Principal Architect Job Trends
Principal Architect
UK
The median Principal Architect salary in the UK is £100,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 23 October 2026.
The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 23 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 636 | 630 | 623 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -6 | -7 | +35 |
| Permanent Principal Architect jobs | 204 | 37 | 129 |
| As % of all permanent jobs in the UK | 0.17% | 0.075% | 0.19% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.18% | 0.084% | 0.20% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 108 | 36 | 60 |
| 10th Percentile | £70,000 | £76,751 | £50,000 |
| 25th Percentile | £84,563 | £77,270 | £69,938 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £100,000 | £85,000 | £75,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +17.65% | +13.33% | -31.82% |
| 75th Percentile | - | £100,000 | £100,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £110,000 | £114,375 | £120,125 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £100,000 | £84,000 | £70,000 |
| % change year-on-year | +19.05% | +20.00% | -33.33% |
All Permanent IT Job Roles
UK
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job adverts matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all permanent IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 23 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent job adverts in the UK matching a recognised job title | 111,319 | 44,214 | 65,925 |
| % of permanent job adverts matching a recognised job title | 92.21% | 89.77% | 95.38% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 75,105 | 26,119 | 37,592 |
| 10th Percentile | £30,500 | £28,128 | £31,250 |
| 25th Percentile | £41,250 | £35,000 | £41,592 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £59,000 | £52,500 | £56,252 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +12.38% | -6.67% | -6.25% |
| 75th Percentile | £76,250 | £73,750 | £75,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £98,750 | £95,000 | £95,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £55,000 | £45,497 | £50,000 |
| % change year-on-year | +20.89% | -9.01% | -4.76% |
Principal Architect Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent Principal Architect job postings relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.
Principal Architect Salary Trend
Salary distribution trend for Principal Architect job vacancies in the UK.
Principal Architect Salary Histogram
Salary distribution for Principal Architect jobs over the 6 months to 23 October 2026.
Principal Architect Top 15 Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in Principal Architect jobs within the UK over the 6 months to 23 October 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.
| Location | Rank Change on Same Period Last Year |
Job Ads Past 6 Months |
Median Salary Past 6 Months |
Median Salary % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | -23 | 161 | £100,000 | +17.65% | 152 |
| UK excluding London | -72 | 102 | £100,000 | +19.05% | 66 |
| London | -17 | 75 | £100,000 | -6.98% | 81 |
| South West | -56 | 25 | £100,000 | - | 7 |
| Work from Home | -57 | 22 | £100,000 | +20.77% | 55 |
| North of England | -57 | 22 | £100,000 | +20.77% | 18 |
| Wales | -50 | 18 | £95,000 | +16.19% | 1 |
| South East | - | 18 | £100,000 | - | 11 |
| North West | -20 | 16 | £100,000 | +19.90% | 14 |
| Midlands | -61 | 12 | £100,000 | - | 12 |
| West Midlands | -41 | 7 | £100,000 | -14.09% | 8 |
| Yorkshire | -31 | 6 | £100,000 | +26.58% | 4 |
| Scotland | +7 | 5 | £100,000 | +22.30% | 6 |
| East Midlands | -40 | 5 | - | - | 4 |
| East of England | - | 2 | - | - | 10 |
Principal Architect Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 23 October 2026, Principal Architect job ads cited the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all permanent Principal Architect job ads.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Security Cleared | 25.0% | 51 |
| 2 | AWS | 18.6% | 38 |
| 3 | Roadmaps | 18.1% | 37 |
| 4 | Azure | 16.7% | 34 |
| 5 | SC Cleared | 14.7% | 30 |
| 6 | Analytics | 13.2% | 27 |
| 7 | AI | 12.7% | 26 |
| 8 | Cybersecurity | 12.3% | 25 |
| 9 | Security Architecture | 11.3% | 23 |
| 10 | Technical Leadership | 10.8% | 22 |
| 11 | DV Cleared | 9.8% | 20 |
| 12 | Business Strategy | 9.3% | 19 |
| 13 | Stakeholder Engagement | 8.8% | 18 |
| 14 | Decision-Making | 8.3% | 17 |
| 15 | Agile | 7.8% | 16 |
| 15 | GCP | 7.8% | 16 |
| 15 | Technology Transformation | 7.8% | 16 |
| 18 | Enterprise Architecture | 7.4% | 15 |
| 18 | SaaS | 7.4% | 15 |
| 20 | Coaching | 6.9% | 14 |
| 20 | Continuous Improvement | 6.9% | 14 |
| 20 | Customer Requirements | 6.9% | 14 |
| 20 | Microsoft | 6.9% | 14 |
| 24 | DevOps | 6.4% | 13 |
| 24 | Machine Learning | 6.4% | 13 |
| 26 | Mentoring | 5.9% | 12 |
| 26 | Technology Roadmap | 5.9% | 12 |
| 28 | Architecture Governance | 5.4% | 11 |
| 28 | CI/CD | 5.4% | 11 |
| 28 | Degree | 5.4% | 11 |
Principal Architect Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Job Titles
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Principal Enterprise Architect | 17.2% | 35 |
| 1 | Principal Solutions Architect | 17.2% | 35 |
| 3 | Principal Security Architect | 13.2% | 27 |
| 4 | Principal Data Architect | 10.8% | 22 |
| 5 | Senior Architect | 9.8% | 20 |
| 6 | Platform Architect | 8.8% | 18 |
| 7 | Principal Technical Architect | 7.4% | 15 |
| 8 | Software Architect | 6.9% | 14 |
| 9 | Enterprise Security Architect | 5.4% | 11 |
| 10 | AWS Architect | 4.9% | 10 |
| 11 | Cybersecurity Architect | 4.4% | 9 |
| 11 | Principal Engineer | 4.4% | 9 |
| 11 | ServiceNow Architect | 4.4% | 9 |
| 14 | Artificial Intelligence Architect | 3.4% | 7 |
| 14 | Cloud Architect | 3.4% | 7 |
| 16 | Information Architect | 2.9% | 6 |
| 16 | Principal Systems Engineer | 2.9% | 6 |
| 16 | Systems Architect | 2.9% | 6 |
| 19 | Principal Consultant | 2.5% | 5 |
| 19 | Principal Developer | 2.5% | 5 |