Software Development Engineer Job Trends
Software Development Engineer
UK
The median Software Development Engineer salary in the UK is £55,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 21 October 2026.
The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 21 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 755 | 638 | 706 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -117 | +68 | +11 |
| Permanent jobs requiring a Software Development Engineer | 73 | 14 | 44 |
| As % of all permanent jobs in the UK | 0.061% | 0.029% | 0.064% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.066% | 0.032% | 0.067% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 36 | 5 | 24 |
| 10th Percentile | £39,163 | £49,750 | - |
| 25th Percentile | £45,000 | £58,750 | £40,000 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £55,000 | £70,000 | £49,500 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -21.43% | +41.41% | -17.50% |
| 75th Percentile | £56,250 | - | £70,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £60,000 | £73,750 | £72,500 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £55,000 | £66,250 | £52,500 |
| % change year-on-year | -16.98% | +26.19% | -12.50% |
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 21 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent vacancies in the UK with a recognized job title | 110,883 | 44,071 | 65,836 |
| % of permanent jobs with a recognized job title | 92.27% | 89.76% | 95.36% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 75,047 | 25,988 | 37,616 |
| 10th Percentile | £30,500 | £28,000 | £31,250 |
| 25th Percentile | £41,250 | £35,000 | £41,353 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £59,000 | £52,500 | £56,252 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +12.38% | -6.67% | -6.25% |
| 75th Percentile | £76,250 | £73,750 | £75,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £98,750 | £93,750 | £95,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £55,000 | £45,000 | £50,000 |
| % change year-on-year | +22.22% | -10.00% | -4.76% |
Software Development Engineer Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'Software Development Engineer' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.
Software Development Engineer Salary Trend
Salary distribution trend for Software Development Engineer job vacancies in the UK.
Software Development Engineer Salary Histogram
Salary distribution for jobs citing Software Development Engineer over the 6 months to 21 October 2026.
Software Development 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 Software Development Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 21 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 | -106 | 53 | £55,000 | -21.43% | 72 |
| UK excluding London | -120 | 48 | £55,000 | -16.98% | 41 |
| Work from Home | -42 | 27 | - | - | 27 |
| London | -43 | 25 | £85,000 | +17.24% | 38 |
| Wales | - | 20 | £42,500 | - | 5 |
| North of England | - | 19 | £55,000 | - | 7 |
| Yorkshire | - | 14 | £55,000 | - | 3 |
| Midlands | -52 | 5 | £60,000 | -14.29% | 11 |
| West Midlands | -57 | 4 | £60,000 | -14.29% | 4 |
| North West | - | 4 | £60,000 | - | 4 |
| South East | - | 2 | £50,000 | - | 6 |
| East of England | - | 2 | - | - | 6 |
| East Midlands | -43 | 1 | - | - | 7 |
| North East | - | 1 | £55,000 | - |
Software Development Engineer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 21 October 2026, Software Development 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 Software Development Engineer in the job title.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Software Engineering | 57.5% | 42 |
| 2 | BDD | 39.7% | 29 |
| 2 | Java | 39.7% | 29 |
| 4 | OO | 35.6% | 26 |
| 5 | AWS | 34.2% | 25 |
| 6 | Product Management | 31.5% | 23 |
| 6 | REST | 31.5% | 23 |
| 6 | Test Automation | 31.5% | 23 |
| 9 | HTTP | 30.1% | 22 |
| 9 | Pair Programming | 30.1% | 22 |
| 9 | Product Roadmap | 30.1% | 22 |
| 9 | Roadmaps | 30.1% | 22 |
| 9 | SOA | 30.1% | 22 |
| 9 | Software Testing | 30.1% | 22 |
| 9 | SOLID | 30.1% | 22 |
| 9 | TDD | 30.1% | 22 |
| 9 | Technical Leadership | 30.1% | 22 |
| 18 | Collaborative Working | 28.8% | 21 |
| 18 | SDET | 28.8% | 21 |
| 20 | Continuous Integration | 17.8% | 13 |
| 21 | Agile | 13.7% | 10 |
| 22 | Design Patterns | 12.3% | 9 |
| 22 | Test Strategy | 12.3% | 9 |
| 24 | C# | 11.0% | 8 |
| 24 | QA | 11.0% | 8 |
| 26 | Acceptance Criteria | 9.6% | 7 |
| 26 | Accessibility | 9.6% | 7 |
| 26 | CI/CD | 9.6% | 7 |
| 26 | Code Quality | 9.6% | 7 |
| 26 | Cucumber | 9.6% | 7 |
Software Development 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 | Lead Software Engineer | 32.9% | 24 |
| 2 | Test Development Engineer | 28.8% | 21 |
| 3 | C# Software Engineer | 6.8% | 5 |
| 4 | Senior Software Development Engineer | 4.1% | 3 |
| 5 | Embedded C Software Engineer | 2.7% | 2 |
| 5 | Java Software Engineer | 2.7% | 2 |
| 5 | Software Quality Engineer | 2.7% | 2 |
| 5 | Test Leader | 2.7% | 2 |
| 9 | Linux Systems Engineer | 1.4% | 1 |
| 9 | Software Test Engineer | 1.4% | 1 |
| 9 | Test Automation Engineer | 1.4% | 1 |