Industry report · October 2026
State of tech recruitment in Bristol
Bristol employers and agencies advertised 368 tech jobs across the roles we track in the 30 days to 6 October 2026. Software Engineer leads with 144 live adverts, and 68% came direct from the employer.
Updated 6 October 2026 · Live adverts, last 30 days · Next update 1 November 2026 · Baseline edition: month-on-month changes start next month
The 10 most in-demand tech roles in Bristol
Ranked by live adverts in the 30 days to 6 October 2026. Direct adverts were posted by the employer itself rather than an agency.
| # | Role | Live adverts | Direct | Last 7 days | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Software Engineer | 144 | 95 | 29 | Get leads |
| 2 | Data Engineer | 52 | 34 | 10 | Get leads |
| 3 | Product Manager | 34 | 27 | 11 | Get leads |
| 4 | Solutions Architect | 34 | 21 | 6 | Get leads |
| 5 | DevOps Engineer | 33 | 21 | 8 | Get leads |
| 6 | IT Support Engineer | 25 | 22 | 8 | Get leads |
| 7 | Cyber Security Analyst | 18 | 12 | 2 | Get leads |
| 8 | Data Analyst | 17 | 10 | 1 | Get leads |
| 9 | Machine Learning Engineer | 10 | 6 | 2 | Get leads |
| 10 | Frontend Developer | 2 | 2 | 0 | Get leads |
Titles counted for each role
- Software Engineer
- Senior Software Engineer · 23Software Developer · 19Full Stack Engineer · 7Backend Engineer · 3Full Stack Developer · 2Backend Developer · 0Software Development Engineer · 0
- Data Engineer
- Senior Data Engineer · 9Analytics Engineer · 5Lead Data Engineer · 4Big Data Engineer · 0Data Infrastructure Engineer · 0Junior Data Engineer · 0
- Product Manager
- Product Owner · 15Senior Product Manager · 2Product Lead · 1Associate Product Manager · 0Group Product Manager · 0Principal Product Manager · 0Technical Product Manager · 0
- Solutions Architect
- Enterprise Architect · 7Technical Architect · 6Software Architect · 4Cloud Architect · 2Lead Solutions Architect · 1Principal Solutions Architect · 0Systems Architect · 0
- DevOps Engineer
- Platform Engineer · 13Cloud Engineer · 5Site Reliability Engineer · 2Senior DevOps Engineer · 1Lead DevOps Engineer · 0Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) · 0SRE · 0
- IT Support Engineer
- IT Support Technician · 131st Line Support · 3Service Desk Analyst · 3IT Support Analyst · 2Technical Support Engineer · 22nd Line Support · 0IT Support Specialist · 0
- Cyber Security Analyst
- Security Analyst · 18Information Security Analyst · 1Cyber Analyst · 0Cybersecurity Analyst · 0Cybersecurity Engineer · 0Junior Security Analyst · 0SOC Analyst · 0
- Data Analyst
- Business Intelligence Analyst · 1Insight Analyst · 1Junior Data Analyst · 1Senior Data Analyst · 1Reporting Analyst · 0
- Machine Learning Engineer
- AI Engineer · 7Senior Machine Learning Engineer · 3Junior Machine Learning Engineer · 0Lead Machine Learning Engineer · 0ML Engineer · 0Staff Machine Learning Engineer · 0
- Frontend Developer
- Web Developer · 2Front End Developer · 0Front End Engineer · 0Front-End Developer · 0Front-End Engineer · 0Frontend Engineer · 0React Developer · 0
Each role counts its own title and the related titles employers use for it, and an advert matching several of them counts once. Per-title counts overlap ("Senior Data Engineer" adverts also match "Data Engineer"), so they add up to more than the role total.
249 Bristol tech adverts came straight from the employer.
Behind each one is a hiring manager. OutputX turns adverts like these into named decision makers you can contact, with outreach written in your voice, in about ten minutes.
What the numbers say
- Software Engineer accounts for 39% of Bristol's tech adverts, 144 in all, a bigger share than in any other city we cover.
- Data Engineer is the second busiest role with 52 adverts, ahead of Product Manager and Solutions Architect on 34 each.
- IT Support Engineer adverts are 88% direct: 22 of 25 came from the employer.
What it means for recruiters
Bristol is a software engineering patch first: Software Engineer is 39% of the market and 68% of all tech adverts are direct. Agencies are least present in IT support (88% direct) and product roles (79%).
Questions recruiters ask
How many tech jobs are advertised in Bristol?
368 live tech job adverts were posted in Bristol and nearby towns in the 30 days to 6 October 2026, across the roles in this report and counted once each. 68% came direct from employers.
Which tech role is most in demand in Bristol?
Software Engineer, with 144 live adverts. Next came Data Engineer (52) and Product Manager (34).
How does Bristol compare with other UK cities for tech jobs?
Bristol ranks third of the 5 cities we cover for tech adverts; London has 19.8× its volume. London: 7,278, Manchester: 755, Bristol: 368, Leeds: 358, Birmingham: 283.
How many tech adverts in Bristol come direct from employers?
249 of the 368 (68%) were posted by the employer itself; the rest came through recruitment agencies and other intermediaries.
Is tech hiring in Bristol speeding up or slowing down?
21% of the month's adverts were posted in the last 7 days, against about 23% in an even month, so tech hiring in Bristol looks steady.
Tech across the cities we cover
| # | City | Live adverts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | 7,278 |
| 2 | Manchester | 755 |
| 3 | Bristol | 368 |
| 4 | Leeds | 358 |
| 5 | Birmingham | 283 |
More reports for Bristol
- Legal recruitment in Bristol · 84 adverts
- Finance recruitment in Bristol · 150 adverts
How we measure
Live job adverts posted in the 30 days to 6 October 2026 in Bristol, Bath, Weston-super-Mare, from licensed job-advert data, each counted once per role. These are adverts, not vacancies: one vacancy can be advertised by several agencies. Full method →
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