Senior Software Engineer Job Trends

Senior Software Engineer
UK

The median Senior Software Engineer salary in the UK is £75,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 26 April 2026.

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

6 months to
26 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 168 214 156
Rank change year-on-year +46 -58 +123
Permanent jobs requiring a Senior Software Engineer 1,096 617 1,778
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 1.23% 1.47% 1.86%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.33% 1.65% 1.97%
Number of salaries quoted 853 537 1,285
10th Percentile £58,250 £52,500 £50,000
25th Percentile £65,000 £58,750 £55,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £75,000 £75,000 £65,000
Median % change year-on-year - +15.38% -7.14%
75th Percentile £95,000 £97,500 £80,000
90th Percentile £100,000 £128,500 £101,250
UK excluding London median annual salary £70,000 £65,000 £61,500
% change year-on-year +7.69% +5.69% -5.38%

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 82,554 37,391 90,341
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 92.81% 88.97% 94.56%
Number of salaries quoted 52,923 23,445 66,615
10th Percentile £30,000 £30,625 £28,500
25th Percentile £40,000 £42,000 £38,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £60,000 £53,000
Median % change year-on-year -8.33% +13.21% -11.67%
75th Percentile £75,000 £78,750 £71,250
90th Percentile £95,000 £100,000 £90,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,000 £52,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year -4.76% +5.00% -4.76%

Senior Software Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Senior Software Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK

Senior Software Engineer
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for Senior Software Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Salary distribution trend for Senior Software Engineer job vacancies in the UK

Senior Software Engineer
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing Senior Software Engineer over the 6 months to 26 April 2026.

Salary histogram for Senior Software Engineer in the UK

Senior Software Engineer
Top 17 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Senior Software Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 26 April 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 +56 937 £75,000 -3.23% 220
UK excluding London +52 724 £70,000 +7.69% 180
London +36 308 £95,000 - 69
Work from Home -19 293 £72,500 -3.33% 403
South East +59 176 £70,000 +7.69% 63
North of England -28 144 £75,000 +15.38% 23
South West +44 142 £70,000 +7.69% 20
Scotland -1 90 £67,500 +5.88% 16
East of England +8 85 £70,000 +9.80% 23
North West -13 81 £75,000 +15.38% 16
Midlands +17 72 £65,000 -10.34% 30
Yorkshire -35 48 £75,000 -5.55% 5
West Midlands +6 47 £67,500 -6.90% 15
East Midlands -34 25 £65,000 - 15
North East -44 15 £77,500 +40.91% 2
Wales -25 14 £62,500 -3.85% 4
Northern Ireland - 1 - - 4

Senior Software Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 26 April 2026, Senior Software 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 Senior Software Engineer in the job title.

1 1,080 (98.54%) Software Engineering
2 158 (14.42%) Java
3 154 (14.05%) Agile
4 152 (13.87%) C#
5 151 (13.78%) AWS
6 150 (13.69%) C++
7 144 (13.14%) .NET
8 125 (11.41%) Full-Stack Development
9 121 (11.04%) Python
10 106 (9.67%) CI/CD
11 101 (9.22%) Mentoring
12 94 (8.58%) Azure
12 94 (8.58%) Microservices
13 90 (8.21%) DevOps
14 89 (8.12%) React
15 86 (7.85%) Linux
16 78 (7.12%) TypeScript
17 76 (6.93%) Kubernetes
17 76 (6.93%) SaaS
18 70 (6.39%) Test Automation
19 68 (6.20%) SQL
20 67 (6.11%) C
21 66 (6.02%) Fintech
22 65 (5.93%) AI
23 64 (5.84%) Computer Science
24 63 (5.75%) Degree
24 63 (5.75%) JavaScript
25 60 (5.47%) Problem-Solving
26 59 (5.38%) Docker
27 56 (5.11%) SDLC

Senior Software 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:

