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 4 March 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
4 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 4 5 17
Rank change year-on-year +1 +12 +3
Contract jobs citing Software Engineering 198 72 80
As % of all contract jobs in Bristol 18.45% 13.31% 7.82%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 22.32% 14.55% 9.38%
Number of daily rates quoted 26 7 18
10th Percentile £68 £343 £476
25th Percentile £366 £355 £513
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £468 £375 £538
Median % change year-on-year +24.67% -30.23% -2.27%
75th Percentile £538 £544 £679
90th Percentile £575 £593 £720
South West median daily rate £500 £600 £550
% change year-on-year -16.67% +9.09% -8.33%
Number of hourly rates quoted 155 40 46
10th Percentile £61.25 £61.25 £52.50
25th Percentile - £64.38 £53.44
Median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £65.00
75th Percentile - £68.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £67.25 £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 887 495 853
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Bristol 82.67% 91.50% 83.38%
Number of daily rates quoted 432 282 487
10th Percentile £325 £200 £273
25th Percentile £405 £335 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% -9.52% +5.00%
75th Percentile £575 £588 £634
90th Percentile £712 £675 £693
South West median daily rate £525 £525 £528
% change year-on-year - -0.47% -3.92%
Number of hourly rates quoted 240 69 152
10th Percentile £17.69 £35.00 £40.00
25th Percentile £48.32 £60.00 £45.00
Median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £60.00
Median % change year-on-year - +8.33% -4.00%
75th Percentile - £68.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £67.25 £70.89 £80.00
South West median hourly rate £57.50 £65.00 £48.72
% change year-on-year -11.54% +33.42% -20.78%

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 4 March 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 4 March 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 4 (2.02%) Apache
2 1 (0.51%) Apache Airflow
2 1 (0.51%) Confluence
Applications
1 3 (1.52%) Microsoft Excel
1 3 (1.52%) Microsoft Office
2 2 (1.01%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 2 (1.01%) Primavera
Cloud Services
1 10 (5.05%) AWS
2 6 (3.03%) Azure
3 5 (2.53%) npm
4 4 (2.02%) Azure DevOps
5 3 (1.52%) GCP
5 3 (1.52%) OpenShift
6 1 (0.51%) Azure AKS
6 1 (0.51%) Azure Cosmos DB
6 1 (0.51%) Entra ID
6 1 (0.51%) Figma
6 1 (0.51%) Power Platform
Communications & Networking
1 3 (1.52%) Ethernet
1 3 (1.52%) TCP/IP
2 1 (0.51%) Bluetooth
2 1 (0.51%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 7 (3.54%) PostgreSQL
2 3 (1.52%) GIS
2 3 (1.52%) NoSQL
3 2 (1.01%) MongoDB
3 2 (1.01%) SQL Server
4 1 (0.51%) Elasticsearch
4 1 (0.51%) Power BI
Development Applications
1 17 (8.59%) Rational Rhapsody
2 10 (5.05%) GitLab
3 9 (4.55%) Jenkins
4 3 (1.52%) Artifactory
4 3 (1.52%) Eclipse
4 3 (1.52%) Git
4 3 (1.52%) Sonatype Nexus
4 3 (1.52%) Visual Studio
5 1 (0.51%) Bitbucket
5 1 (0.51%) JIRA
5 1 (0.51%) Rational DOORS
General
1 24 (12.12%) Aerospace
2 15 (7.58%) Law
3 11 (5.56%) Analytical Skills
4 10 (5.05%) Electronics
5 6 (3.03%) Social Skills
6 5 (2.53%) Finance
6 5 (2.53%) Military
7 4 (2.02%) Organisational Skills
7 4 (2.02%) Public Sector
