18 Companies Paying £100k+ to Software Engineers in the UK (2026)
Jane Street London pays new grads £200K+. Google L5 hits £180K–£220K TC. DeepMind senior £200K–£400K+, Revolut £90K–£130K, Bloomberg £145K–£250K. 18 UK companies paying £100k+ in 2026.
The UK software engineer salary distribution is bimodal: most of the country's engineers earn £60K–£90K at mid/senior levels, but a specific cluster of London HFT firms, US big-tech offices, and AI labs push the top of the distribution to £180K–£600K+ TC. This shortlist covers the 18 companies that consistently pay £100k+ to software engineers in the UK in 2026.
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The Shortlist
| # | Company | Location | Senior TC | £100k+ from level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jane Street | London | £280K–£600K+ | New grad |
| 2 | Citadel / Citadel Securities | London | £200K–£500K | Mid |
| 3 | Two Sigma | London | £200K–£400K | Mid |
| 4 | HRT (Hudson River Trading) | London | £200K–£400K | Mid |
| 5 | G-Research | London | £180K–£300K | Mid |
| 6 | DeepMind | London | £200K–£400K | Senior |
| 7 | London | £180K–£260K | L4 | |
| 8 | Meta | London | £170K–£270K | E5 |
| 9 | Stripe | London | £170K–£280K | L3 |
| 10 | Bloomberg | London | £145K–£250K | Senior |
| 11 | Palantir | London | £150K–£240K | Senior |
| 12 | Databricks | London | £160K–£260K | L3 |
| 13 | Snowflake | London | £150K–£240K | IC3 |
| 14 | Amazon / AWS | London | £120K–£210K | SDE II |
| 15 | Apple | London | £130K–£200K | ICT4 |
| 16 | Revolut | London | £90K–£160K | Senior |
| 17 | ByteDance / TikTok | London | £150K–£280K | Senior |
| 18 | Monzo | London | £90K–£150K | Senior |
1. Jane Street (London) — £280K–£600K+
Jane Street is the single highest-paying software engineering employer in Europe. Their London office hosts trading, infrastructure, and research engineering.
- New grad: £200K+ (base + guaranteed first-year bonus)
- Mid-level (2–4 years): £280K–£400K TC
- Senior (5+ years): £400K–£600K+ TC
- Staff/principal: £700K+ TC
Base + discretionary bonus (no equity). Bonus can be multiples of base in strong years. Hires ~30–60 SWE/year in London via highly selective interview process. OCaml is the primary language.
2. Citadel / Citadel Securities (London) — £200K–£500K
Citadel (hedge fund) and Citadel Securities (market maker) are distinct entities; both have London engineering:
- Mid SWE: £150K–£220K TC
- Senior SWE: £220K–£350K TC
- Staff SWE: £350K–£500K+ TC
Base + bonus heavy, with some deferred stock. Strong focus on C++ systems, low-latency trading, and quant infrastructure.
3. Two Sigma (London) — £200K–£400K
Quant hedge fund with a large London engineering office:
- Mid: £150K–£200K TC
- Senior: £220K–£320K TC
- Staff: £320K–£400K+ TC
Python + Scala-heavy. Focus on ML infrastructure and data engineering.
4. HRT (Hudson River Trading) (London) — £200K–£400K
HFT firm with growing London presence:
- Mid: £170K–£230K TC
- Senior: £260K–£350K TC
C++ and systems engineering heavy. Highly selective interview.
5. G-Research (London) — £180K–£300K
London-based quant research firm:
- Mid SWE: £130K–£170K TC
- Senior SWE: £180K–£260K TC
- Principal: £260K–£350K TC
.NET and Python stack. Strong focus on quant research infrastructure.
6. DeepMind (London) — £200K–£400K
Google's AI research lab, headquartered in London:
- Research engineer (mid): £150K–£220K TC
- Senior research engineer: £220K–£350K TC
- Staff research engineer: £350K–£500K+ TC
Heavy equity component (Google RSUs). Focus on ML research infrastructure, scientific computing, and reinforcement learning systems.
7. Google (London) — £180K–£260K
Google's London engineering office covers Ads, Android, YouTube, Cloud, and DeepMind-adjacent teams:
- L3: £110K–£140K TC
- L4 (mid): £145K–£190K TC
- L5 (senior): £180K–£260K TC
- L6 (staff): £260K–£400K TC
Strong RSU component from L4 upward.
8. Meta (London) — £170K–£270K
Meta London hosts Reality Labs (AR/VR), WhatsApp, and Ads engineering:
- E4 (senior): £160K–£210K TC
- E5: £220K–£290K TC
- E6 (staff): £300K–£400K+ TC
Similar RSU-heavy structure to Google. Large London hiring volume.
9. Stripe (London) — £170K–£280K
Stripe's London office is one of three major EU engineering hubs:
- L2 (entry): £120K–£160K TC
- L3 (senior): £180K–£250K TC
- L4 (staff): £260K–£350K TC
High base + meaningful equity (pre-IPO).