Application Platforms
1 4 (0.36%) Apache Solr
2 3 (0.27%) CMS
3 2 (0.18%) Apache
3 2 (0.18%) Confluence
4 1 (0.091%) FactoryTalk
4 1 (0.091%) Tuxedo
4 1 (0.091%) WinCC
Cloud Services
1 151 (13.78%) AWS
2 94 (8.58%) Azure
3 76 (6.93%) SaaS
4 55 (5.02%) GCP
5 42 (3.83%) GitHub
6 18 (1.64%) GitHub Copilot
6 18 (1.64%) Serverless
7 17 (1.55%) Azure AKS
8 14 (1.28%) Amazon EKS
9 11 (1.00%) Anthropic Claude
9 11 (1.00%) Azure Cosmos DB
10 10 (0.91%) Azure Event Grid
11 8 (0.73%) Stripe
12 6 (0.55%) Azure DevOps
12 6 (0.55%) IaaS
13 5 (0.46%) GitHub Actions
14 4 (0.36%) Amazon OpenSearch
15 3 (0.27%) Cloud Run
15 3 (0.27%) Firebase
15 3 (0.27%) Pulumi
Communications & Networking
1 19 (1.73%) RS-232
2 18 (1.64%) HTTP
3 17 (1.55%) Ethernet
4 14 (1.28%) Multicast
5 8 (0.73%) Bluetooth
6 7 (0.64%) Modbus
6 7 (0.64%) Wireless
7 5 (0.46%) Broadband
7 5 (0.46%) Profibus
8 4 (0.36%) RS-485
8 4 (0.36%) ZigBee
9 1 (0.091%) LTE
Database & Business Intelligence
1 35 (3.19%) SQL Server
2 26 (2.37%) NoSQL
3 21 (1.92%) PostgreSQL
4 14 (1.28%) MongoDB
5 13 (1.19%) Elasticsearch
6 10 (0.91%) BigQuery
7 9 (0.82%) MySQL
8 5 (0.46%) Redis
8 5 (0.46%) Relational Database
9 4 (0.36%) Big Data
9 4 (0.36%) DocumentDB
9 4 (0.36%) Neo4j
10 2 (0.18%) Azure SQL Database
10 2 (0.18%) DB2
10 2 (0.18%) DynamoDB
10 2 (0.18%) MariaDB
11 1 (0.091%) Amazon Athena
11 1 (0.091%) RDBMS
Development Applications
1 43 (3.92%) Git
2 24 (2.19%) JIRA
3 16 (1.46%) GitLab
3 16 (1.46%) TeamCity
4 13 (1.19%) Visual Studio Code
5 11 (1.00%) Claude Code
5 11 (1.00%) Jenkins
6 4 (0.36%) Cucumber
6 4 (0.36%) JUnit
7 3 (0.27%) Bitbucket
7 3 (0.27%) JBehave
8 2 (0.18%) Android Studio
8 2 (0.18%) CircleCI
8 2 (0.18%) GDB
8 2 (0.18%) Selenium
8 2 (0.18%) SonarQube
8 2 (0.18%) Xcode
9 1 (0.091%) GoogleTest
9 1 (0.091%) NUnit
9 1 (0.091%) Sonatype Nexus
General
1 162 (14.78%) Finance
2 65 (5.93%) Banking
3 46 (4.20%) Social Skills
4 22 (2.01%) Electronics
5 21 (1.92%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 19 (1.73%) Financial Institution
7 18 (1.64%) Automotive
7 18 (1.64%) Influencing Skills
7 18 (1.64%) Manufacturing
7 18 (1.64%) Retail
8 16 (1.46%) Law
9 14 (1.28%) Games
10 13 (1.19%) Back Office
10 13 (1.19%) Public Sector
11 12 (1.09%) Tech for Good
12 8 (0.73%) Analytical Skills
12 8 (0.73%) Pharmaceutical
13 7 (0.64%) Aerospace
14 5 (0.46%) Agriculture
14 5 (0.46%) Telecoms
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 144 (13.14%) .NET
2 89 (8.12%) React
3 53 (4.84%) Node.js
4 44 (4.01%) REST
5 34 (3.10%) RESTful
6 28 (2.55%) .NET Core
7 27 (2.46%) React Native
8 19 (1.73%) .NET Framework
9 16 (1.46%) WPF
10 15 (1.37%) Yocto
11 14 (1.28%) Boost C++ Libraries
11 14 (1.28%) FIX Protocol
11 14 (1.28%) pytest
12 13 (1.19%) Ruby on Rails
12 13 (1.19%) Spring
13 12 (1.09%) AngularJS
13 12 (1.09%) Django
13 12 (1.09%) Entity Framework
