuous Improvement
9 49 (14.50%) AI
10 43 (12.72%) Test Automation
11 41 (12.13%) Containerisation
12 40 (11.83%) Scrum
13 39 (11.54%) Code Quality
14 36 (10.65%) Design Patterns
15 34 (10.06%) Roadmaps
15 34 (10.06%) SDLC
16 31 (9.17%) Computer Science
16 31 (9.17%) TDD
Programming Languages
1 87 (25.74%) Python
2 77 (22.78%) C#
3 64 (18.93%) SQL
4 61 (18.05%) Java
4 61 (18.05%) JavaScript
5 56 (16.57%) TypeScript
6 22 (6.51%) Go
7 13 (3.85%) PHP
8 11 (3.25%) C++
8 11 (3.25%) Scala
9 9 (2.66%) Kotlin
10 6 (1.78%) Swift
11 5 (1.48%) C
12 2 (0.59%) Apex Code
12 2 (0.59%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 2 (0.59%) Delphi
12 2 (0.59%) PL/SQL
12 2 (0.59%) PowerShell
12 2 (0.59%) Ruby
12 2 (0.59%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 31 (9.17%) Degree
2 23 (6.80%) Computer Science Degree
3 17 (5.03%) Security Cleared
4 15 (4.44%) SC Cleared
5 12 (3.55%) Master's Degree
6 4 (1.18%) AWS Certification
6 4 (1.18%) AWS Certified Developer
6 4 (1.18%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
7 1 (0.30%) DBS Check
7 1 (0.30%) DV Cleared
7 1 (0.30%) ITIL Certification
7 1 (0.30%) PhD
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 50 (14.79%) QA
2 9 (2.66%) Accessibility
3 1 (0.30%) Data Quality
3 1 (0.30%) GDPR
3 1 (0.30%) HL7
System Software
1 42 (12.43%) Docker
2 11 (3.25%) Active Directory
3 2 (0.59%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 26 (7.69%) Kubernetes
2 22 (6.51%) Terraform
3 3 (0.89%) Argo
Vendors
1 43 (12.72%) Microsoft
2 7 (2.07%) Databricks
3 5 (1.48%) Google
4 4 (1.18%) SAP
4 4 (1.18%) Splunk
5 3 (0.89%) Atlassian
5 3 (0.89%) Oracle
5 3 (0.89%) Salesforce
6 2 (0.59%) IFS
6 2 (0.59%) NEC
6 2 (0.59%) Northgate
7 1 (0.30%) Adobe
7 1 (0.30%) Bloomberg
7 1 (0.30%) Blue Prism
7 1 (0.30%) eFront
7 1 (0.30%) MuleSoft
7 1 (0.30%) OpenAI
7 1 (0.30%) OpenLink
7 1 (0.30%) ServiceNow
7 1 (0.30%) WooCommerce