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

6 months to
20 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 4 8 21
Rank change year-on-year +4 +13 -2
Contract jobs citing Software Engineering 196 61 73
As % of all contract jobs in Bristol 17.95% 11.73% 7.12%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 22.02% 12.71% 8.64%
Number of daily rates quoted 21 10 16
10th Percentile £68 £352 £472
25th Percentile £363 £355 £505
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £370 £525
Median % change year-on-year +35.14% -29.52% -4.55%
75th Percentile £553 £472 £590
90th Percentile £613 £576 £720
South West median daily rate £535 £585 £531
% change year-on-year -8.55% +10.12% -11.46%
Number of hourly rates quoted 159 38 43
10th Percentile £61.25 £61.25 £52.50
25th Percentile - - £54.38
Median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £65.00
75th Percentile - £68.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £67.30 £68.75 -
South West median hourly rate £65.00 £66.50 £65.00
% change year-on-year -2.26% +2.31% -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 890 480 845
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Bristol 81.50% 92.31% 82.44%
Number of daily rates quoted 428 288 481
10th Percentile £325 £213 £258
25th Percentile £400 £349 £375
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £458 £510
Median % change year-on-year +9.17% -10.20% +2.00%
75th Percentile £553 £588 £625
90th Percentile £656 £675 £700
South West median daily rate £515 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -1.90% - -4.37%
Number of hourly rates quoted 239 64 156
10th Percentile £17.69 £35.00 £36.25
25th Percentile £60.00 £60.94 £45.00
Median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £62.50
Median % change year-on-year - +4.00% -
75th Percentile - £68.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £68.75 £73.50 £80.00
South West median hourly rate £57.50 £65.00 £48.00
% change year-on-year -11.54% +35.42% -21.95%

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 20 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 20 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 3 (1.53%) Apache
2 1 (0.51%) Confluence
Applications
1 3 (1.53%) Microsoft Excel
1 3 (1.53%) Microsoft Office
2 2 (1.02%) Microsoft Project
2 2 (1.02%) Simulink
Business Applications
1 2 (1.02%) Primavera
Cloud Services
1 4 (2.04%) Azure
2 3 (1.53%) AWS
2 3 (1.53%) Azure DevOps
2 3 (1.53%) OpenShift
3 1 (0.51%) Figma
3 1 (0.51%) npm
3 1 (0.51%) Power Platform
Communications & Networking
1 4 (2.04%) Ethernet
1 4 (2.04%) TCP/IP
2 1 (0.51%) Bluetooth
2 1 (0.51%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 1 (0.51%) GIS
1 1 (0.51%) PostgreSQL
1 1 (0.51%) Power BI
Development Applications
1 19 (9.69%) Rational Rhapsody
2 10 (5.10%) GitLab
3 5 (2.55%) Jenkins
4 4 (2.04%) Eclipse
4 4 (2.04%) Visual Studio
5 3 (1.53%) Artifactory
5 3 (1.53%) Sonatype Nexus
6 2 (1.02%) Git
7 1 (0.51%) Bitbucket
7 1 (0.51%) JIRA
7 1 (0.51%) Rational DOORS
General
1 24 (12.24%) Aerospace
2 13 (6.63%) Law
3 11 (5.61%) Analytical Skills
4 10 (5.10%) Electronics
5 7 (3.57%) Social Skills
6 6 (3.06%) Military
7 4 (2.04%) Organisational Skills
8 3 (1.53%) Finance
