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The differences between lead quality engineers and senior quality assurance engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a lead quality engineer and a senior quality assurance engineer. Additionally, a senior quality assurance engineer has an average salary of $106,802, which is higher than the $104,296 average annual salary of a lead quality engineer.
The top three skills for a lead quality engineer include java, corrective action and continuous improvement. The most important skills for a senior quality assurance engineer are QA, java, and python.
| Lead Quality Engineer | Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $104,296 | $106,802 |
| Hourly rate | $50.14 | $51.35 |
| Growth rate | 10% | - |
| Number of jobs | 81,952 | 254,258 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Lead quality engineers are engineering professionals who manage a team of quality assurance professionals that ensure the overall quality of manufactured products. These engineers must create comprehensive test plans and test cases to ensure that the finished products have met the client requirements. They have to develop and implement quality standards and procedures while developing internal corrective actions after performing the internal processes audits. Lead quality engineers must also provide new product quality training to members of the quality control and production team.
A senior quality assurance engineer oversees the testing procedures conducted in software development, ensuring technical accuracy and efficiency. They are primarily responsible for working alongside software designers and quality engineers, reviewing quality control reports, inspecting specifications, and devising particular test procedures. Moreover, it is also essential to troubleshoot issues and identify any inconsistencies or bugs. As someone with more experience in the team, they must supervise and serve as a mentor to the younger quality assurance engineers in the joint effort to develop efficient software.
Lead quality engineers and senior quality assurance engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Quality Engineer | Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Average salary | $104,296 | $106,802 |
| Salary range | Between $80,000 And $135,000 | Between $82,000 And $138,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a lead quality engineer and a senior quality assurance engineer in terms of educational background:
| Lead Quality Engineer | Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between lead quality engineers' and senior quality assurance engineers' demographics:
| Lead Quality Engineer | Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 76.6% Female, 23.4% | Male, 68.0% Female, 32.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 15.2% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 11% |