Senior Systems Engineer Job Trends

Senior System Engineer
UK

The median Senior System Engineer salary in the UK is £60,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 10 October 2026.

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

6 months to
10 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 307 500 406
Rank change year-on-year +193 -94 -29
Permanent jobs requiring a Senior Systems Engineer 685 170 387
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.58% 0.34% 0.53%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.63% 0.38% 0.56%
Number of salaries quoted 399 89 223
10th Percentile £47,500 £47,683 £45,000
25th Percentile £55,000 £54,000 £49,315
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £60,000 £60,000
Median % change year-on-year - - -5.88%
75th Percentile £66,300 £62,000 £70,000
90th Percentile £85,000 £80,000 £75,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £60,000 £60,000 £60,000
% change year-on-year - - -4.00%

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 109,405 44,412 69,302
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 92.66% 89.84% 95.38%
Number of salaries quoted 74,287 25,750 39,695
10th Percentile £30,000 £28,000 £31,250
25th Percentile £40,750 £35,500 £41,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £58,396 £53,688 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year +8.77% -2.39% -8.33%
75th Percentile £76,250 £73,750 £75,000
90th Percentile £98,750 £95,000 £95,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £55,000 £46,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year +19.57% -8.00% -4.76%

Senior Systems Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Senior Systems Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK

Senior Systems Engineer
Salary Trend

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

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

Senior Systems Engineer
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing Senior Systems Engineer over the 6 months to 10 October 2026.

Salary histogram for Senior Systems Engineer in the UK

Senior Systems 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 Systems Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 10 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 +174 625 £60,000 - 577
UK excluding London +160 609 £60,000 - 388
South East +129 297 £55,000 -8.33% 117
South West +20 124 £65,000 +13.04% 42
North of England -34 68 £60,000 +9.50% 58
Work from Home -10 67 £60,000 +26.32% 207
East of England +16 59 £64,000 -24.71% 65
London -15 48 £100,000 +25.00% 175
North West -33 31 £60,000 +9.50% 37
Scotland - 31 £55,000 - 52
Midlands -35 28 £60,000 +9.09% 42
Yorkshire -10 22 £50,000 +29.87% 14
East Midlands -27 16 £60,000 +8.11% 9
North East - 15 £62,500 - 7
West Midlands -48 12 £55,000 - 33
Wales -77 1 £66,300 +6.94% 11
Northern Ireland -78 1 - - 5

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

For the 6 months to 10 October 2026, Senior Systems 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 Systems Engineer in the job title.

1 143 (20.88%) Systems Engineering
2 80 (11.68%) Degree
3 70 (10.22%) BPSS Clearance
4 62 (9.05%) Technical Leadership
5 45 (6.57%) Software Engineering
6 39 (5.69%) Requirements Management
7 37 (5.40%) Agile
7 37 (5.40%) Model-Based Systems Engineering
7 37 (5.40%) Rational DOORS
8 35 (5.11%) Python
9 34 (4.96%) Physics
10 33 (4.82%) MATLAB
10 33 (4.82%) Problem-Solving
11 32 (4.67%) Continuous Improvement
11 32 (4.67%) Customer Requirements
11 32 (4.67%) Systems Thinking
12 31 (4.53%) SysML
13 29 (4.23%) Mathematics
13 29 (4.23%) Siemens
13 29 (4.23%) Validation
14 28 (4.09%) Azure
15 27 (3.94%) Chartered Engineer
16 26 (3.80%) AI
17 25 (3.65%) Microsoft
18 24 (3.50%) Simulink
19 23 (3.36%) Change Management
19 23 (3.36%) Coaching
20 21 (3.07%) Data Pipeline
21 20 (2.92%) DevOps
21 20 (2.92%) Docker