9 2 (1.02%) Presentation Skills
9 2 (1.02%) Telecoms
10 1 (0.51%) Automotive
10 1 (0.51%) Documentation Skills
10 1 (0.51%) Legal
10 1 (0.51%) Public Sector
Job Titles
1 162 (82.65%) Software Engineer
2 71 (36.22%) C++ Software Engineer
3 30 (15.31%) Embedded Engineer
3 30 (15.31%) Embedded Software Engineer
4 21 (10.71%) Algorithm Engineer
5 17 (8.67%) Ada Engineer
5 17 (8.67%) Ada Software Engineer
6 14 (7.14%) Java Engineer
6 14 (7.14%) Java Software Engineer
7 8 (4.08%) C Software Engineer
7 8 (4.08%) C# Software Engineer
7 8 (4.08%) C/C++ Software Engineer
8 6 (3.06%) Developer
8 6 (3.06%) Documentation Officer
9 5 (2.55%) Java Developer
9 5 (2.55%) Lead
9 5 (2.55%) Senior
10 4 (2.04%) DevOps Engineer
10 4 (2.04%) Product Engineer
10 4 (2.04%) Products Support Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 42 (21.43%) Middleware
2 22 (11.22%) Qt
3 5 (2.55%) Node.js
4 4 (2.04%) Web Services
5 3 (1.53%) Apache NiFi
5 3 (1.53%) Elastic Stack
5 3 (1.53%) REST
6 1 (0.51%) React
Miscellaneous
1 29 (14.80%) Algorithms
2 13 (6.63%) Embedded Systems
3 7 (3.57%) CUDA
4 6 (3.06%) Legacy Systems
5 3 (1.53%) Onboarding
6 1 (0.51%) Legacy Applications
6 1 (0.51%) Management Information System
6 1 (0.51%) Product Ownership
6 1 (0.51%) Video\Live Streaming
Operating Systems
1 25 (12.76%) Linux
2 9 (4.59%) Windows
3 4 (2.04%) Ubuntu
4 2 (1.02%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 1 (0.51%) Embedded Linux
5 1 (0.51%) Windows Server
Processes & Methodologies
1 25 (12.76%) CI/CD
2 17 (8.67%) Validation
3 15 (7.65%) Systems Engineering
3 15 (7.65%) UML
4 11 (5.61%) Workflow
5 10 (5.10%) Agile
5 10 (5.10%) Integration Testing
6 9 (4.59%) DevOps
6 9 (4.59%) SDLC
7 8 (4.08%) Collaborative Culture
7 8 (4.08%) Configuration Management
7 8 (4.08%) Continuous Improvement
7 8 (4.08%) Project Management
7 8 (4.08%) Software Delivery
7 8 (4.08%) SysML
8 7 (3.57%) Continuous Integration
8 7 (3.57%) Test Automation
8 7 (3.57%) Verification and Validation
8 7 (3.57%) Workflow Management
9 6 (3.06%) TDD
Programming Languages
1 90 (45.92%) C++
2 73 (37.24%) Ada
3 32 (16.33%) C
4 25 (12.76%) Java
5 19 (9.69%) MATLAB
6 13 (6.63%) C#
7 10 (5.10%) JavaScript
8 7 (3.57%) Python
9 4 (2.04%) PowerShell
9 4 (2.04%) Shell Script
10 1 (0.51%) Bash
10 1 (0.51%) Embedded C++
10 1 (0.51%) Scala
10 1 (0.51%) SQL
10 1 (0.51%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 61 (31.12%) Security Cleared
2 51 (26.02%) SC Cleared
3 8 (4.08%) Degree
4 4 (2.04%) Computer Science Degree
5 3 (1.53%) BPSS Clearance
6 2 (1.02%) DV Cleared
7 1 (0.51%) CISSP
7 1 (0.51%) HND
7 1 (0.51%) MCSE
7 1 (0.51%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 50 (25.51%) Def Stans
2 39 (19.90%) IEC 61508
3 30 (15.31%) MISRA
4 20 (10.20%) MISRA C
5 10 (5.10%) DO-178B
6 7 (3.57%) QA
7 1 (0.51%) DICOM
7 1 (0.51%) GDPR
7 1 (0.51%) HL7
7 1 (0.51%) NCSC
System Software
1 10 (5.10%) Firmware
2 6 (3.06%) Docker
Systems Management
1 8 (4.08%) Kubernetes
2 5 (2.55%) Ansible
2 5 (2.55%) Terraform
3 3 (1.53%) Grafana
3 3 (1.53%) Prometheus
4 1 (0.51%) Progress Chef
4 1 (0.51%) Puppet
Vendors
1 12 (6.12%) Red Hat
2 7 (3.57%) IBM
3 6 (3.06%) MathWorks
4 5 (2.55%) Microsoft
5 1 (0.51%) Databricks
5 1 (0.51%) NVIDIA