Industry report · October 2026
State of tech recruitment in London
London employers and agencies advertised 7,278 tech jobs across the roles we track in the 30 days to 6 October 2026. Software Engineer leads with 2,317 live adverts, and 69% 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 London
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 | 2,317 | 1,580 | 518 | Get leads |
| 2 | Product Manager | 1,466 | 1,213 | 340 | Get leads |
| 3 | DevOps Engineer | 707 | 447 | 183 | Get leads |
| 4 | Machine Learning Engineer | 693 | 425 | 149 | Get leads |
| 5 | Data Engineer | 684 | 420 | 142 | Get leads |
| 6 | Data Analyst | 515 | 341 | 121 | Get leads |
| 7 | Solutions Architect | 485 | 335 | 106 | Get leads |
| 8 | IT Support Engineer | 196 | 147 | 42 | Get leads |
| 9 | Frontend Developer | 140 | 80 | 28 | Get leads |
| 10 | Cyber Security Analyst | 84 | 65 | 15 | Get leads |
Titles counted for each role
- Software Engineer
- Senior Software Engineer · 477Full Stack Engineer · 180Backend Engineer · 157Software Developer · 126Full Stack Developer · 67Software Development Engineer · 47Backend Developer · 32
- Product Manager
- Senior Product Manager · 317Product Owner · 213Product Lead · 89Technical Product Manager · 88Principal Product Manager · 46Group Product Manager · 11Associate Product Manager · 8
- DevOps Engineer
- Platform Engineer · 329Site Reliability Engineer · 77Cloud Engineer · 67Senior DevOps Engineer · 64SRE · 39Lead DevOps Engineer · 16Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) · 1
- Machine Learning Engineer
- AI Engineer · 445Senior Machine Learning Engineer · 64ML Engineer · 54Staff Machine Learning Engineer · 9Lead Machine Learning Engineer · 4Junior Machine Learning Engineer · 2
- Data Engineer
- Senior Data Engineer · 183Analytics Engineer · 104Lead Data Engineer · 40Junior Data Engineer · 13Big Data Engineer · 0Data Infrastructure Engineer · 0
- Data Analyst
- Senior Data Analyst · 82Reporting Analyst · 40Business Intelligence Analyst · 28Insight Analyst · 18Junior Data Analyst · 14
- Solutions Architect
- Enterprise Architect · 106Technical Architect · 84Cloud Architect · 31Software Architect · 19Principal Solutions Architect · 9Lead Solutions Architect · 4Systems Architect · 4
- IT Support Engineer
- Service Desk Analyst · 36Technical Support Engineer · 34IT Support Analyst · 30IT Support Specialist · 15IT Support Technician · 142nd Line Support · 91st Line Support · 6
- Frontend Developer
- Frontend Engineer · 39Web Developer · 23Front End Developer · 10Front End Engineer · 9Front-End Engineer · 9React Developer · 7Front-End Developer · 5
- Cyber Security Analyst
- Security Analyst · 57SOC Analyst · 21Information Security Analyst · 14Cybersecurity Engineer · 6Cyber Analyst · 2Cybersecurity Analyst · 2Junior Security Analyst · 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.
5,045 London 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
- Product Manager is the most direct-hire of London's big tech roles: 83% of its 1,466 adverts were posted by the employer itself.
- AI is reshaping machine learning hiring: AI Engineer adverts (445) make up most of the Machine Learning Engineer row's 693.
- Platform Engineer is now the title behind much of DevOps hiring, with 329 of the role's 707 adverts.
What it means for recruiters
With 69% of London's tech adverts posted direct, most of this market has a hiring manager to approach before an agency gets there. Product Manager is the most open of the busy roles (83% direct); Machine Learning Engineer and Data Engineer (61% direct each) are where agencies compete hardest.
Questions recruiters ask
How many tech jobs are advertised in London?
7,278 live tech job adverts were posted in London and nearby towns in the 30 days to 6 October 2026, across the roles in this report and counted once each. 69% came direct from employers.
Which tech role is most in demand in London?
Software Engineer, with 2,317 live adverts. Next came Product Manager (1,466) and DevOps Engineer (707).
How does London compare with other UK cities for tech jobs?
London has the most tech adverts of the 5 cities we cover, 9.6× Manchester's 755. London: 7,278, Manchester: 755, Bristol: 368, Leeds: 358, Birmingham: 283.
How many tech adverts in London come direct from employers?
5,045 of the 7,278 (69%) were posted by the employer itself; the rest came through recruitment agencies and other intermediaries.
Is tech hiring in London speeding up or slowing down?
23% of the month's adverts were posted in the last 7 days, against about 23% in an even month, so tech hiring in London 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 London
- Legal recruitment in London · 742 adverts
- Finance recruitment in London · 2,140 adverts
How we measure
Live job adverts posted in the 30 days to 6 October 2026 in London, Croydon, Wembley, Watford, Kingston upon Thames, Harrow, Bromley, 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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