Principal Data Engineer
UK
The median Principal Data Engineer salary in the UK is £85,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 17 July 2025.
The table below provides salary benchmarking and summary statistics, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 17 Jul 2025 |
Same period 2024 | Same period 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 728 | 681 | 802 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -47 | +121 | +385 |
| Permanent jobs requiring a Principal Data Engineer | 9 | 206 | 89 |
| As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK | 0.015% | 0.21% | 0.11% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.017% | 0.22% | 0.11% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 9 | 27 | 87 |
| 10th Percentile | £77,000 | £62,500 | £57,200 |
| 25th Percentile | £81,250 | £65,125 | £80,000 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £85,000 | £80,000 | £140,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +6.25% | -42.86% | +75.00% |
| 75th Percentile | £135,000 | £97,500 | £160,000 |
| 90th Percentile | - | £104,000 | - |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £82,500 | £70,000 | £48,083 |
| % change year-on-year | +17.86% | +45.58% | -49.39% |
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 | 53,874 | 95,222 | 77,637 |
| % of permanent jobs with a recognized job title | 89.56% | 94.83% | 91.63% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 29,775 | 66,170 | 53,203 |
| 10th Percentile | £27,250 | £29,000 | £32,500 |
| 25th Percentile | £37,500 | £39,439 | £44,192 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £55,000 | £52,500 | £60,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +4.76% | -12.50% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £73,000 | £70,000 | £80,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £95,000 | £90,000 | £100,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £50,000 | £50,000 | £53,000 |
| % change year-on-year | - | -5.66% | +3.67% |
Principal Data Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend
Job postings that featured Principal Data Engineer in the job title as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.
Principal Data Engineer
Salary Trend
3-month moving average salary quoted in jobs citing Principal Data Engineer.
Principal Data Engineer
Salary Histogram
Salary distribution for jobs citing Principal Data Engineer over the 6 months to 17 July 2025.
Principal Data Engineer
Top 8 Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Principal Data Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 17 July 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 | -37 | 8 | £85,000 | +3.03% | 24 |
| Work from Home | +74 | 6 | £106,250 | +25.00% | 9 |
| UK excluding London | -33 | 5 | £82,500 | +17.86% | 12 |
| London | +79 | 3 | £130,000 | +36.13% | 12 |
| South East | +35 | 2 | £82,500 | - | 4 |
| North of England | -7 | 2 | £85,000 | +17.24% | 3 |
| North West | -26 | 2 | £85,000 | +17.24% | 1 |
| South West | +69 | 1 | £60,000 | - | 3 |
Principal Data Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities
For the 6 months to 17 July 2025, Principal Data Engineer job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number co-occurrences and as a proportion of all permanent job ads featuring Principal Data Engineer in the job title.
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Principal Data Engineer Skill Set
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities by Category
The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories: