Hiring outlook, remote working rates, and which companies are actively recruiting.
Software Engineer is the most hired-for role in the Irish and UK tech market. Demand has recovered strongly from the 2023 hiring slowdown, and the AI tooling wave is increasing output expectations without reducing headcount at most companies. Engineers with strong fundamentals and system design experience are in particularly high demand.
of UK Software Engineer roles advertise remote or hybrid working
Year-on-year salary movement in UK. Positive movement signals active market competition.
Strongest in: Universal across every sector and company size
Software Engineer is the most hired-for role in the Irish and UK tech market. Demand has recovered strongly from the 2023 hiring slowdown, and the AI tooling wave is increasing output expectations without reducing headcount at most companies. Engineers with strong fundamentals and system design experience are in particularly high demand.
Who companies hire: Computer science degree or equivalent self-taught programming skills are the baseline. The Irish and UK market is largely language-agnostic at the point of entry, though Python, TypeScript, and Java dominate hiring volumes.
Salary premium over the UK median for Software Engineers who list these skills.
Companies with consistent or active Software Engineer hiring in UK.
Yes, consistently. Software Engineer is the most advertised technical role in the Irish market. The recovery from 2023 tech layoffs is complete for mid-to-senior levels, and demand for engineers with system design and distributed systems experience is at a multi-year high.
Google, Meta, and Stripe hire at the highest volume among large tech companies. HubSpot, Intercom, and Workday are consistent hirers at the mid-senior level. Mastercard and Citi hire engineers for their Dublin tech hubs. At growth stage, Clio and Wayflyer have been active.
Around 76% of Software Engineer roles advertise hybrid or fully remote working. The rate is slightly lower than the pandemic peak but has stabilised well above pre-2020 levels. Fully remote roles are more common at startups and product companies than at financial services or enterprise companies.
Go and Rust command the highest individual premiums, around 20%. Distributed systems expertise and cloud architecture, particularly AWS, add 15 to 18%. System design interview readiness, which is a proxy for senior-level capability, directly affects the level at which companies hire and therefore the salary offered.