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 17 October 2026.
The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 17 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 762 | 668 | 724 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -94 | +56 | -15 |
| Permanent jobs requiring a Research Engineer | 60 | 9 | 35 |
| As % of all permanent jobs in the UK | 0.050% | 0.018% | 0.050% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.054% | 0.020% | 0.053% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 46 | 3 | 33 |
| 10th Percentile | £46,939 | £58,000 | £35,000 |
| 25th Percentile | £49,611 | £62,500 | £40,748 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £60,000 | £70,000 | £50,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -14.29% | +40.00% | -23.08% |
| 75th Percentile | £80,000 | £95,625 | £85,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £100,000 | £111,000 | £100,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £57,500 | £70,000 | £50,000 |
| % change year-on-year | -17.86% | +40.00% | -9.09% |
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.
| 6 months to 17 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent vacancies in the UK with a recognized job title | 110,560 | 43,931 | 66,554 |
| % of permanent jobs with a recognized job title | 92.36% | 89.93% | 95.34% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 74,960 | 25,802 | 38,157 |
| 10th Percentile | £30,000 | £28,000 | £31,250 |
| 25th Percentile | £41,188 | £35,000 | £41,250 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £58,500 | £53,000 | £56,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +10.38% | -5.36% | -6.67% |
| 75th Percentile | £76,250 | £73,750 | £75,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £98,750 | £95,000 | £95,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £55,000 | £45,750 | £50,000 |
| % change year-on-year | +20.22% | -8.50% | -4.76% |
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 Salary Trend
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 17 October 2026.
Research Engineer Top 10 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 17 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 |
Matching Permanent IT Job Ads |
Median Salary Past 6 Months |
Median Salary % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | -89 | 59 | £60,000 | -14.29% | 204 |
| London | - | 36 | £63,000 | - | 158 |
| UK excluding London | -134 | 23 | £57,500 | -17.86% | 50 |
| Work from Home | -57 | 13 | £63,000 | -10.00% | 47 |
| South West | - | 10 | £85,000 | - | 8 |
| South East | -59 | 8 | £40,500 | -48.57% | 19 |
| East of England | -30 | 2 | £60,000 | -14.29% | 12 |
| North East | - | 2 | £50,000 | - | |
| North of England | - | 2 | £50,000 | - | 4 |
| Wales | - | 1 | £55,000 | - |
Research Engineer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 17 October 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.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AI | 45.0% | 27 |
| 2 | Software Engineering | 43.3% | 26 |
| 3 | Python | 31.7% | 19 |
| 4 | Degree | 28.3% | 17 |
| 5 | Machine Learning | 26.7% | 16 |
| 6 | Security Cleared | 25.0% | 15 |
| 7 | Problem-Solving | 20.0% | 12 |
| 7 | SC Cleared | 20.0% | 12 |
| 9 | Computer Science | 18.3% | 11 |
| 9 | Data Science | 18.3% | 11 |
| 9 | Systems Engineering | 18.3% | 11 |
| 12 | Cybersecurity | 16.7% | 10 |
| 12 | Digital Twin | 16.7% | 10 |
| 14 | LLM | 15.0% | 9 |
| 14 | Master's Degree | 15.0% | 9 |
| 14 | PhD | 15.0% | 9 |
| 17 | Accessibility | 11.7% | 7 |
| 17 | Agile | 11.7% | 7 |
| 17 | CI/CD | 11.7% | 7 |
| 17 | Data Visualisation | 11.7% | 7 |
| 17 | Visualisation | 11.7% | 7 |
| 22 | C | 10.0% | 6 |
| 22 | Cyber Resilience | 10.0% | 6 |
| 22 | DBS Check | 10.0% | 6 |
| 22 | Feasibility Study | 10.0% | 6 |
| 22 | Information Security | 10.0% | 6 |
| 22 | Network Security | 10.0% | 6 |
| 22 | Postgraduate | 10.0% | 6 |
| 22 | Prototyping | 10.0% | 6 |
| 22 | R | 10.0% | 6 |
Research 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 | Research Software Engineer | 21.7% | 13 |
| 2 | Principal Engineer | 16.7% | 10 |
| 2 | Security Engineer | 16.7% | 10 |
| 4 | Research Scientist | 15.0% | 9 |
| 5 | Principal Systems Engineer | 11.7% | 7 |
| 5 | Senior Software Engineer | 11.7% | 7 |
| 7 | Cybersecurity Engineer | 10.0% | 6 |
| 7 | Data Engineer | 10.0% | 6 |
| 7 | Data Scientist | 10.0% | 6 |
| 7 | Development Engineer | 10.0% | 6 |
| 11 | Senior Data Engineer | 6.7% | 4 |
| 11 | Senior Data Scientist | 6.7% | 4 |
| 13 | Artificial Intelligence Engineer | 5.0% | 3 |
| 13 | DataOps Engineer | 5.0% | 3 |
| 13 | Gen AI Software Engineer | 5.0% | 3 |
| 13 | RF Engineer | 5.0% | 3 |
| 17 | Embedded Engineer | 3.3% | 2 |
| 17 | Systems Engineer | 3.3% | 2 |
| 19 | Machine Learning Engineer | 1.7% | 1 |
| 19 | Senior Security Engineer | 1.7% | 1 |