Software Engineering Contract Job Trends in Bristol

Software Engineering
South West > Bristol

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in Bristol requiring Software Engineering skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 1 February 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
1 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 4 8 18
Rank change year-on-year +4 +10 -2
Contract jobs citing Software Engineering 169 79 88
As % of all contract jobs in Bristol 17.64% 13.04% 8.38%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 21.05% 14.50% 10.03%
Number of daily rates quoted 24 3 23
10th Percentile £68 £480 £466
25th Percentile £178 £488 £513
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £400 £550 £550
Median % change year-on-year -27.27% - -2.65%
75th Percentile £558 £594 £678
90th Percentile £636 £598 £718
South West median daily rate £475 £600 £550
% change year-on-year -20.83% +9.09% -8.33%
Number of hourly rates quoted 132 39 48
10th Percentile £61.25 £61.25 £52.50
25th Percentile - £63.75 £60.00
Median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £65.00
75th Percentile - £68.00 £70.00
90th Percentile - £68.75 -
South West median hourly rate £65.00 £65.75 £65.00
% change year-on-year -1.14% +1.15% -0.76%

All Process & Methodology Skills
Bristol

Software Engineering falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills in Bristol.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 803 545 877
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Bristol 83.82% 89.93% 83.52%
Number of daily rates quoted 406 303 535
10th Percentile £325 £210 £300
25th Percentile £403 £353 £407
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year - -4.76% +5.00%
75th Percentile £597 £600 £640
90th Percentile £744 £700 £700
South West median daily rate £525 £525 £543
% change year-on-year - -3.23% +0.46%
Number of hourly rates quoted 216 63 142
10th Percentile £17.69 £31.80 £33.20
25th Percentile £33.50 £57.75 £50.63
Median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £65.00
75th Percentile - £68.00 £70.94
90th Percentile £67.25 £70.00 £83.40
South West median hourly rate £51.21 £65.00 £55.00
% change year-on-year -21.22% +18.18% -10.57%

Software Engineering
Job Vacancy Trend in Bristol

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Software Engineering relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in Bristol.

Software Engineering job vacancy trend in Bristol

Software Engineering
Daily Rate Trend in Bristol

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Bristol citing Software Engineering.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Bristol citing Software Engineering

Software Engineering
Daily Rate Histogram in Bristol

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Software Engineering in Bristol over the 6 months to 1 February 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Software Engineering in Bristol

Software Engineering
Hourly Rate Trend in Bristol

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Bristol citing Software Engineering.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Bristol citing Software Engineering

Software Engineering
Hourly Rate Histogram in Bristol

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Software Engineering in Bristol over the 6 months to 1 February 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Software Engineering in Bristol