Senior Systems 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 12 (1.75%) Microsoft Exchange
2 9 (1.31%) SharePoint
3 3 (0.44%) FactoryTalk
3 3 (0.44%) WinCC
4 2 (0.29%) Confluence
Applications
1 24 (3.50%) Simulink
2 19 (2.77%) Lightworks
3 12 (1.75%) CATIA
4 8 (1.17%) Chatbot
5 6 (0.88%) Windchill
6 5 (0.73%) Microsoft Office
Business Applications
1 1 (0.15%) Dynamics CRM
Cloud Services
1 28 (4.09%) Azure
2 17 (2.48%) AWS
3 14 (2.04%) GCP
4 10 (1.46%) Microsoft 365
5 7 (1.02%) OneDrive
6 5 (0.73%) Azure DevOps
7 3 (0.44%) Entra ID
7 3 (0.44%) SaaS
8 2 (0.29%) Azure AKS
8 2 (0.29%) Azure Cosmos DB
8 2 (0.29%) Azure Key Vault
8 2 (0.29%) Azure Service Bus
8 2 (0.29%) Cloudflare
8 2 (0.29%) Datadog
8 2 (0.29%) GitHub
8 2 (0.29%) GitHub Actions
8 2 (0.29%) IaaS
8 2 (0.29%) Power Automate
8 2 (0.29%) Power Platform
8 2 (0.29%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 16 (2.34%) Wireless
2 12 (1.75%) DNS
3 10 (1.46%) Intrusion Detection
4 7 (1.02%) DHCP
4 7 (1.02%) TCP/IP
5 5 (0.73%) Firewall
5 5 (0.73%) LAN
5 5 (0.73%) WAN
6 3 (0.44%) HTTP
6 3 (0.44%) Modbus
6 3 (0.44%) MQTT
6 3 (0.44%) Profibus
6 3 (0.44%) SSL
7 2 (0.29%) 3GPP
7 2 (0.29%) 5G
7 2 (0.29%) Cisco Nexus
7 2 (0.29%) Ethernet
7 2 (0.29%) Internet
7 2 (0.29%) Network Security
7 2 (0.29%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 12 (1.75%) NoSQL
2 10 (1.46%) SQL Server
3 3 (0.44%) PostgreSQL
4 2 (0.29%) Hadoop
4 2 (0.29%) Redis
5 1 (0.15%) Apache Arrow
5 1 (0.15%) Apache Iceberg
5 1 (0.15%) GIS
5 1 (0.15%) KDB
5 1 (0.15%) Metadata
5 1 (0.15%) Parquet
Development Applications
1 37 (5.40%) Rational DOORS
2 11 (1.61%) JIRA
3 9 (1.31%) LabVIEW
4 4 (0.58%) Apache Continuum
5 2 (0.29%) NUnit
5 2 (0.29%) Rational Rhapsody
6 1 (0.15%) Git
6 1 (0.15%) Subversion
General
1 143 (20.88%) Aerospace
2 74 (10.80%) Finance
3 40 (5.84%) Electronics
3 40 (5.84%) Social Skills
4 33 (4.82%) Military
5 26 (3.80%) Aviation
6 22 (3.21%) Analytical Skills
7 16 (2.34%) Manufacturing
8 13 (1.90%) Documentation Skills
9 11 (1.61%) Retail
10 10 (1.46%) Avionics
10 10 (1.46%) Organisational Skills
10 10 (1.46%) Telecoms
11 9 (1.31%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 5 (0.73%) Local Government
13 4 (0.58%) Public Sector
14 3 (0.44%) Law
15 2 (0.29%) Automotive
15 2 (0.29%) Legal
15 2 (0.29%) Marketing
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 12 (1.75%) Node.js
2 10 (1.46%) Next.js
3 5 (0.73%) .NET
3 5 (0.73%) REST
3 5 (0.73%) Terraform
4 3 (0.44%) JSON
4 3 (0.44%) Protocol Buffers
4 3 (0.44%) React
4 3 (0.44%) WinForms
5 2 (0.29%) .NET Core
5 2 (0.29%) .NET Framework
5 2 (0.29%) Ajax
5 2 (0.29%) Entity Framework
5 2 (0.29%) gRPC
5 2 (0.29%) MassTransit
5 2 (0.29%) MediatR
5 2 (0.29%) RESTful
6 1 (0.15%) PyTorch
6 1 (0.15%) Ray
6 1 (0.15%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 17 (2.48%) Cloud Native
1 17 (2.48%) Driving Licence
2 16 (2.34%) CCTV
2 16 (2.34%) Data Centre
3 12 (1.75%) Distributed Systems
3 12 (1.75%) Fibre Optics
