London Data & Analytics: Python, SQL, AI Lead 1,468 Roles -- December 2025

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Among tracked employers, London's data hiring in December 2025 recorded 1,468 roles across 878 companies. Professional Services led at 18% of tracked postings, while AI and Machine Learning grew +3.0pp to 11%. Remote work led working arrangements at 53% of direct employer postings, with an overall flexibility rate of 86%.

This report analyzes 1,468 Data & Analytics job postings from 878+ companies tracked via direct employer career pages and job board aggregators. Our coverage skews toward tech-forward and scaling companies; large enterprises using enterprise hiring platforms may be underrepresented. Coverage varies by section and is noted throughout.

Key Takeaways for Job Seekers

1.0Build AI fluency alongside core data skills AI appears in 15% of tracked roles as a skill requirement, and AI and Machine Learning is the fastest-growing industry segment (+3.0pp). Pairing Python (35%) and SQL (33%) with AI/ML capabilities positions candidates for the growing overlap between data engineering and AI.

1.1Target ML Engineer and Data Engineer roles These two subfamilies each account for 22% of tracked roles, together representing 44% of all demand. Data Engineer grew +4.5pp from November, suggesting sustained investment in data infrastructure.

1.2Leverage London's remote-first patterns Among direct employer postings, 53% offer fully remote work and 86% offer some form of flexibility. Candidates willing to work remotely have access to the majority of tracked opportunities.

1.3Consider professional services employers Professional Services leads industry hiring at 18% of tracked roles. The UK consulting market is projected to grow 5% in 2025, rebounding from a 3.4% contraction in 2024 (Statista, 2025), with data skills in high demand.

1.4Invest in PyTorch and modern ML tooling PyTorch appears in 7% of tracked roles, while LLMs appear in 6%. For candidates targeting ML Engineer roles (22% of demand), these skills complement the Python foundation that appears in 35% of all postings.

Skills Demand

67% of roles with skills data

Low

High

Skills insight: Python (35%) and SQL (33%) remain the core skill pair, co-occurring in 18% of tracked roles with skills data. AI (15%) and Machine Learning (13%) are the next most common, reflecting the growing integration of AI across data functions. AWS leads cloud platforms at 11%, followed by Azure (8%) and GCP (6%). The modern data stack is represented with dbt (8%), Snowflake (7%), and Airflow (6%). PyTorch at 7% and LLMs at 6% indicate growing demand for deep learning and generative AI capabilities.

Seniority Distribution

Junior: 0-2 years | Mid-Level: 3-5 years | Senior: 6-10 years | Staff/Principal: 11+ years (IC track) | Director+: Management track

Low

High

vs November 2025

Biggest Gainer

Senior

+3.5pp

Biggest Decline

Director+

-4.1pp

Senior-to-Junior Ratio

8:1

Senior+ roles per Junior role

Entry Accessibility Rate

28%

Junior + Mid-Level roles combined

Senior roles account for 55% of tracked postings, up +3.5pp from November. Director+ roles saw the largest decline at -4.1pp, dropping to 7%. The 8:1 senior-to-junior ratio positions London as more accessible than the US markets tracked. Entry accessibility at 28% (junior 9% + mid-level 19%) is the highest among tracked cities, providing a moderate pipeline for early-career candidates.

Working Arrangement

Onsite: office full-time | Hybrid: mix of office and remote | Remote: work from anywhere | Flexible: employee chooses arrangement

93% of direct employer postings with known working arrangement

53%Remote

Remote53%

Hybrid21%

Onsite14%

Flexible12%

Among 349 direct employer postings with classified working arrangements, remote leads at 53%, followed by hybrid at 21%, onsite at 14%, and flexible at 12%. The combined flexibility rate of 86% positions London's tracked data market among the more flexible of tracked cities. However, 30% of UK companies plan to require five-day office attendance by 2026 (Fair Play Talks, October 2025), which may shift this balance. Currently, over 40% of UK workers spend at least part of their week working remotely (IT Desk UK, 2025).

Role Specialization

Low

High

vs November 2025

Biggest Gainer

Data Engineer

+4.5pp

Biggest Decline

Data Architect

-6.4pp

ML Engineer and Data Engineer each account for 22% of tracked roles, together representing 44% of all demand. Data Analyst follows at 18% and Data Scientist at 16%. Data Engineer grew +4.5pp month-over-month, the largest role share increase, likely reflecting continued investment in data infrastructure. Data Architect declined -6.4pp to 6%, which may indicate seasonal slowing in governance-focused hiring.

IC vs Management Track

92%IC

Individual Contributor92%

Management8%

Individual contributor roles account for 92% of tracked postings, with management at 8%. This IC-heavy split is typical of data and analytics functions where technical execution remains the primary hiring need. The 8% management share is slightly below the 10% average across tracked cities.

Compensation

Compensation data excluded due to low disclosure rates in markets without pay transparency legislation.

Market Context

1.AI Is the Most Scarce Tech Skill in the UK AI has become the most in-demand and hardest-to-fill technology skill in the UK, with top candidates often receiving multiple offers (Harvey Nash, 2025). This is consistent with AI and Machine Learning growing +3.0pp to 11% of tracked industry postings, and AI appearing as a skill requirement in 15% of roles.

2.UK Consulting Market Rebounding The UK consulting market is projected to grow 5% in 2025, rebounding from a 3.4% contraction in 2024. AI advisory is the primary growth driver, with 67% of firms identifying it as their biggest growth area (Statista, 2025). This may explain Professional Services leading London's tracked data postings at 18%.

3.Return-to-Office Pressure Building 30% of UK companies plan to require five-day office attendance by 2026, up from 28% in 2025. Over two-fifths of businesses have increased onsite requirements in the past year (Fair Play Talks, October 2025). London's 53% remote rate among tracked direct employer postings may face pressure from this trend.

4.Tech Hiring Set to Rebound Despite Broader Weakness Over half of UK businesses plan to expand their IT and tech teams in early 2026, even as the broader job market shows caution. 46% of hiring managers plan permanent tech hires, with particular demand for AI implementation and data roles (City AM, December 2025).

5.Data Role Salaries Rising Mean salaries for data roles in the UK rose 8% year-on-year to an average of 41,514 GBP in 2025. Jobs requiring data and analytics skills have grown 20% in the past 12 months and 82% over five years (Learning People, 2025), consistent with the 1,468 tracked roles in London's December data.

Methodology

This report analyzes direct employer job postings for Data & Analytics roles in London during December 2025.

Data collection:

1.Over 1,400 roles from 878+ employers aggregated from multiple sources
2.Recruitment agency postings identified and excluded (4% of raw data)
3.Jobs deduplicated across sources to avoid double-counting

Classification:

1.Roles classified using an LLM-powered taxonomy
2.Subfamily, seniority, skills, and working arrangement extracted
3.Employer metadata enriched from company databases where available

Limitations:

1.Not a complete census of the market - some roles may not be captured
2.Skills analysis based on 982 roles with skill data (67% coverage)
3.Salary data not included due to low disclosure rates
4.Working arrangement based on 349 direct employer postings (Adzuna excluded)

Data coverage:

80%

Seniority coverage

Roles with seniority level classified

93%

Arrangement coverage

Roles with working arrangement known

67%

Skills coverage

Roles with skills extracted from description

60%

Employer metadata

Roles with enriched company data

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