Principal Software Engineer
UK
The median Principal Software Engineer salary in the UK is £67,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 11 May 2025.
The table below provides salary benchmarking and summary statistics, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 11 May 2025 |
Same period 2024 | Same period 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 513 | 676 | 857 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +163 | +181 | -125 |
| Permanent jobs requiring a Principal Software Engineer | 195 | 227 | 124 |
| As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK | 0.36% | 0.23% | 0.12% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.39% | 0.24% | 0.13% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 116 | 137 | 98 |
| 10th Percentile | - | £65,000 | £53,000 |
| 25th Percentile | £65,000 | £71,250 | £69,063 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £67,000 | £85,000 | £84,500 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -21.18% | +0.59% | -3.43% |
| 75th Percentile | £77,500 | £100,000 | £113,438 |
| 90th Percentile | £112,500 | £112,500 | £160,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £65,000 | £77,250 | £81,750 |
| % change year-on-year | -15.86% | -5.50% | -3.82% |
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 | 49,511 | 93,886 | 92,389 |
| % of permanent jobs with a recognized job title | 90.48% | 94.63% | 91.46% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 27,626 | 67,255 | 58,266 |
| 10th Percentile | £30,000 | £28,500 | £32,500 |
| 25th Percentile | £41,250 | £38,500 | £45,000 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £57,443 | £52,500 | £60,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +9.41% | -12.50% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £75,000 | £71,250 | £81,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £97,500 | £90,000 | £100,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £52,000 | £50,000 | £53,000 |
| % change year-on-year | +4.00% | -5.66% | +6.00% |
Principal Software Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend
Job postings that featured Principal Software Engineer in the job title as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.
Principal Software Engineer
Salary Trend
3-month moving average salary quoted in jobs citing Principal Software Engineer.
Principal Software Engineer
Salary Histogram
Salary distribution for jobs citing Principal Software Engineer over the 6 months to 11 May 2025.
Principal Software Engineer
Top 14 Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Principal Software Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 11 May 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK excluding London | +191 | 178 | £65,000 | -15.86% | 61 |
| England | +186 | 178 | £67,000 | -21.18% | 75 |
| South East | +159 | 79 | £65,000 | -13.33% | 23 |
| Midlands | +122 | 65 | £76,250 | -10.29% | 4 |
| West Midlands | +100 | 43 | £80,000 | -13.51% | 3 |
| Work from Home | +94 | 25 | £102,500 | +36.67% | 46 |
| East Midlands | +61 | 22 | £72,500 | -14.71% | 1 |
| London | +79 | 16 | £112,500 | +12.50% | 26 |
| Wales | +47 | 11 | £65,000 | -35.00% | |
| North of England | +48 | 9 | £75,000 | +15.38% | 12 |
| East of England | +39 | 8 | £67,000 | -13.55% | 11 |
| North West | -2 | 8 | £75,000 | +11.11% | 7 |
| Scotland | +63 | 6 | £75,000 | -25.00% | 6 |
| Yorkshire | +56 | 1 | - | - | 2 |
Principal Software Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities
For the 6 months to 11 May 2025, Principal Software 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 Software Engineer in the job title.
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Principal Software 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:
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