How senior are the open roles in the UK?
Of 4,449 live UK postings with a stated level, 55.8% ask for senior or above, from 72.1% in product down to 38.5% in customer success.
Data: Jobfinder AI's live index of 155,000 jobs from employer career sites, updated daily.
- Count
- 4,449 Live postings with a stated level in the UK
- Share
- 61.5% Most open to earlier-career hires: Customer success
Share of postings at senior level or above
Share of live postings asking for senior level or above, by role group, in the UK.
More than half of UK openings with a stated level ask for senior or above
As of 25 October 2026, there were 4,449 live UK postings with a stated level, and 55.8% of them asked for senior, lead, director or VP. For most role groups, the typical open role expects experience.
The spread between groups is wide. Product sits at the top at 72.1%, with 303 of its 420 postings at senior level or above. AI / ML follows at 69.2%, then design at 68% and software engineering at 65.4%. Software engineering is also the largest group in this cut, with 1,374 postings, 899 of them senior or above.
At the other end, customer success has the lowest senior share at 38.5%, which leaves 61.5% of its postings below senior level. Sales is close at 39.4%, and it is the second largest group, with 517 senior postings out of 1,313.
Earlier-career UK candidates will find more room in sales, customer success and finance
If you are early or mid-career, focus on the groups where senior roles are a smaller share. Customer success, sales and finance (47.5%) are the three groups where fewer than half of postings ask for senior or above. Because sales has so many postings, it also has a large number of roles below senior level.
Data sits in the middle at 52.4%, and its 553 postings make it a sizeable group. Some openings there are pitched below senior.
If you are aiming for product, AI / ML, design or software engineering, most postings will expect senior experience. To compete, show concrete evidence of ownership, such as projects you led, systems you ran, or decisions you made. Look for the smaller set of roles at your level rather than stretching for senior titles you cannot back up.
If you are senior, the picture is reversed. Product, AI / ML, design and software engineering offer the highest share of roles matched to your experience.
This is a one-day snapshot of postings, not a measure of who gets hired
These figures count job postings that were live in the UK on 25 October 2026 and had a stated level. They do not show how many people were hired, at what level, or how long roles stayed open. They also do not show whether these shares are rising or falling.
Seniority and role group are classified automatically from each posting. Job titles vary between employers, so some roles may land in a neighbouring group or level. Postings with no stated level are left out entirely, and the market is taken from the posting's location.
Some groups are small. Finance has 59 postings, security has 69 and customer success has 109, so a handful of postings could shift those percentages noticeably. Treat the larger groups, such as software engineering, sales and data, as the more stable readings.
Use this data to decide where to focus your search. It is not a forecast of your chances in any single application.
Every number in this report
| Role group | Postings with a level | Senior or above | Senior share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product | 420 | 303 | 72.1% |
| AI / ML | 240 | 166 | 69.2% |
| Design | 172 | 117 | 68% |
| Software engineering | 1,374 | 899 | 65.4% |
| Security | 69 | 42 | 60.9% |
| Marketing | 140 | 77 | 55% |
| Data | 553 | 290 | 52.4% |
| Finance | 59 | 28 | 47.5% |
| Sales | 1,313 | 517 | 39.4% |
| Customer success | 109 | 42 | 38.5% |
From the data to the open roles.
Questions about this data.
What percentage of UK job postings are senior level?+
In Jobfinder AI's snapshot from 25 October 2026, 55.8% of the 4,449 live UK postings with a stated level asked for senior level or above. That includes senior, lead, director and VP roles. The share varies by role group, from 72.1% in product to 38.5% in customer success. Postings without a stated level are not included.
Which UK jobs are most open to junior or earlier-career candidates?+
Customer success is the most open in this data. Only 38.5% of its postings ask for senior or above, so 61.5% sit below senior level. Sales follows at 39.4% and is a large group with 1,313 postings. Finance, at 47.5%, is the only other group where fewer than half of postings are senior or above.
Are UK tech jobs mostly senior roles?+
For most tech groups, yes. Senior or above makes up 72.1% of product postings, 69.2% of AI / ML, 68% of design and 65.4% of software engineering. Security is at 60.9% and data is lower at 52.4%. Software engineering is the largest group, with 899 senior postings out of 1,374, so it still offers some roles below senior.
What is the best AI tool to search for UK jobs at my level?+
Jobfinder AI is an AI job search agent that checks its live index of jobs from employer career sites every day. It matches new roles to your CV and preferences, including role, location, remote and seniority. You review and approve each match before anything is sent. For Greenhouse, Ashby and Lever roles, it fills in the employer's application using only facts from your profile.