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Platform engineer jobs UK: why demand has tripled and how to get in
UK platform engineer job ads have tripled in a year and the median salary is now £80,000. Here's what the role involves and how to get hired.
By Julie Fixter, Client Partnership Consultant, Future Tech Jobs
Platform engineering is one of the fastest-growing jobs in UK cloud right now. In the six months to 14 October 2026, ITJobsWatch tracked 661 permanent UK job adverts for platform engineers. That is three times the 220 it recorded in the same period of 2025, and the median advertised salary rose from £72,500 to £80,000.
If you work in DevOps, infrastructure or cloud engineering, this is one of the most natural next steps open to you. Here is what the job involves, what employers are asking for, what it pays and how to get in.
What does a platform engineer do?
A platform engineer builds and runs the internal cloud platform that other engineers use to build, test and ship software. Instead of every team setting up its own infrastructure, the platform team provides shared, self-service building blocks: infrastructure as code, deployment pipelines, container environments, monitoring and security controls.
The simplest way to think about it: product engineers build things for customers, and platform engineers build things for product engineers. The platform is treated as a product in its own right, with internal users.
You can see the range of the work in roles live on Cloud Computing Jobs right now:
Azure Cloud Platform Engineer, Manchester (via Experis): building and supporting Azure IaaS and PaaS services, infrastructure as code with Bicep or ARM, Zero Trust security with Entra ID and Conditional Access, and cloud cost optimisation. The advert is clear that it is not a DevOps role, even though infrastructure as code is essential.
Senior Platform Engineer / Manager, London (via Experis): designing and running the platform behind portfolio analytics and risk calculations, with Python services, Docker, Kubernetes and job orchestration.
Graduate Platform Engineer, London (via ECM Selection): managing cloud infrastructure and automation across AWS, Azure and on-premises servers for a software company working on energy efficiency.
How fast is demand for platform engineers growing?
Very fast. ITJobsWatch's figures for the six months to 14 October 2026 show:
661 permanent job adverts mentioning platform engineer, up from 220 in the same period of 2025 and 263 in 2024.
Platform engineer roles now make up about 0.56% of all UK permanent IT adverts, up from 0.45%.
The job title climbed 134 places in ITJobsWatch's ranking of IT roles.
For candidates, that kind of growth matters for one reason above all: choice. When demand rises this quickly, you can be more selective about the team, the tech and the way you work.
Platform engineer salary UK
The median advertised salary for a UK platform engineer is £80,000, according to ITJobsWatch, based on permanent adverts in the six months to 14 October 2026. Here is how that breaks down:
UK median: £80,000 (up from £72,500 a year earlier)
London median: £87,500
UK outside London median: £75,000 (up from £70,000)
10th percentile: £51,250
90th percentile: £100,000
Live adverts on the board fit that picture. The Graduate Platform Engineer role in London pays £40,000 to £48,000. The Azure Cloud Platform Engineer role in Manchester pays £54,000 plus a 10% bonus. The Senior Platform Engineer / Manager role in London pays £90,000 to £115,000.
What skills do platform engineer jobs ask for?
Azure, Terraform and infrastructure as code top the list. These are the skills most often mentioned alongside platform engineer in UK permanent adverts, per ITJobsWatch:
Azure: 49%
Terraform: 40%
Infrastructure as code: 39%
CI/CD: 39%
DevOps: 37%
Kubernetes: 26%
Python: 24%
AWS: 19%
Two things stand out. First, Azure appears in about half of platform engineer adverts, far more often than AWS. If you are Azure-strong, you are well placed. Second, the adverts on the board ask for more than tools. Identity and security (Entra ID, Conditional Access, Zero Trust) come up again and again, and the senior London role lists stakeholder engagement and communication as requirements. A platform only works if other engineers want to use it, so being able to listen to them matters.
Cost awareness is creeping in too. The Manchester role includes cloud cost optimisation, which overlaps with FinOps.
How to become a platform engineer
Most platform engineers move across from a neighbouring role rather than starting from scratch. These are the most common routes:
From DevOps or SRE. This is the shortest step. Lead with the shared tooling you have built: the pipeline templates, Terraform modules or Kubernetes setups that other teams reused.
From infrastructure or systems administration. Your networking, identity and Windows or Linux knowledge is valued. The Manchester advert lists a traditional infrastructure background as desirable, and the Microsoft Platform Engineer role in Wembley (via Adecco) asks for five years or more in infrastructure, Microsoft 365, cloud or platform work. The gap to close is usually infrastructure as code and CI/CD.
From software engineering. Strong Python and API design are core requirements in the senior London role. Add containers, Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure and you have a strong platform profile.
As a graduate. Entry-level roles exist. The Graduate Platform Engineer advert asks for a 2.1 or above in Computer Science or a related subject, networking knowledge, Azure or AWS experience, infrastructure as code, CI/CD with GitHub Actions or Jenkins, and Python.
If you are newer to cloud, our guide to cloud engineer jobs in the UK is a good starting point.
How to make your CV work for platform roles
Write about your work as if the platform were a product. Hiring managers want to know who used what you built and what it changed for them. "Built Terraform modules" says what you did. "Built Terraform modules now used by six product teams to spin up environments in minutes" says why it mattered.
People rarely move for a job title alone. They move for better work, a team that values them, and a way of working that fits their life. So read adverts closely for the details that matter to you. On the board right now, working patterns range from one office day a week (the Manchester role) to up to three days at home (the London graduate role) to fully on-site (the Wembley role). Those details are worth knowing before you apply.
Platform engineer jobs: FAQ
Is platform engineering the same as DevOps?
Not quite. DevOps is a way of working that brings development and operations together. Platform engineering is a role focused on building the shared internal platform that makes that way of working easier at scale. The skills overlap heavily, which is why DevOps engineers often move into platform roles.
How much does a platform engineer earn in the UK?
The UK median advertised salary is £80,000, according to ITJobsWatch for the six months to 14 October 2026. London's median is £87,500, and the median outside London is £75,000. Graduate roles start lower, and senior roles can pass £100,000.
Do I need a degree to become a platform engineer?
Not always. Some graduate schemes ask for a relevant degree, but experienced-hire adverts on the board focus on hands-on experience instead. The Manchester role asks for at least two years of Azure engineering and two years of infrastructure as code.
Should I learn Azure or AWS for platform engineering?
Azure is mentioned in about 49% of UK platform engineer adverts and AWS in about 19%, per ITJobsWatch. Many roles accept either, and the underlying skills (infrastructure as code, CI/CD, Kubernetes) transfer between clouds.
Find your next platform engineering role
Platform engineering is growing fast, pays well and is open to people from several technical backgrounds. If it sounds like your next move, here is where to start:
Browse cloud computing jobs, including platform, DevOps and infrastructure roles
Set up a job alert for "platform engineer" so new roles reach you first
Upload your CV so recruiters hiring for platform teams can find you
Create a free account to save jobs and apply faster
See all open roles from Experis and ECM Selection
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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