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 11 September 2026.

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

6 months to
11 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 308 398 244
Rank change year-on-year +90 -154 +81
Permanent jobs requiring a Lead Developer 677 315 882
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.60% 0.63% 1.12%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.64% 0.71% 1.18%
Number of salaries quoted 554 221 748
10th Percentile £65,000 £54,250 £47,000
25th Percentile £70,000 £65,000 £55,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £80,000 £75,000 £70,000
Median % change year-on-year +6.67% +7.14% -9.68%
75th Percentile £95,000 £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 106,082 44,571 74,889
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 93.45% 89.73% 95.26%
Number of salaries quoted 73,120 26,247 45,923
10th Percentile £30,000 £28,250 £30,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £36,250 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £57,500 £55,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year +4.55% - -8.33%
75th Percentile £77,500 £75,000 £73,750
90th Percentile £97,500 £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 11 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 11 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 +81 624 £82,500 +10.00% 76
UK excluding London +65 434 £75,000 +7.14% 40
Work from Home +55 223 £95,000 +26.67% 108
London +15 210 £90,000 -10.00% 48
North of England +43 158 £75,000 +7.14% 4
Midlands +22 104 £70,000 -1.75% 12
South East +14 92 £90,000 +24.14% 8
North West +32 89 £75,000 +7.14%
West Midlands +4 61 £65,000 -10.34% 9
East Midlands +2 43 £70,000 +3.70% 3
Yorkshire -32 41 £75,000 +11.11% 3
North East -33 28 £90,000 +12.50% 1
East of England -8 26 £65,000 +18.18% 4
South West -67 26 £70,000 +40.00% 4
Northern Ireland - 12 £80,000 - 2
Scotland +8 8 £70,000 +33.33% 4
Wales -66 8 £55,000 -26.67% 2

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

For the 6 months to 11 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.