8 2 (1.01%) Presentation Skills
8 2 (1.01%) Telecoms
9 1 (0.51%) Automotive
9 1 (0.51%) Aviation
9 1 (0.51%) Documentation Skills
9 1 (0.51%) Legal
Job Titles
1 154 (77.78%) Software Engineer
2 71 (35.86%) C++ Software Engineer
3 26 (13.13%) Embedded Engineer
3 26 (13.13%) Embedded Software Engineer
4 18 (9.09%) Algorithm Engineer
5 13 (6.57%) Ada Engineer
5 13 (6.57%) Ada Software Engineer
6 12 (6.06%) Java Engineer
6 12 (6.06%) Java Software Engineer
7 10 (5.05%) Documentation Officer
8 9 (4.55%) Product Engineer
8 9 (4.55%) Products Support Engineer
8 9 (4.55%) Software Support Engineer
8 9 (4.55%) Support Engineer
9 8 (4.04%) C Software Engineer
9 8 (4.04%) C/C++ Software Engineer
10 7 (3.54%) Developer
11 6 (3.03%) C# Software Engineer
11 6 (3.03%) Lead
12 5 (2.53%) Java Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 46 (23.23%) Middleware
2 24 (12.12%) Qt
3 12 (6.06%) Node.js
4 8 (4.04%) React
5 4 (2.02%) REST
6 3 (1.52%) Apache NiFi
6 3 (1.52%) Elastic Stack
6 3 (1.52%) Web Services
7 2 (1.01%) .NET
8 1 (0.51%) Express.js
8 1 (0.51%) GraphQL
8 1 (0.51%) JWT
8 1 (0.51%) Next.js
8 1 (0.51%) OAuth
8 1 (0.51%) OAuth2
Miscellaneous
1 26 (13.13%) Algorithms
2 11 (5.56%) Embedded Systems
3 7 (3.54%) CUDA
4 6 (3.03%) Legacy Systems
5 3 (1.52%) Onboarding
5 3 (1.52%) Video\Live Streaming
6 1 (0.51%) Cloud Native
6 1 (0.51%) Legacy Applications
6 1 (0.51%) Management Information System
6 1 (0.51%) Product Ownership
Operating Systems
1 25 (12.63%) Linux
2 10 (5.05%) Windows
3 9 (4.55%) Ubuntu
4 1 (0.51%) Embedded Linux
4 1 (0.51%) Windows Server
Processes & Methodologies
1 21 (10.61%) CI/CD
2 16 (8.08%) Validation
3 15 (7.58%) Systems Engineering
4 13 (6.57%) Agile
4 13 (6.57%) UML
5 12 (6.06%) Project Management
6 11 (5.56%) Configuration Management
6 11 (5.56%) Workflow
7 10 (5.05%) Integration Testing
7 10 (5.05%) Software Delivery
8 9 (4.55%) DevOps
9 8 (4.04%) Collaborative Culture
9 8 (4.04%) SDLC
9 8 (4.04%) Software Testing
10 7 (3.54%) Continuous Improvement
11 6 (3.03%) Continuous Integration
11 6 (3.03%) Mentoring
11 6 (3.03%) SysML
11 6 (3.03%) Verification and Validation
11 6 (3.03%) Workflow Management
Programming Languages
1 93 (46.97%) C++
2 70 (35.35%) Ada
3 35 (17.68%) C
4 24 (12.12%) Java
5 20 (10.10%) JavaScript
6 15 (7.58%) MATLAB
7 13 (6.57%) C#
8 9 (4.55%) Python
8 9 (4.55%) Shell Script
9 8 (4.04%) TypeScript
10 4 (2.02%) PowerShell
10 4 (2.02%) SQL
11 1 (0.51%) Bash
11 1 (0.51%) Bicep
11 1 (0.51%) Embedded C++
11 1 (0.51%) Scala
Qualifications
1 64 (32.32%) Security Cleared
2 55 (27.78%) SC Cleared
3 8 (4.04%) Degree
4 4 (2.02%) Computer Science Degree
5 2 (1.01%) DV Cleared
6 1 (0.51%) BPSS Clearance
6 1 (0.51%) CISSP
6 1 (0.51%) HND
6 1 (0.51%) MCSE
6 1 (0.51%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 48 (24.24%) Def Stans
2 37 (18.69%) IEC 61508
3 30 (15.15%) MISRA
4 20 (10.10%) MISRA C
5 10 (5.05%) DO-178B
6 5 (2.53%) QA
7 2 (1.01%) GDPR
8 1 (0.51%) DICOM
8 1 (0.51%) HL7
System Software
1 10 (5.05%) Firmware
2 5 (2.53%) Docker
3 1 (0.51%) Active Directory
Systems Management
1 8 (4.04%) Terraform
2 7 (3.54%) Kubernetes
3 4 (2.02%) Ansible
4 3 (1.52%) Grafana
4 3 (1.52%) Prometheus
5 1 (0.51%) Kibana
5 1 (0.51%) Progress Chef
5 1 (0.51%) Puppet
Vendors
1 15 (7.58%) Red Hat
2 6 (3.03%) IBM
3 5 (2.53%) MathWorks
3 5 (2.53%) Microsoft
4 1 (0.51%) Databricks
4 1 (0.51%) NVIDIA