13 12 (1.09%) GraphQL
14 11 (1.00%) Spring Boot
Miscellaneous
1 80 (7.30%) Cloud Native
2 41 (3.74%) Algorithms
3 31 (2.83%) Embedded Systems
4 28 (2.55%) Distributed Systems
5 19 (1.73%) Public Cloud
6 16 (1.46%) Derivative
6 16 (1.46%) Robotics
7 15 (1.37%) CAN bus
7 15 (1.37%) Device Driver
8 14 (1.28%) Equities
8 14 (1.28%) Fixed Income
8 14 (1.28%) IoT
9 12 (1.09%) Greenfield Project
10 10 (0.91%) Legacy Systems
11 9 (0.82%) Sports Betting
12 6 (0.55%) FMCG
12 6 (0.55%) Hedge funds
12 6 (0.55%) Legacy Code
13 5 (0.46%) Blog
13 5 (0.46%) Mobile Payment
Operating Systems
1 86 (7.85%) Linux
2 29 (2.65%) Embedded Linux
3 18 (1.64%) Android
4 14 (1.28%) FreeRTOS
5 6 (0.55%) Apple iOS
6 2 (0.18%) Windows
7 1 (0.091%) ThreadX
Processes & Methodologies
1 1,080 (98.54%) Software Engineering
2 154 (14.05%) Agile
3 125 (11.41%) Full-Stack Development
4 106 (9.67%) CI/CD
5 101 (9.22%) Mentoring
6 94 (8.58%) Microservices
7 90 (8.21%) DevOps
8 70 (6.39%) Test Automation
9 66 (6.02%) Fintech
10 65 (5.93%) AI
11 64 (5.84%) Computer Science
12 60 (5.47%) Problem-Solving
13 56 (5.11%) SDLC
13 56 (5.11%) Technical Leadership
14 52 (4.74%) Containerisation
14 52 (4.74%) Scrum
15 45 (4.11%) Embedded Software Development
16 43 (3.92%) Low Latency
17 41 (3.74%) Continuous Improvement
18 39 (3.56%) User Experience
Programming Languages
1 158 (14.42%) Java
2 152 (13.87%) C#
3 150 (13.69%) C++
4 121 (11.04%) Python
5 78 (7.12%) TypeScript
6 68 (6.20%) SQL
7 67 (6.11%) C
8 63 (5.75%) JavaScript
9 37 (3.38%) Rust
10 26 (2.37%) Go
11 20 (1.82%) Embedded C
12 18 (1.64%) PHP
13 16 (1.46%) Kotlin
14 13 (1.19%) Ruby
15 10 (0.91%) Scala
16 6 (0.55%) F#
16 6 (0.55%) Haskell
17 4 (0.36%) VB
18 3 (0.27%) Delphi
18 3 (0.27%) Swift
Qualifications
1 63 (5.75%) Degree
2 45 (4.11%) Security Cleared
3 33 (3.01%) SC Cleared
4 24 (2.19%) Computer Science Degree
5 21 (1.92%) Master's Degree
6 13 (1.19%) DV Cleared
7 9 (0.82%) PhD
8 2 (0.18%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 23 (2.10%) QA
2 16 (1.46%) IEC 61508
2 16 (1.46%) MISRA
2 16 (1.46%) MISRA C
3 7 (0.64%) Accessibility
4 1 (0.091%) ECSS
4 1 (0.091%) GDPR
4 1 (0.091%) IEC 61131
4 1 (0.091%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 59 (5.38%) Docker
2 33 (3.01%) Firmware
3 15 (1.37%) Embedded Firmware
4 2 (0.18%) Hyper-V
4 2 (0.18%) KVM
4 2 (0.18%) Virtual Machines
4 2 (0.18%) VMware Infrastructure
5 1 (0.091%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 76 (6.93%) Kubernetes
2 35 (3.19%) Terraform
3 17 (1.55%) Grafana
4 13 (1.19%) Functional Safety
5 5 (0.46%) Prometheus
6 2 (0.18%) Ansible
6 2 (0.18%) Argo
7 1 (0.091%) Plesk
Vendors
1 14 (1.28%) Google
2 11 (1.00%) Microsoft
3 8 (0.73%) HubSpot
4 2 (0.18%) Adobe
4 2 (0.18%) CA Agile Central
4 2 (0.18%) SAP
4 2 (0.18%) VMware
5 1 (0.091%) New Relic
5 1 (0.091%) OpenAI
5 1 (0.091%) Rockwell
5 1 (0.091%) Siemens