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 18 June 2026.

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

6 months to
18 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 273 396 237
Rank change year-on-year +123 -159 +118
Permanent jobs requiring a Lead Developer 653 300 1,270
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.70% 0.67% 1.17%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.74% 0.75% 1.23%
Number of salaries quoted 534 206 1,149
10th Percentile £62,500 £52,500 £48,750
25th Percentile £70,000 £62,500 £57,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £80,000 £72,500 £70,000
Median % change year-on-year +10.34% +3.57% -9.68%
75th Percentile £100,000 £83,750 £90,000
90th Percentile £107,500 £100,000 £112,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £71,500 £70,000 £65,000
% change year-on-year +2.14% +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 88,029 40,047 103,056
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 93.98% 89.54% 94.75%
Number of salaries quoted 60,387 22,686 74,432
10th Percentile £30,000 £28,750 £28,500
25th Percentile £40,000 £39,000 £38,620
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £57,500 £52,500
Median % change year-on-year -4.35% +9.52% -12.50%
75th Percentile £75,000 £77,500 £70,000
90th Percentile £95,000 £98,474 £90,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,000 £50,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year - - -6.54%

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 18 June 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 18 June 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 +124 604 £80,750 +11.38% 71
UK excluding London +110 397 £71,500 +2.14% 55
Work from Home +122 271 £90,000 +28.57% 44
London +54 223 £95,000 +15.15% 22
North of England +54 141 £71,500 -1.38% 16
North West +73 102 £70,750 -2.41% 12
South East +36 87 £85,000 +19.30% 14
Midlands +25 80 £70,000 +3.70% 16
South West -41 43 £65,000 +13.04% 4
East Midlands +6 41 £70,000 +5.66% 6
West Midlands +4 39 £65,000 -7.14% 10
Yorkshire -23 25 £70,000 +1.82% 2
East of England +1 24 £60,100 -19.87% 3
North East -34 14 £75,000 -6.25% 2
Northern Ireland -20 13 £80,000 - 1
Scotland +14 7 £70,000 +38.61% 1
Wales -53 2 £75,000 - 1

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

For the 6 months to 18 June 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.

1 205 (31.39%) Full-Stack Development
2 140 (21.44%) Mentoring
3 138 (21.13%) AWS
4 133 (20.37%) .NET
5 131 (20.06%) Software Engineering
6 129 (19.75%) TypeScript
7 127 (19.45%) JavaScript
8 124 (18.99%) C#
9 122 (18.68%) Azure
10 119 (18.22%) React
11 114 (17.46%) Agile
11 114 (17.46%) Technical Leadership
12 106 (16.23%) Python
13 96 (14.70%) Node.js
14 91 (13.94%) CI/CD
15 85 (13.02%) SaaS
16 81 (12.40%) DevOps
17 78 (11.94%) AI
18 73 (11.18%) Java
19 71 (10.87%) SQL
20 62 (9.49%) Continuous Improvement
21 60 (9.19%) Microservices
22 56 (8.58%) Microsoft
23 52 (7.96%) RESTful
24 51 (7.81%) Problem-Solving
25 46 (7.04%) GraphQL
25 46 (7.04%) PostgreSQL
26 43 (6.58%) SQL Server
27 39 (5.97%) Apple iOS
27 39 (5.97%) Portfolio Management

