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Embedded software engineer jobs UK: salaries, skills and who's hiring
UK embedded software engineer ads are up almost sevenfold on last year. What roles pay, the skills employers want and who's hiring now.
By Julie Fixter, Client Partnership Consultant, Future Tech Jobs
Who do you think writes the code inside a heat pump, a wireless sensor or a quantum lab's RF kit?
An embedded software engineer. And right now, UK employers want a lot more of them.
In the six months to 19 October 2026, ITJobsWatch tracked 709 UK permanent job ads asking for an embedded software engineer, up from 104 in the same period of 2025. The median advertised salary rose from £55,000 to £65,000. If you write C or C++ for hardware, or you want to, this is a good moment to look around.
Here's what the roles pay, the skills employers keep asking for, and who is hiring on Edge Computing Jobs right now.
What does an embedded software engineer do?
An embedded software engineer writes the software that runs directly on devices: microcontrollers, sensors, system-on-chip boards and anything else that has to work close to the hardware. It's the bit of edge computing where the code meets the circuit board.
If a gadget in your kitchen is cleverer than it strictly needs to be, there's a good chance an embedded engineer is to blame.
Day to day, that can mean bringing up a new board, writing drivers, getting a real-time operating system to behave, or squeezing a feature into very limited memory and power.
It's also why the job title varies so much. You'll see the same kind of work advertised as embedded software engineer, embedded systems engineer and firmware engineer. Search for all three.
Embedded software engineer salary UK: what do roles pay in 2026?
The UK median advertised salary for permanent embedded software engineer roles is £65,000, based on ITJobsWatch data for the six months to 19 October 2026. That's up 18% on the same period last year.
Here's the spread, for anyone who likes their numbers neat:
10th percentile: £46,350
25th percentile: £55,000
Median: £65,000
75th percentile: £70,000
90th percentile: £80,000
Location matters too. London leads at £80,000, though your rent might have something to say about that. The East of England and the West Midlands both sit at £70,000, Scotland at £67,500, the North West at £60,000 and Wales at £50,000.
The live adverts on our board tell a similar story:
A Firmware Engineer in Waterlooville, Hampshire at £42,000 to £49,000, open to people with one to three years' experience, and to recent graduates with relevant projects.
An Embedded Systems Engineer in London working on solid-state heat pump technology, advertised at £60,000 to £70,000 including equity.
A Senior Embedded Software Engineer in Vauxhall, London on connected sensor products at £65,000 to £85,000 plus bonus.
An Embedded Software Engineer in Oxford at a quantum technology company building RF sensing and communications systems, at £75,000 plus share options.
So there's a proper ladder here.
Start in the forties. Keep learning. The national median is well within reach, and then some.
Which skills do employers want?
No surprises at the top: C and C++. In the ITJobsWatch data, C appears in 21.0% of embedded software engineer ads and C++ in 19.9%. After that come Linux (16.6%), firmware (14.8%), embedded Linux (8.6%), wireless (8.6%) and Python (4.8%).
The adverts on our board add the detail:
Bare metal and RTOS. Both the Zenovo and Platinum adverts ask for it, and Zenovo lists Zephyr as desirable.
Embedded Linux. The Oxford quantum role wants Yocto or Buildroot, kernels, bootloaders, device trees and drivers on Xilinx FPGA SoCs.
Communication protocols. SPI, I2C and UART turn up again and again, with Modbus, BLE and RS485 in some roles.
Bench skills. Oscilloscopes, logic analysers and reading schematics. You're expected to debug the hardware, not just the code.
Python. For testing, tooling and, increasingly, deploying AI models on devices.
That last point is worth watching. NXP's Graduate AI and Software Engineer role in Glasgow involves deploying machine learning models on NXP's S32N automotive processors and prototyping edge AI demos. It lists embedded systems, edge AI deployment and model quantisation as nice-to-haves. Embedded and AI skills are starting to show up in the same job.
Learn the fundamentals well and the tools follow.
Who is hiring embedded and firmware engineers?
The mix on Edge Computing Jobs right now runs from chipmakers to clean tech:
Raspberry Pi, Cambridge. The ASIC team behind the RP2040, RP1 and RP2350 chips is hiring, including an Experienced IC Design Engineer and a Digital IC Implementation Engineer. These are silicon roles, but the IC design advert still asks for non-trivial embedded C.
NXP Semiconductors, Glasgow. Graduate and intern roles in AI and software for automotive processors.
Connected devices, clean tech and quantum. Specialist recruiters are hiring for sensor products in London, heat pump technology in London, load monitoring in Hampshire and quantum RF systems in Oxford.
Here's what I keep coming back to. In niche tech, the best candidates aren't scrolling job ads. They're choosing between offers.
If you're good at this, that's you. Or it should be.
And when you're weighing up offers, you'll lean towards the companies you already know. It works the other way too. The employers worth joining get their name in front of specialists early, and they find the engineers who are easy to find.
Specialist roles need a specialist audience. Be in it.
The best candidates have a choice. Be the choice.
How to get an embedded software engineer job
Get solid at C, then C++. They're the two most requested skills in the ads, and most interviews will test them.
Build something real on a microcontroller. A small board, a sensor, a driver, a working RTOS project. Put it on GitHub and link it from your CV.
Learn your way round the bench. Scopes, logic analysers and schematics come up in advert after advert.
Pick a lane to grow into. Embedded Linux, wireless and BLE, or edge AI all appear in higher-paid roles.
Search every job title. Embedded software engineer, embedded systems engineer and firmware engineer often mean similar work.
Let jobs come to you. Set up a job alert so new roles land in your inbox the day they go live.
Moving in from general software? Your coding skills transfer. What you'll need to add is comfort with constraints: limited memory, real-time deadlines and hardware that doesn't always do what the datasheet says.
FAQ
How much does an embedded software engineer earn in the UK?
The UK median advertised salary for permanent embedded software engineer roles was £65,000 in the six months to 19 October 2026, according to ITJobsWatch. The middle half of ads sat between £55,000 and £70,000, and London's median was £80,000.
Is embedded software engineering in demand in the UK?
Yes. ITJobsWatch counted 709 UK permanent ads for embedded software engineers in the six months to 19 October 2026, compared with 104 in the same period of 2025.
What skills do I need to become an embedded software engineer?
C and C++ are the core, followed by Linux, firmware experience and embedded Linux. Employers also ask for RTOS knowledge, protocols such as SPI, I2C and UART, and the ability to debug hardware with oscilloscopes and logic analysers.
Can graduates get embedded software jobs?
Yes. On Edge Computing Jobs right now, NXP is advertising graduate and intern AI and software roles in Glasgow, and a Hampshire firmware role is open to recent graduates with internship or project experience.
What's the difference between an embedded software engineer and a firmware engineer?
The work often overlaps. Firmware usually means the low-level code closest to the hardware, while embedded software can also cover embedded Linux and application code on the device. Employers use both titles, so search for both.
Find your next embedded role
Any questions about the market, let me know. I'd love to hear what you're looking for next.
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About the author
Julie Fixter is a Client Partnership Consultant at Future Tech Jobs, helping employers and recruitment partners reach specialist talent across AI, quantum, robotics, semiconductors, space and the rest of the FTJ network. She spent seven years in sales at a UK software house before joining FTJ, and trained in psychodynamic counselling, which shapes how she thinks about what candidates actually want from a move. Based in Manchester. Connect with Julie on LinkedIn.
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