1 178 (26.29%) Full-Stack Development
2 160 (23.63%) C#
3 152 (22.45%) Technical Leadership
4 145 (21.42%) .NET
5 138 (20.38%) Azure
6 131 (19.35%) Mentoring
7 127 (18.76%) JavaScript
8 121 (17.87%) TypeScript
9 120 (17.73%) AWS
10 101 (14.92%) CI/CD
11 84 (12.41%) SaaS
12 82 (12.11%) Node.js
12 82 (12.11%) Software Engineering
13 81 (11.96%) AI
14 79 (11.67%) DevOps
15 76 (11.23%) Agile
16 72 (10.64%) Microsoft
16 72 (10.64%) SQL
17 71 (10.49%) Microservices
18 69 (10.19%) React
19 68 (10.04%) Continuous Improvement
20 65 (9.60%) Python
21 57 (8.42%) Dynamics 365
22 55 (8.12%) RESTful
23 51 (7.53%) Roadmaps
23 51 (7.53%) SQL Server
24 49 (7.24%) Power Platform
25 48 (7.09%) Event-Driven
26 46 (6.79%) Docker
27 45 (6.65%) 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 (2.81%) Anypoint
1 19 (2.81%) Mule
2 13 (1.92%) SharePoint
3 5 (0.74%) Confluence
4 4 (0.59%) Appian
4 4 (0.59%) WordPress
5 1 (0.15%) CMS
Business Applications
1 16 (2.36%) Dynamics CRM
2 5 (0.74%) Oracle Applications
3 1 (0.15%) NetSuite
Cloud Services
1 138 (20.38%) Azure
2 120 (17.73%) AWS
3 84 (12.41%) SaaS
4 57 (8.42%) Dynamics 365
5 49 (7.24%) Power Platform
6 35 (5.17%) Azure DevOps
7 20 (2.95%) Microsoft Copilot
7 20 (2.95%) Power Automate
7 20 (2.95%) Serverless
8 19 (2.81%) Azure Logic Apps
9 18 (2.66%) Azure Service Bus
9 18 (2.66%) GitHub
10 17 (2.51%) Snowflake
11 16 (2.36%) Azure Key Vault
12 14 (2.07%) Azure Monitor
13 13 (1.92%) Azure Cosmos DB
13 13 (1.92%) PowerApps
14 11 (1.62%) AWS Lambda
14 11 (1.62%) GCP
15 10 (1.48%) Microsoft 365
Communications & Networking
1 14 (2.07%) SSL
2 5 (0.74%) Broadband
3 1 (0.15%) Asterisk PBX
3 1 (0.15%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 51 (7.53%) SQL Server
2 35 (5.17%) PostgreSQL
3 23 (3.40%) Redis
4 16 (2.36%) MySQL
5 15 (2.22%) Power BI
6 12 (1.77%) Elasticsearch
7 11 (1.62%) Amazon RDS
8 10 (1.48%) DynamoDB
9 9 (1.33%) MongoDB
10 5 (0.74%) Metadata
10 5 (0.74%) NoSQL
10 5 (0.74%) SQL Server Integration Services
11 3 (0.44%) KDB
11 3 (0.44%) MariaDB
11 3 (0.44%) Spatial Data
12 2 (0.30%) Geospatial Data
12 2 (0.30%) InterSystems Cache
13 1 (0.15%) Azure SQL Database
13 1 (0.15%) Db2
13 1 (0.15%) SQLite
Development Applications
1 34 (5.02%) Git
2 9 (1.33%) JIRA
3 4 (0.59%) Bitbucket
4 3 (0.44%) Cypress.io
4 3 (0.44%) Jenkins
4 3 (0.44%) JUnit
4 3 (0.44%) Maven
4 3 (0.44%) Mockito
4 3 (0.44%) NUnit
5 2 (0.30%) CircleCI
5 2 (0.30%) Claude Code
5 2 (0.30%) GitLab
5 2 (0.30%) MSI
5 2 (0.30%) Storybook
5 2 (0.30%) TeamCity
5 2 (0.30%) Terragrunt
6 1 (0.15%) fastlane
6 1 (0.15%) git-flow
6 1 (0.15%) Visual Studio Code
6 1 (0.15%) XCUITest
General
1 90 (13.29%) Finance
2 68 (10.04%) Social Skills
3 22 (3.25%) Inclusion and Diversity
3 22 (3.25%) Law
4 18 (2.66%) Banking
5 16 (2.36%) Analytical Skills
6 14 (2.07%) Games
7 9 (1.33%) Public Sector
8 8 (1.18%) Retail
9 7 (1.03%) Legal
9 7 (1.03%) Legal Technology
10 6 (0.89%) Front Office
11 4 (0.59%) Investment Banking
11 4 (0.59%) Marketing
12 2 (0.30%) Manufacturing
13 1 (0.15%) Local Government
13 1 (0.15%) Organisational Skills
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 145 (21.42%) .NET
2 82 (12.11%) Node.js