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 9 (1.38%) Anypoint
1 9 (1.38%) Mule
2 8 (1.23%) SharePoint
3 6 (0.92%) Appian
3 6 (0.92%) Confluence
4 1 (0.15%) CMS
4 1 (0.15%) WordPress
Business Applications
1 8 (1.23%) Dynamics CRM
2 1 (0.15%) NetSuite
Cloud Services
1 138 (21.13%) AWS
2 122 (18.68%) Azure
3 85 (13.02%) SaaS
4 32 (4.90%) Power Platform
5 29 (4.44%) Serverless
6 28 (4.29%) Dynamics 365
7 25 (3.83%) GCP
8 24 (3.68%) Azure DevOps
9 21 (3.22%) AWS Lambda
10 19 (2.91%) GitHub
11 18 (2.76%) Azure Logic Apps
12 12 (1.84%) Amazon S3
13 10 (1.53%) Amazon EventBridge
13 10 (1.53%) Amazon SQS
13 10 (1.53%) PowerApps
14 9 (1.38%) Amazon ECS
14 9 (1.38%) Entra ID
14 9 (1.38%) Microsoft 365
14 9 (1.38%) Power Automate
15 8 (1.23%) AWS CloudFormation
Communications & Networking
1 6 (0.92%) Broadband
2 4 (0.61%) SSL
3 1 (0.15%) Asterisk PBX
3 1 (0.15%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 46 (7.04%) PostgreSQL
2 43 (6.58%) SQL Server
3 13 (1.99%) Redis
4 12 (1.84%) Amazon RDS
5 10 (1.53%) DynamoDB
5 10 (1.53%) MongoDB
6 8 (1.23%) MySQL
6 8 (1.23%) Power BI
7 7 (1.07%) NoSQL
8 6 (0.92%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 5 (0.77%) Metadata
10 4 (0.61%) Amazon Redshift
10 4 (0.61%) Db2
11 3 (0.46%) MariaDB
11 3 (0.46%) Spatial Data
12 2 (0.31%) Elasticsearch
12 2 (0.31%) Geospatial Data
12 2 (0.31%) InterSystems Cache
13 1 (0.15%) Azure SQL Database
13 1 (0.15%) SQLite
Development Applications
1 26 (3.98%) Git
2 10 (1.53%) JIRA
3 6 (0.92%) Cypress.io
4 5 (0.77%) Bitbucket
5 4 (0.61%) JUnit
5 4 (0.61%) Maven
6 3 (0.46%) Mockito
6 3 (0.46%) NUnit
6 3 (0.46%) Vite
6 3 (0.46%) webpack
7 2 (0.31%) ESLint
7 2 (0.31%) GitLab
7 2 (0.31%) Jenkins
7 2 (0.31%) MSI
7 2 (0.31%) Storybook
7 2 (0.31%) TeamCity
8 1 (0.15%) DBeaver
8 1 (0.15%) fastlane
8 1 (0.15%) SpecFlow
8 1 (0.15%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 114 (17.46%) Finance
2 59 (9.04%) Social Skills
3 41 (6.28%) Front Office
4 17 (2.60%) Analytical Skills
4 17 (2.60%) Banking
5 13 (1.99%) Games
5 13 (1.99%) Tech for Good
6 12 (1.84%) Public Sector
7 10 (1.53%) Law
8 8 (1.23%) Health Technology
9 6 (0.92%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 6 (0.92%) Local Government
9 6 (0.92%) Retail
10 4 (0.61%) Legal
10 4 (0.61%) Legal Technology
10 4 (0.61%) Pharmaceutical
11 2 (0.31%) General Ledger
11 2 (0.31%) Marketing
11 2 (0.31%) Presentation Skills
12 1 (0.15%) Organisational Skills
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 133 (20.37%) .NET
2 119 (18.22%) React
3 96 (14.70%) Node.js
4 52 (7.96%) RESTful
5 46 (7.04%) GraphQL
6 39 (5.97%) Redux
7 34 (5.21%) .NET Core
7 34 (5.21%) React Native
8 32 (4.90%) Spring
9 30 (4.59%) ASP.NET
9 30 (4.59%) Kafka
9 30 (4.59%) Vue
10 25 (3.83%) CSS
11 23 (3.52%) AngularJS
12 22 (3.37%) HTML
13 20 (3.06%) .NET Framework
13 20 (3.06%) REST
14 17 (2.60%) Next.js
