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Hiring a founding engineer or first GTM hire in London

Updated

London is Europe's top-ranked tech hub in Dealroom's 2026 index, and engineers there cost far less in cash than in San Francisco or New York: the median full-time software developer in London earned £75,296 in 2025. If you sponsor a visa, the salary has to clear the Skilled Worker rules, which for software roles means at least £54,700 in most cases.[1][2][3]

The London market

London tech companies raised $17.7 billion in 2025, and the city has 138 unicorns. Dealroom's Global Tech Ecosystem Index 2026 ranks it fourth in the world and first in Europe. Tech Nation puts London at 59% of the UK tech sector's total value.[1][4]

Pay

The ONS counts programmers and software development professionals in London at a median of £75,296 and a mean of £80,312 for full-time work in 2025. In the South East region around London, the median was £52,798, so hiring remote within the UK changes the budget a lot.[2]

Visas

  • Skilled Worker visa: the job must pay at least the higher of £41,700 a year or the going rate for the occupation, with lower rates in some cases.
  • Going rates: £54,700 for programmers and software development professionals, and £55,200 for sales accounts and business development managers.
  • Global Talent visa: for leaders or potential leaders in fields that include digital technology, for up to 5 years at a time.

Sources:[5][3][6]

Check the rules on GOV.UK before you make an offer; they change, and the right route depends on the person.

Hiring for a US company from London

If you are a US startup hiring in London, agree early on time zones, on whether you will employ them through a UK entity or an employer of record, and on how their equity works under UK tax.

If you are hiring a founding engineer or a first GTM hire, tell us about the role and we will say plainly whether we can fill it.

Sources

  1. Reuters, via WHBL, London reclaims top European tech spot from Paris, Dealroom says, 27 May 2026. Read 25 October 2026.
  2. Office for National Statistics, ASHE Table 15: region by occupation (SOC 2020), annual pay, full-time, 2025 provisional, 23 October 2025. Read 25 October 2026.
  3. GOV.UK, Skilled Worker visa: going rates for eligible occupation codes, updated 22 July 2025. Read 25 October 2026.
  4. Tech Nation, The Tech Nation Report 2025, 2025. Read 25 October 2026.
  5. GOV.UK, Skilled Worker visa: your job. Read 25 October 2026.
  6. GOV.UK, Global Talent visa. Read 25 October 2026.

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