Software Test Engineer Job Trends

Software Test Engineer
UK

The median Software Test Engineer salary in the UK is £42,500 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 31 July 2026.

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

6 months to
31 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 736 659 761
Rank change year-on-year -77 +102 +52
Permanent jobs requiring a Software Test Engineer 37 20 56
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.036% 0.040% 0.064%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.038% 0.045% 0.068%
Number of salaries quoted 29 12 27
10th Percentile £29,700 £42,050 £32,500
25th Percentile £30,000 £53,750 £37,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £42,500 £60,000 £47,500
Median % change year-on-year -29.17% +26.32% -13.64%
75th Percentile £55,000 £62,663 £50,000
90th Percentile £60,500 £68,190 £62,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £41,250 £60,000 £47,500
% change year-on-year -31.25% +26.32% -11.63%

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 96,998 44,483 82,509
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 94.27% 90.02% 94.82%
Number of salaries quoted 66,411 26,428 56,723
10th Percentile £30,000 £28,500 £30,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £37,500 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £55,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year - - -8.33%
75th Percentile £75,000 £75,000 £71,250
90th Percentile £96,250 £96,250 £90,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £52,500 £50,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year +5.00% - -6.54%

Software Test Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Software Test Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK

Software Test Engineer
Salary Trend

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

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

Software Test Engineer
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing Software Test Engineer over the 6 months to 31 July 2026.

Salary histogram for Software Test Engineer in the UK

Software Test Engineer
Top 13 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Software Test Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 31 July 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 -64 37 £42,500 -29.17% 9
UK excluding London -59 34 £41,250 -31.25% 11
East of England -7 13 £30,000 -33.33% 5
North of England -18 12 £40,000 -46.67% 2
North West +9 8 £40,000 -46.67% 2
Work from Home -16 5 £60,000 +36.36% 1
South West -65 4 £48,750 -18.75%
North East - 4 £55,000 -
London -37 3 £45,000 +2.27%
South East -42 3 £66,300 +10.50% 1
Midlands - 2 £51,250 - 1
East Midlands - 1 £42,500 - 1
West Midlands - 1 £60,000 -

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

For the 6 months to 31 July 2026, Software Test 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 Test Engineer in the job title.

1 37 (100.00%) Software Testing
2 18 (48.65%) Test Automation
3 12 (32.43%) Python
4 11 (29.73%) Degree
5 8 (21.62%) Agile
5 8 (21.62%) C#
5 8 (21.62%) Validation
6 7 (18.92%) Computer Science
6 7 (18.92%) Problem-Solving
6 7 (18.92%) QA
7 6 (16.22%) C
7 6 (16.22%) C++
7 6 (16.22%) JavaScript
7 6 (16.22%) Linux
7 6 (16.22%) Manual Testing
7 6 (16.22%) SQL
7 6 (16.22%) Verification and Validation
7 6 (16.22%) Windows
8 5 (13.51%) .NET
8 5 (13.51%) CI/CD
8 5 (13.51%) Continuous Improvement
8 5 (13.51%) Firmware
8 5 (13.51%) Security Cleared
8 5 (13.51%) Software Engineering
8 5 (13.51%) Test Scripting
8 5 (13.51%) Unit Testing
9 4 (10.81%) ASP.NET
9 4 (10.81%) HTML
9 4 (10.81%) SDET
9 4 (10.81%) SNMP

Software Test 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 1 (2.70%) Microsoft Office
Cloud Services
1 1 (2.70%) AWS
1 1 (2.70%) AWS CodePipeline
1 1 (2.70%) Azure
1 1 (2.70%) Azure DevOps
1 1 (2.70%) Power Platform
Communications & Networking
1 4 (10.81%) SNMP
2 1 (2.70%) HTTP
2 1 (2.70%) Internet
2 1 (2.70%) TCP/IP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 1 (2.70%) Power BI
Development Applications
1 3 (8.11%) Git
1 3 (8.11%) JIRA
2 2 (5.41%) Jenkins
3 1 (2.70%) Appium
3 1 (2.70%) GitLab
3 1 (2.70%) Rational DOORS
3 1 (2.70%) TestRail
General
1 11 (29.73%) Social Skills
2 4 (10.81%) Aerospace
2 4 (10.81%) Analytical Skills
2 4 (10.81%) Aviation
2 4 (10.81%) Finance
2 4 (10.81%) Games
2 4 (10.81%) Manufacturing
3 2 (5.41%) Inclusion and Diversity
4 1 (2.70%) Automotive
4 1 (2.70%) Back Office
4 1 (2.70%) Documentation Skills
4 1 (2.70%) Electronics
4 1 (2.70%) Environmental Health
4 1 (2.70%) Law
4 1 (2.70%) Military
4 1 (2.70%) Public Sector
4 1 (2.70%) Retail
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 5 (13.51%) .NET
2 4 (10.81%) ASP.NET
2 4 (10.81%) HTML
3 3 (8.11%) REST
4 1 (2.70%) JSP
4 1 (2.70%) Kafka
4 1 (2.70%) Playwright
4 1 (2.70%) RabbitMQ
Miscellaneous
1 4 (10.81%) Online Games
2 2 (5.41%) Self-Motivation
3 1 (2.70%) Digital Signage
3 1 (2.70%) Driving Licence
3 1 (2.70%) Embedded Systems
3 1 (2.70%) Mobile App
Operating Systems
1 6 (16.22%) Linux
1 6 (16.22%) Windows
2 1 (2.70%) Android
2 1 (2.70%) Apple iOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 37 (100.00%) Software Testing
2 18 (48.65%) Test Automation
3 8 (21.62%) Agile
3 8 (21.62%) Validation
4 7 (18.92%) Computer Science
4 7 (18.92%) Problem-Solving
5 6 (16.22%) Manual Testing
5 6 (16.22%) Verification and Validation
6 5 (13.51%) CI/CD
6 5 (13.51%) Continuous Improvement
6 5 (13.51%) Software Engineering
6 5 (13.51%) Test Scripting
6 5 (13.51%) Unit Testing
7 4 (10.81%) SDET
8 3 (8.11%) Code Quality
8 3 (8.11%) Component Testing
8 3 (8.11%) Configuration Management
8 3 (8.11%) Data Analysis
8 3 (8.11%) SDLC
8 3 (8.11%) Software Delivery
Programming Languages
1 12 (32.43%) Python
2 8 (21.62%) C#
3 6 (16.22%) C
3 6 (16.22%) C++
3 6 (16.22%) JavaScript
3 6 (16.22%) SQL
4 3 (8.11%) MATLAB
5 2 (5.41%) Bash
5 2 (5.41%) Java
6 1 (2.70%) PowerShell
6 1 (2.70%) Shell Script
6 1 (2.70%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 11 (29.73%) Degree
2 5 (13.51%) Security Cleared
3 3 (8.11%) BPSS Clearance
3 3 (8.11%) Chartered Engineer
4 2 (5.41%) Computer Science Degree
5 1 (2.70%) ISTQB
5 1 (2.70%) SC Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 7 (18.92%) QA
2 3 (8.11%) ISO/IEC 12207
3 1 (2.70%) GDPR
System Software
1 5 (13.51%) Firmware
2 1 (2.70%) Docker
Systems Management
1 1 (2.70%) Grafana
1 1 (2.70%) Kubernetes
Vendors
1 1 (2.70%) IBM
1 1 (2.70%) Microsoft