3 69 (10.19%) React
4 55 (8.12%) RESTful
5 37 (5.47%) ASP.NET
6 35 (5.17%) .NET Core
7 33 (4.87%) Vue
8 31 (4.58%) REST
9 27 (3.99%) React Native
10 26 (3.84%) CSS
10 26 (3.84%) GraphQL
11 23 (3.40%) Next.js
12 22 (3.25%) HTML
13 20 (2.95%) Spring
14 16 (2.36%) Terraform
15 14 (2.07%) JWT
15 14 (2.07%) MUnit
15 14 (2.07%) OAuth
15 14 (2.07%) OAuth2
15 14 (2.07%) RAML
Miscellaneous
1 38 (5.61%) Cloud Native
2 19 (2.81%) Product Ownership
3 18 (2.66%) Distributed Systems
3 18 (2.66%) Legacy Systems
4 16 (2.36%) Mobile App
5 15 (2.22%) Low-Code
6 13 (1.92%) Enterprise Software
7 10 (1.48%) Greenfield Project
8 9 (1.33%) Virtual Team
9 7 (1.03%) Algorithms
9 7 (1.03%) Onboarding
10 5 (0.74%) Legacy Applications
11 4 (0.59%) PropTech
11 4 (0.59%) Video\Live Streaming
12 3 (0.44%) Blog
12 3 (0.44%) Equities
12 3 (0.44%) Management Information System
12 3 (0.44%) Operational Technology
12 3 (0.44%) Photography
12 3 (0.44%) Taxonomies
Operating Systems
1 29 (4.28%) Android
1 29 (4.28%) Apple iOS
2 4 (0.59%) Linux
3 3 (0.44%) Windows
4 1 (0.15%) Debian
Processes & Methodologies
1 178 (26.29%) Full-Stack Development
2 152 (22.45%) Technical Leadership
3 131 (19.35%) Mentoring
4 101 (14.92%) CI/CD
5 82 (12.11%) Software Engineering
6 81 (11.96%) AI
7 79 (11.67%) DevOps
8 76 (11.23%) Agile
9 71 (10.49%) Microservices
10 68 (10.04%) Continuous Improvement
11 51 (7.53%) Roadmaps
12 48 (7.09%) Event-Driven
13 45 (6.65%) Problem-Solving
14 43 (6.35%) Event-Driven Architecture
15 38 (5.61%) Test Automation
16 37 (5.47%) Stakeholder Management
17 33 (4.87%) Design Patterns
18 30 (4.43%) Mobile Development
19 29 (4.28%) Coaching
20 28 (4.14%) Scrum
Programming Languages
1 160 (23.63%) C#
2 127 (18.76%) JavaScript
3 121 (17.87%) TypeScript
4 72 (10.64%) SQL
5 65 (9.60%) Python
6 41 (6.06%) Java
7 16 (2.36%) PHP
8 14 (2.07%) DataWeave
9 11 (1.62%) C++
10 9 (1.33%) Go
11 8 (1.18%) Kotlin
11 8 (1.18%) Ruby
12 7 (1.03%) Bicep
12 7 (1.03%) Swift
13 6 (0.89%) RPG
14 5 (0.74%) PowerShell
15 4 (0.59%) Bash
15 4 (0.59%) Dart
16 3 (0.44%) C
16 3 (0.44%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 30 (4.43%) Degree
1 30 (4.43%) SC Cleared
1 30 (4.43%) Security Cleared
2 21 (3.10%) Computer Science Degree
3 5 (0.74%) DBS Check
3 5 (0.74%) ITIL Certification
4 4 (0.59%) Microsoft Certification
5 3 (0.44%) Azure Certification
6 1 (0.15%) BPSS Clearance
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 35 (5.17%) QA
2 13 (1.92%) Accessibility
3 6 (0.89%) Data Quality
4 5 (0.74%) WCAG
5 4 (0.59%) GDPR
6 2 (0.30%) NCSC
7 1 (0.15%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 46 (6.79%) Docker
2 3 (0.44%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 25 (3.69%) Kubernetes
2 14 (2.07%) CloudHub
3 2 (0.30%) Ansible
Vendors
1 72 (10.64%) Microsoft
2 19 (2.81%) MuleSoft
3 16 (2.36%) Salesforce
4 15 (2.22%) ServiceNow
5 14 (2.07%) SAP
6 11 (1.62%) Oracle
7 7 (1.03%) HubSpot
8 6 (0.89%) IBM
9 3 (0.44%) Adobe
9 3 (0.44%) Bloomberg
9 3 (0.44%) Databricks
9 3 (0.44%) DevExpress
10 2 (0.30%) Apple
10 2 (0.30%) Google
10 2 (0.30%) OpenAI
10 2 (0.30%) Refinitiv
10 2 (0.30%) TikTok
11 1 (0.15%) Citrix
11 1 (0.15%) Reuters