10. Bloomberg (London) — £145K–£250K
Bloomberg's London engineering office is massive — one of its biggest outside New York:
- SWE: £85K–£115K TC
- Senior SWE: £125K–£165K TC
- Staff/Principal SWE: £170K–£250K+ TC
Bonus-heavy (no equity — privately held). Bonus pools can be very large in strong years.
11. Palantir (London) — £150K–£240K
Palantir's London engineering office is growing:
- Mid engineer: £120K–£160K TC
- Senior engineer: £170K–£240K TC
- Staff engineer: £240K–£350K+ TC
Public stock (PLTR). Forward-deployed engineer and platform engineer roles dominate.
12. Databricks (London) — £160K–£260K
Databricks London is growing quickly, part of the EU expansion:
- L3 (mid): £120K–£160K TC
- L4 (senior): £170K–£240K TC
- L5 (staff): £250K–£330K TC
Pre-IPO equity component. Focus on data platform + ML infrastructure.
13. Snowflake (London) — £150K–£240K
Snowflake London office:
- IC3 (SWE): £115K–£145K TC
- IC4 (senior): £155K–£210K TC
- IC5 (staff): £220K–£280K TC
Public stock (SNOW). Database internals and distributed systems focus.
14. Amazon / AWS (London) — £120K–£210K
Amazon London hosts retail, AWS, Alexa, and devices engineering:
- SDE I: £75K–£100K TC
- SDE II (senior): £120K–£170K TC
- SDE III (staff): £170K–£240K TC
- Principal SDE: £280K–£400K TC
Broad hiring across all levels. Strong equity component from SDE II upward.
15. Apple (London) — £130K–£200K
Apple London is smaller than Google/Meta/Amazon but pays well:
- ICT3: £95K–£125K TC
- ICT4 (senior): £135K–£180K TC
- ICT5 (staff): £185K–£260K TC
Strong base weighting; RSUs slower-growing than at Meta.
16. Revolut (London) — £90K–£160K
European fintech unicorn, London-HQ:
- Mid engineer: £70K–£95K TC
- Senior engineer: £100K–£140K TC
- Staff engineer: £140K–£200K TC
Equity in pre-IPO options (Revolut remains private despite IPO speculation). Fast-moving environment.
17. ByteDance / TikTok (London) — £150K–£280K
ByteDance's London office focuses on AI research and engineering:
- SWE (mid): £110K–£150K TC
- Senior SWE: £160K–£220K TC
- Staff SWE: £220K–£320K TC
Strong RSU grants (ByteDance private, but structured RSU program). Heavy AI/ML hiring.
18. Monzo (London) — £90K–£150K
Challenger bank, London-HQ:
- Mid engineer: £75K–£100K TC
- Senior engineer: £105K–£140K TC
- Staff engineer: £150K–£200K TC
Pre-IPO equity (Monzo IPO expected 2026–2027). Go/Python stack.
Net Take-Home Reality Check
At senior £200K TC in London, net pay is approximately £119K/year. After central London rent (~£25K–£32K for a 1-bed), groceries, and basic living, savings are roughly £40K–£55K/year.
At Jane Street senior (£400K+ TC), net is approximately £220K+, and savings after London costs clear £150K–£180K/year — one of the highest savings profiles of any role in Europe.
For broader European savings comparisons, see highest savings cities for software engineers in Europe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which company pays software engineers the most in the UK?
Jane Street London — new grads get £200K+, mid-career £280K–£400K, senior £400K–£600K+ TC. Citadel, HRT, and Two Sigma (London HFT) are the next tier at £200K–£500K senior. Outside HFT: DeepMind, Google, Meta, and Stripe London all clear £200K+ at senior+.
What level do I need to hit £100K TC in the UK?
At Jane Street, £100K+ starts at new-grad level. At Google, Meta, Stripe, Bloomberg, Databricks, and Palantir, £100K+ typically comes from L4/mid-level. At Revolut, Monzo, and most traditional UK tech, senior level is the threshold.
Do these companies sponsor UK Skilled Worker visas?
All 18 do. Sponsorship licences are standard at every name on this list. Processing is typically 3–8 weeks (5 working days with Priority Service). See UK visa sponsorship for the full process.
Which of these companies is best for AI/ML engineers?
DeepMind (core AI research + RL infrastructure), Google London (Gemini, Cloud AI), Meta London (Reality Labs, GenAI), ByteDance / TikTok (recommendation + foundation models), Stripe (fraud detection ML). All are net-hiring ML engineers in London through 2026.
Is London the only place to work at these companies?
Mostly, yes. 17 of 18 on this list are London-primary. Amazon has Cambridge and Edinburgh engineering; DeepMind has Google satellite offices in other UK cities; a few companies (Atlassian, Snowflake) offer UK-wide remote, but London-based roles still dominate.
How much do engineers save at senior £200K TC in London?
Roughly £40K–£55K/year net after London costs (central 1-bed rent ~£2,200/month, groceries, and basic living). At Jane Street senior (£400K+ TC), savings scale to £150K–£180K/year — one of the highest absolute savings profiles in Europe.
Related reading: Software Engineer Salary in the UK (2026) → · Visa Sponsorship in the UK (2026) → · 26 Companies Paying €100k+ Across Europe (3-part series) →