14 17 (2.60%) Spring Boot
15 15 (2.30%) Hugging Face
Miscellaneous
1 38 (5.82%) Cloud Native
2 36 (5.51%) Fixed Income
3 27 (4.13%) Product Ownership
4 25 (3.83%) Mobile App
5 19 (2.91%) Distributed Systems
6 17 (2.60%) Derivative
7 16 (2.45%) Equities
8 14 (2.14%) Enterprise Software
9 13 (1.99%) PropTech
10 10 (1.53%) Low-Code
11 9 (1.38%) Legacy Applications
11 9 (1.38%) Legacy Systems
12 4 (0.61%) Algorithms
12 4 (0.61%) AS400
12 4 (0.61%) Credit Risk
12 4 (0.61%) Greenfield Project
12 4 (0.61%) Onboarding
12 4 (0.61%) Video\Live Streaming
13 3 (0.46%) iSeries
13 3 (0.46%) Photography
Operating Systems
1 39 (5.97%) Apple iOS
2 36 (5.51%) Android
3 4 (0.61%) Linux
3 4 (0.61%) Windows
4 1 (0.15%) Debian
Processes & Methodologies
1 205 (31.39%) Full-Stack Development
2 140 (21.44%) Mentoring
3 131 (20.06%) Software Engineering
4 114 (17.46%) Agile
4 114 (17.46%) Technical Leadership
5 91 (13.94%) CI/CD
6 81 (12.40%) DevOps
7 78 (11.94%) AI
8 62 (9.49%) Continuous Improvement
9 60 (9.19%) Microservices
10 51 (7.81%) Problem-Solving
11 39 (5.97%) Portfolio Management
11 39 (5.97%) Roadmaps
12 38 (5.82%) Investment Management
13 36 (5.51%) Infrastructure as Code
14 35 (5.36%) Coaching
15 32 (4.90%) Fintech
16 31 (4.75%) Machine Learning
17 30 (4.59%) Design Patterns
17 30 (4.59%) Event-Driven
Programming Languages
1 129 (19.75%) TypeScript
2 127 (19.45%) JavaScript
3 124 (18.99%) C#
4 106 (16.23%) Python
5 73 (11.18%) Java
6 71 (10.87%) SQL
7 27 (4.13%) Go
8 12 (1.84%) C++
8 12 (1.84%) PHP
9 11 (1.68%) Swift
10 10 (1.53%) Kotlin
11 9 (1.38%) RPG
12 8 (1.23%) Bicep
13 5 (0.77%) PowerShell
13 5 (0.77%) Ruby
14 4 (0.61%) Bash
14 4 (0.61%) C
14 4 (0.61%) Dart
14 4 (0.61%) DataWeave
15 3 (0.46%) COBOL
Qualifications
1 25 (3.83%) Degree
2 16 (2.45%) SC Cleared
2 16 (2.45%) Security Cleared
3 14 (2.14%) Computer Science Degree
4 9 (1.38%) DBS Check
5 6 (0.92%) ITIL Certification
6 1 (0.15%) Master's Degree
6 1 (0.15%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 25 (3.83%) QA
2 12 (1.84%) Accessibility
3 8 (1.23%) Data Quality
4 2 (0.31%) GAAP
4 2 (0.31%) IFRS
4 2 (0.31%) NCSC
4 2 (0.31%) Sarbanes-Oxley
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 30 (4.59%) Docker
2 3 (0.46%) Firmware
3 2 (0.31%) Active Directory
Systems Management
1 23 (3.52%) Kubernetes
2 21 (3.22%) Terraform
3 8 (1.23%) Ansible
4 4 (0.61%) CloudHub
5 1 (0.15%) Grafana
5 1 (0.15%) Kibana
5 1 (0.15%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 56 (8.58%) Microsoft
2 11 (1.68%) Salesforce
3 9 (1.38%) MuleSoft
4 7 (1.07%) HubSpot
4 7 (1.07%) OpenAI
5 6 (0.92%) IBM
5 6 (0.92%) Oracle
5 6 (0.92%) ServiceNow
6 4 (0.61%) Apple
6 4 (0.61%) SAP
7 3 (0.46%) Bloomberg
7 3 (0.46%) DevExpress
8 2 (0.31%) Foundry
8 2 (0.31%) Google
8 2 (0.31%) Refinitiv
8 2 (0.31%) TikTok
8 2 (0.31%) Workday
9 1 (0.15%) Citrix
9 1 (0.15%) Reuters
9 1 (0.15%) Revolut