4 10 (1.46%) Management Information System
4 10 (1.46%) SCADA
5 9 (1.31%) IoT
5 9 (1.31%) Robotics
6 8 (1.17%) Algorithms
6 8 (1.17%) Embedded Systems
7 6 (0.88%) Augmented Reality
7 6 (0.88%) PKI
7 6 (0.88%) Virtual Reality
8 5 (0.73%) Cyber Security Posture
8 5 (0.73%) Legacy Systems
8 5 (0.73%) Renewable Energy
9 3 (0.44%) 3D Graphics
9 3 (0.44%) Analogue Electronics
Operating Systems
1 16 (2.34%) Windows
2 15 (2.19%) Linux
3 11 (1.61%) Windows Server
4 1 (0.15%) Unix
4 1 (0.15%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 143 (20.88%) Systems Engineering
2 62 (9.05%) Technical Leadership
3 45 (6.57%) Software Engineering
4 39 (5.69%) Requirements Management
5 37 (5.40%) Agile
5 37 (5.40%) Model-Based Systems Engineering
6 34 (4.96%) Physics
7 33 (4.82%) Problem-Solving
8 32 (4.67%) Continuous Improvement
8 32 (4.67%) Customer Requirements
8 32 (4.67%) Systems Thinking
9 31 (4.53%) SysML
10 29 (4.23%) Mathematics
10 29 (4.23%) Validation
11 26 (3.80%) AI
12 23 (3.36%) Change Management
12 23 (3.36%) Coaching
13 21 (3.07%) Data Pipeline
14 20 (2.92%) DevOps
15 19 (2.77%) Workflow
Programming Languages
1 35 (5.11%) Python
2 33 (4.82%) MATLAB
3 18 (2.63%) SQL
4 17 (2.48%) PowerShell
5 6 (0.88%) C++
6 5 (0.73%) C#
7 3 (0.44%) Bash
7 3 (0.44%) Java
7 3 (0.44%) T-SQL
7 3 (0.44%) VB.NET
8 2 (0.29%) C
Qualifications
1 80 (11.68%) Degree
2 70 (10.22%) BPSS Clearance
3 27 (3.94%) Chartered Engineer
4 16 (2.34%) Security Cleared
5 12 (1.75%) Master's Degree
6 9 (1.31%) SC Cleared
7 8 (1.17%) DBS Check
7 8 (1.17%) PhD
8 6 (0.88%) HNC
8 6 (0.88%) HND
9 3 (0.44%) Computer Science Degree
9 3 (0.44%) DV Cleared
10 2 (0.29%) Microsoft Certification
11 1 (0.15%) PMI Certification
11 1 (0.15%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 20 (2.92%) ISO/IEC 15288
2 8 (1.17%) ISO/IEC 12207
3 4 (0.58%) Accessibility
4 3 (0.44%) IEC 61131
5 2 (0.29%) HAZOP
6 1 (0.15%) Data Quality
6 1 (0.15%) ECSS
6 1 (0.15%) IEC 61508
6 1 (0.15%) MIL-STD-1553
System Software
1 20 (2.92%) Docker
2 14 (2.04%) Active Directory
3 6 (0.88%) VMware Infrastructure
3 6 (0.88%) vSphere
4 5 (0.73%) Hyper-V
5 4 (0.58%) Virtual Machines
6 3 (0.44%) Firmware
7 1 (0.15%) Virtual Desktop
Systems Management
1 18 (2.63%) Kubernetes
2 5 (0.73%) SCCM
3 4 (0.58%) Microsoft Intune
4 3 (0.44%) BMC PATROL
4 3 (0.44%) Functional Safety
4 3 (0.44%) Grafana
5 2 (0.29%) Ansible
5 2 (0.29%) Failover Clustering
5 2 (0.29%) Microsoft Data Protection Manager
5 2 (0.29%) SCOM
6 1 (0.15%) Graylog
6 1 (0.15%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 29 (4.23%) Siemens
2 25 (3.65%) Microsoft
3 15 (2.19%) IBM
4 14 (2.04%) Cisco
5 12 (1.75%) OpenAI
6 10 (1.46%) Google
7 8 (1.17%) Rockwell
8 7 (1.02%) Aruba
9 6 (0.88%) VMware
10 5 (0.73%) Allen-Bradley
10 5 (0.73%) AVEVA
10 5 (0.73%) ServiceNow
10 5 (0.73%) Wonderware
11 2 (0.29%) Databricks
11 2 (0.29%) Dynatrace
11 2 (0.29%) EMC
11 2 (0.29%) Palo Alto
11 2 (0.29%) Qualys
12 1 (0.15%) Citrix
12 1 (0.15%) Commvault