Principal Software Engineer Job Trends
Principal Software Engineer
UK
The median Principal Software Engineer salary in the UK is £90,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 24 October 2026.
The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 24 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 409 | 615 | 576 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +206 | -39 | +100 |
| Permanent Principal Software Engineer jobs | 493 | 57 | 185 |
| As % of all permanent jobs in the UK | 0.41% | 0.12% | 0.27% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.44% | 0.13% | 0.28% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 305 | 43 | 132 |
| 10th Percentile | £75,000 | £68,150 | £67,500 |
| 25th Percentile | £80,000 | £72,500 | £75,000 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £90,000 | £95,000 | £95,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -5.26% | - | +18.75% |
| 75th Percentile | £100,000 | £113,125 | £116,250 |
| 90th Percentile | - | £123,750 | £147,500 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £85,000 | £80,000 | £80,000 |
| % change year-on-year | +6.25% | - | +3.90% |
All Permanent IT Job Roles
UK
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job adverts matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all permanent IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 24 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent job adverts in the UK matching a recognised job title | 111,477 | 44,406 | 65,669 |
| % of permanent job adverts matching a recognised job title | 92.18% | 89.83% | 95.30% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 75,138 | 26,267 | 37,427 |
| 10th Percentile | £30,500 | £28,177 | £31,250 |
| 25th Percentile | £41,250 | £35,000 | £41,591 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £59,300 | £52,500 | £56,500 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +12.95% | -7.08% | -5.83% |
| 75th Percentile | £76,250 | £73,750 | £75,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £98,750 | £93,750 | £95,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £55,000 | £45,390 | £50,000 |
| % change year-on-year | +21.17% | -9.22% | -4.76% |
Principal Software Engineer Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent Principal Software Engineer job postings relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.
Principal Software Engineer Salary Trend
Salary distribution trend for Principal Software Engineer job vacancies in the UK.
Principal Software Engineer Salary Histogram
Salary distribution for Principal Software Engineer jobs over the 6 months to 24 October 2026.
Principal Software Engineer Top 14 Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in Principal Software Engineer jobs within the UK over the 6 months to 24 October 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 |
Job Ads Past 6 Months |
Median Salary Past 6 Months |
Median Salary % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | +172 | 435 | £90,000 | -10.00% | 148 |
| UK excluding London | +143 | 350 | £85,000 | +6.25% | 89 |
| London | +9 | 106 | £100,000 | -10.11% | 56 |
| Work from Home | +23 | 103 | £90,000 | -5.26% | 62 |
| South West | +3 | 92 | £100,000 | - | 14 |
| North of England | -2 | 68 | £92,500 | +2.78% | 23 |
| South East | -13 | 68 | £85,000 | +25.00% | 21 |
| East of England | +9 | 63 | £80,000 | -20.00% | 20 |
| North West | +6 | 47 | £90,000 | - | 17 |
| East Midlands | -7 | 38 | £70,000 | -6.67% | |
| Midlands | -28 | 38 | £70,000 | -6.67% | 4 |
| Scotland | +24 | 21 | £100,000 | +33.33% | 3 |
| North East | - | 17 | £100,000 | - | 1 |
| Yorkshire | - | 4 | £100,000 | - | 5 |
Principal Software Engineer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 24 October 2026, Principal Software Engineer job ads cited 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 Principal Software Engineer job ads.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Software Engineering | 100.0% | 493 |
| 2 | Security Cleared | 15.0% | 74 |
| 3 | SC Cleared | 14.8% | 73 |
| 4 | Technical Leadership | 11.0% | 54 |
| 5 | Agile | 8.9% | 44 |
| 5 | AI | 8.9% | 44 |
| 5 | Java | 8.9% | 44 |
| 8 | Degree | 7.5% | 37 |
| 9 | C++ | 6.9% | 34 |
| 10 | Full-Stack Development | 5.9% | 29 |
| 11 | Python | 5.7% | 28 |
| 12 | Computer Science | 5.3% | 26 |
| 13 | BPSS Clearance | 4.3% | 21 |
| 13 | DV Cleared | 4.3% | 21 |
| 13 | Mentoring | 4.3% | 21 |
| 13 | SDLC | 4.3% | 21 |
| 13 | TypeScript | 4.3% | 21 |
| 18 | AWS | 4.1% | 20 |
| 18 | Software Architecture | 4.1% | 20 |
| 20 | CI/CD | 3.9% | 19 |
| 20 | Computer Science Degree | 3.9% | 19 |
| 20 | Machine Learning | 3.9% | 19 |
| 20 | Mathematics | 3.9% | 19 |
| 24 | .NET | 3.7% | 18 |
| 24 | Validation | 3.7% | 18 |
| 26 | Open Source | 3.4% | 17 |
| 26 | React | 3.4% | 17 |
| 26 | Rust | 3.4% | 17 |
| 29 | Continuous Improvement | 3.2% | 16 |
| 29 | DevSecOps | 3.2% | 16 |
Principal Software Engineer Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Job Titles
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Principal Embedded Software Engineer | 9.7% | 48 |
| 2 | Senior Software Engineer | 7.9% | 39 |
| 3 | Lead Software Engineer | 4.5% | 22 |
| 4 | C++ Software Engineer | 3.9% | 19 |
| 4 | Java Software Engineer | 3.9% | 19 |
| 4 | Principal Java Engineer | 3.9% | 19 |
| 7 | Electronics Engineer | 3.0% | 15 |
| 7 | Full-Stack Software Engineer | 3.0% | 15 |
| 9 | .NET Software Engineer | 2.0% | 10 |
| 10 | DevSecOps Engineer | 1.8% | 9 |
| 11 | PHP Software Engineer | 1.6% | 8 |
| 11 | Python Software Engineer | 1.6% | 8 |
| 11 | Rust Software Engineer | 1.6% | 8 |
| 14 | AWS Software Engineer | 1.0% | 5 |
| 14 | Senior C++ Software Engineer | 1.0% | 5 |
| 16 | Mobile Software Engineer | 0.8% | 4 |
| 17 | C# Software Engineer | 0.6% | 3 |
| 18 | Artificial Intelligence Engineer | 0.4% | 2 |
| 18 | Control Systems Engineer | 0.4% | 2 |
| 18 | Power Platform Engineer | 0.4% | 2 |