Research Engineer Job Trends

Research Engineer
UK

The median Research Engineer salary in the UK is £60,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 26 June 2026.

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

6 months to
26 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 686 656 811
Rank change year-on-year -30 +155 +45
Permanent jobs requiring a Research Engineer 58 7 90
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.061% 0.015% 0.085%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.065% 0.017% 0.089%
Number of salaries quoted 54 3 67
10th Percentile £46,939 £50,000 £36,939
25th Percentile £47,607 £61,250 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £80,000 £58,000
Median % change year-on-year -25.00% +37.93% -22.67%
75th Percentile £100,000 - £78,750
90th Percentile - - £100,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £60,000 £80,000 £53,750
% change year-on-year -25.00% +48.84% -28.33%

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 89,332 40,653 100,647
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 94.05% 89.51% 94.74%
Number of salaries quoted 61,290 23,209 72,638
10th Percentile £30,000 £28,750 £28,500
25th Percentile £40,000 £38,500 £38,750
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 £77,250 £70,000
90th Percentile £95,000 £97,622 £90,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,042 £50,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year +0.08% - -6.54%

Research Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'Research Engineer' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.

Research Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK

Research Engineer
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for Research Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Salary distribution trend for Research Engineer job vacancies in the UK

Research Engineer
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing Research Engineer over the 6 months to 26 June 2026.

Salary histogram for Research Engineer in the UK

Research Engineer
Top 12 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Research Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 26 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 -14 49 £57,095 -28.63% 25
UK excluding London -34 31 £60,000 -25.00% 8
London - 29 £65,000 - 15
North of England - 9 £50,000 -
Scotland +14 8 £100,000 +122.22%
East of England -11 6 £60,000 -
North East - 6 £50,000 -
Work from Home +5 5 £54,191 -32.26% 6
South West -58 4 £85,000 +6.25% 6
South East -35 3 £40,500 - 1
North West - 3 £102,500 -
Wales - 1 £55,000 -

Research Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 26 June 2026, Research Engineer 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 Research Engineer in the job title.

1 30 (51.72%) AI
2 25 (43.10%) Machine Learning
2 25 (43.10%) Software Engineering
3 16 (27.59%) Python
4 13 (22.41%) Degree
5 12 (20.69%) Computer Science
5 12 (20.69%) Data Science
6 11 (18.97%) Cybersecurity
6 11 (18.97%) Security Cleared
7 10 (17.24%) Master's Degree
8 9 (15.52%) Problem-Solving
9 8 (13.79%) DBS Check
9 8 (13.79%) Digital Twin
9 8 (13.79%) LLM
10 7 (12.07%) Cyber Resilience
10 7 (12.07%) Information Security
10 7 (12.07%) Network Security
10 7 (12.07%) SC Cleared
10 7 (12.07%) Signal Processing
10 7 (12.07%) Threat Modelling
11 6 (10.34%) Roadmaps
12 5 (8.62%) Agile
12 5 (8.62%) CI/CD
12 5 (8.62%) Data Management
12 5 (8.62%) Deep Learning
12 5 (8.62%) Experimental Design
12 5 (8.62%) PhD
12 5 (8.62%) Software-Defined Radio
13 4 (6.90%) Decision-Making
13 4 (6.90%) DV Cleared

Research Engineer 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:

Applications
1 3 (5.17%) Blender
1 3 (5.17%) Maya
Cloud Services
1 1 (1.72%) Azure
Communications & Networking
1 7 (12.07%) Network Security
2 5 (8.62%) Software-Defined Radio
3 1 (1.72%) LTE
3 1 (1.72%) Wi-Fi
3 1 (1.72%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 1 (1.72%) MongoDB
1 1 (1.72%) Neo4j
1 1 (1.72%) PostgreSQL
General
1 11 (18.97%) Inclusion and Diversity
2 7 (12.07%) Cyber-Physical System
3 4 (6.90%) Social Skills
4 3 (5.17%) Analytical Skills
4 3 (5.17%) Humanities
4 3 (5.17%) Social Science
5 1 (1.72%) Aerospace
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 4 (6.90%) PyTorch
2 3 (5.17%) Django
2 3 (5.17%) Express.js
2 3 (5.17%) Godot
2 3 (5.17%) Node.js
2 3 (5.17%) Unity (Game Engine)
2 3 (5.17%) Unreal Engine
2 3 (5.17%) WebXR
3 1 (1.72%) NumPy
3 1 (1.72%) SciPy
3 1 (1.72%) ZeroMQ
Miscellaneous
1 8 (13.79%) AI Agents
2 7 (12.07%) Algorithms
2 7 (12.07%) Blog
2 7 (12.07%) Legacy Systems
2 7 (12.07%) Operational Technology
3 2 (3.45%) Distributed Systems
3 2 (3.45%) Life Science
3 2 (3.45%) Tandem
4 1 (1.72%) BBC
4 1 (1.72%) Distributed Architecture
4 1 (1.72%) Embedded Systems
4 1 (1.72%) Enterprise Cloud
4 1 (1.72%) FPGA
Processes & Methodologies
1 30 (51.72%) AI
2 25 (43.10%) Machine Learning
2 25 (43.10%) Software Engineering
3 12 (20.69%) Computer Science
3 12 (20.69%) Data Science
4 11 (18.97%) Cybersecurity
5 9 (15.52%) Problem-Solving
6 8 (13.79%) Digital Twin
6 8 (13.79%) LLM
7 7 (12.07%) Cyber Resilience
7 7 (12.07%) Information Security
7 7 (12.07%) Signal Processing
7 7 (12.07%) Threat Modelling
8 6 (10.34%) Roadmaps
9 5 (8.62%) Agile
9 5 (8.62%) CI/CD
9 5 (8.62%) Data Management
9 5 (8.62%) Deep Learning
9 5 (8.62%) Experimental Design
10 4 (6.90%) Software Testing
Programming Languages
1 16 (27.59%) Python
2 3 (5.17%) JavaScript
2 3 (5.17%) TypeScript
3 2 (3.45%) C++
4 1 (1.72%) C
4 1 (1.72%) Java
4 1 (1.72%) SQL
Qualifications
1 13 (22.41%) Degree
2 11 (18.97%) Security Cleared
3 10 (17.24%) Master's Degree
4 8 (13.79%) DBS Check
5 7 (12.07%) SC Cleared
6 5 (8.62%) PhD
7 4 (6.90%) DV Cleared
8 1 (1.72%) Computer Science Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 3 (5.17%) Accessibility
Vendors
1 1 (1.72%) Microsoft