Software Engineering
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Bristol 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 3 (1.78%) Apache
2 1 (0.59%) Apache Airflow
Applications
1 3 (1.78%) Microsoft Excel
1 3 (1.78%) Microsoft Office
2 2 (1.18%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 2 (1.18%) Primavera
Cloud Services
1 12 (7.10%) AWS
2 9 (5.33%) Azure
3 5 (2.96%) Azure DevOps
3 5 (2.96%) npm
4 4 (2.37%) GCP
5 3 (1.78%) OpenShift
6 2 (1.18%) Azure AKS
6 2 (1.18%) Azure Cosmos DB
6 2 (1.18%) Entra ID
7 1 (0.59%) Figma
7 1 (0.59%) Power Platform
Communications & Networking
1 1 (0.59%) Bluetooth
1 1 (0.59%) Ethernet
1 1 (0.59%) TCP/IP
1 1 (0.59%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 7 (4.14%) PostgreSQL
2 6 (3.55%) GIS
3 3 (1.78%) NoSQL
4 2 (1.18%) Elasticsearch
4 2 (1.18%) MongoDB
4 2 (1.18%) SQL Server
5 1 (0.59%) ClickHouse
5 1 (0.59%) MySQL
5 1 (0.59%) Power BI
Development Applications
1 14 (8.28%) Rational Rhapsody
2 9 (5.33%) GitLab
3 8 (4.73%) Jenkins
4 3 (1.78%) Sonatype Nexus
5 2 (1.18%) Artifactory
5 2 (1.18%) Git
6 1 (0.59%) Eclipse
6 1 (0.59%) Rational DOORS
6 1 (0.59%) Visual Studio
General
1 15 (8.88%) Aerospace
2 12 (7.10%) Law
3 11 (6.51%) Analytical Skills
4 10 (5.92%) Electronics
5 5 (2.96%) Finance
6 4 (2.37%) Organisational Skills
6 4 (2.37%) Public Sector
6 4 (2.37%) Social Skills
7 3 (1.78%) Military
8 2 (1.18%) Telecoms
9 1 (0.59%) Automotive
9 1 (0.59%) Aviation
9 1 (0.59%) Documentation Skills
9 1 (0.59%) Legal
9 1 (0.59%) Tech for Good
Job Titles
1 124 (73.37%) Software Engineer
2 66 (39.05%) C++ Software Engineer
3 19 (11.24%) Embedded Engineer
3 19 (11.24%) Embedded Software Engineer
4 12 (7.10%) Documentation Officer
5 11 (6.51%) Algorithm Engineer
6 9 (5.33%) Product Engineer
6 9 (5.33%) Products Support Engineer
6 9 (5.33%) Software Support Engineer
6 9 (5.33%) Support Engineer
7 8 (4.73%) C Software Engineer
7 8 (4.73%) C/C++ Software Engineer
7 8 (4.73%) Java Engineer
7 8 (4.73%) Java Software Engineer
8 6 (3.55%) Developer
8 6 (3.55%) Lead
9 4 (2.37%) Senior
10 3 (1.78%) Administrator
10 3 (1.78%) DevOps Engineer
10 3 (1.78%) Java Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 45 (26.63%) Middleware
2 28 (16.57%) Qt
3 11 (6.51%) Node.js
4 9 (5.33%) React
5 3 (1.78%) Elastic Stack
5 3 (1.78%) REST
6 2 (1.18%) .NET
6 2 (1.18%) Apache NiFi
6 2 (1.18%) Express.js
6 2 (1.18%) Next.js
7 1 (0.59%) Django
7 1 (0.59%) GraphQL
7 1 (0.59%) JWT
7 1 (0.59%) OAuth
7 1 (0.59%) OAuth2
7 1 (0.59%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 19 (11.24%) Algorithms
2 11 (6.51%) Embedded Systems
3 7 (4.14%) CUDA
4 6 (3.55%) Video\Live Streaming
5 4 (2.37%) Legacy Systems
6 3 (1.78%) Cloud Native
6 3 (1.78%) Onboarding
7 1 (0.59%) Greenfield Project
7 1 (0.59%) IoT
7 1 (0.59%) Management Information System
7 1 (0.59%) Product Ownership
Operating Systems
1 19 (11.24%) Linux
2 9 (5.33%) Ubuntu
2 9 (5.33%) Windows
3 1 (0.59%) Embedded Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 18 (10.65%) CI/CD
2 14 (8.28%) Project Management
2 14 (8.28%) Validation
3 12 (7.10%) Configuration Management
3 12 (7.10%) Software Delivery
3 12 (7.10%) Systems Engineering
4 10 (5.92%) Agile
4 10 (5.92%) DevOps
4 10 (5.92%) Integration Testing
4 10 (5.92%) Workflow
5 8 (4.73%) Collaborative Culture
5 8 (4.73%) Software Testing
6 7 (4.14%) Continuous Improvement
6 7 (4.14%) Project Delivery
6 7 (4.14%) SDLC
6 7 (4.14%) Test Automation
6 7 (4.14%) UML
7 6 (3.55%) Mentoring
7 6 (3.55%) Problem-Solving
7 6 (3.55%) Workflow Management
Programming Languages
1 87 (51.48%) C++
2 48 (28.40%) Ada
3 35 (20.71%) C
4 18 (10.65%) Java
4 18 (10.65%) JavaScript
5 10 (5.92%) MATLAB
5 10 (5.92%) TypeScript
6 9 (5.33%) Python
6 9 (5.33%) Shell Script
7 8 (4.73%) C#
8 5 (2.96%) SQL
9 2 (1.18%) Bicep
9 2 (1.18%) PowerShell
10 1 (0.59%) Embedded C++
10 1 (0.59%) Scala
Qualifications
1 56 (33.14%) Security Cleared
2 50 (29.59%) SC Cleared
3 8 (4.73%) Degree
4 4 (2.37%) Computer Science Degree
5 2 (1.18%) DV Cleared
6 1 (0.59%) CISSP
6 1 (0.59%) HND
6 1 (0.59%) MCSE
6 1 (0.59%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 44 (26.04%) Def Stans
2 33 (19.53%) IEC 61508
3 31 (18.34%) MISRA
4 21 (12.43%) MISRA C
5 10 (5.92%) DO-178B
6 3 (1.78%) QA
7 2 (1.18%) GDPR
8 1 (0.59%) DICOM
8 1 (0.59%) HL7
System Software
1 10 (5.92%) Firmware
2 6 (3.55%) Docker
3 2 (1.18%) Active Directory
Systems Management
1 7 (4.14%) Kubernetes
1 7 (4.14%) Terraform
2 3 (1.78%) Grafana
2 3 (1.78%) Prometheus
3 2 (1.18%) Ansible
3 2 (1.18%) Kibana
Vendors
1 14 (8.28%) Red Hat
2 6 (3.55%) IBM
3 5 (2.96%) MathWorks
3 5 (2.96%) Microsoft
4 2 (1.18%) Databricks
5 1 (0.59%) NVIDIA