Associate director, quality assurance vs quality assurance director

The differences between associate directors, quality assurance and quality assurance directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an associate director, quality assurance and a quality assurance director. Additionally, a quality assurance director has an average salary of $140,937, which is higher than the $131,112 average annual salary of an associate director, quality assurance.

The top three skills for an associate director, quality assurance include qa management, FDA and GMP. The most important skills for a quality assurance director are continuous improvement, quality standards, and oversight.

Associate director, quality assurance vs quality assurance director overview

	Associate Director, Quality Assurance	Quality Assurance Director
Yearly salary	$131,112	$140,937
Hourly rate	$63.03	$67.76
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	67,521	66,888
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	6	6

What does an associate director, quality assurance do?

Quality analysts act as problem solvers and testers of products or services in the production phase. They are responsible for the development and support of testing, process planning, design, and execution. These professionals need to have skills such as good communication skills, logic and reasoning, information technology skills, and a creative mindset. They should also be equipped with knowledge about the testing techniques. A computer science bachelor's degree or any of its associated fields is necessary to become a quality analyst.

What does a quality assurance director do?

The job of a quality assurance (QA) director is to oversee all QA functions across the company. Your duties typically include working closely with other department heads to deliver high-quality products on time, hiring managers and analysts, and establishing and maintaining a quality system to make sure that company guidelines and regulatory standards are met. Additionally, you will be responsible for ensuring quality by monitoring, appraising job results, and planning. You are also expected to maintain technical and professional knowledge by reviewing professional publications, participating in professional associations, and attending workshops.

Associate director, quality assurance vs quality assurance director salary

Associate directors, quality assurance and quality assurance directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Associate Director, Quality Assurance	Quality Assurance Director
Average salary	$131,112	$140,937
Salary range	Between $93,000 And $183,000	Between $97,000 And $203,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Corcept Therapeutics	Upstart Network
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Professional

Differences between associate director, quality assurance and quality assurance director education

There are a few differences between an associate director, quality assurance and a quality assurance director in terms of educational background:

	Associate Director, Quality Assurance	Quality Assurance Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Biology	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Associate director, quality assurance vs quality assurance director demographics

Here are the differences between associate directors, quality assurance' and quality assurance directors' demographics:

	Associate Director, Quality Assurance	Quality Assurance Director
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 59.8% Female, 40.2%	Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 9.1% White, 69.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.0% Asian, 9.1% White, 69.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between associate director, quality assurance and quality assurance director duties and responsibilities

Associate director, quality assurance example responsibilities.

Create and manage worldwide GCP, GMP, and GLP audit program.
Manage and report quality data metrics including audits, investigations, CAPA, for management review meetings and steering committee meetings.
Manage large scale automation platform to perform regression and functional verification.
Manage initial USDA regulatory visits, working collaboratively with USDA inspectors leading audit preparation and follow-up activities and reports.
Authore SVMP and SMF for MHRA (EU) certification.
Train company on QSR, cGMP, and ISO regulations.

Quality assurance director example responsibilities.

Manage the USDA inspection process including coordinating daily production and communicating with federal personnel.
Manage initial USDA regulatory visits, working collaboratively with USDA inspectors leading audit preparation and follow-up activities and reports.
Direct and coordinate quality and regulatory affairs activities to support new product development, improving GMP compliance.
Provide GxP support and oversight for all Genocea development programs.
Set and execute vision for QRM consistent with corporate objectives and ICH Q9.
Develop and update metrics within the QMS to provide meaningful feedback to stakeholders.

Associate director, quality assurance vs quality assurance director skills

Common associate director, quality assurance skills

Qa Management, 8%
FDA, 6%
GMP, 6%
GCP, 5%
ICH, 4%
CAPA, 4%

Common quality assurance director skills

Continuous Improvement, 8%
Quality Standards, 7%
Oversight, 5%
Test Automation, 5%
Scrum, 4%
FDA, 4%

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Associate Director, Quality Assurance
Associate Director, Quality Assurance vs Quality Assurance Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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