Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Job outlook for lead quality engineers in the United States
Lead quality engineer job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected lead quality engineer job growth rate is 10% from 2018-2028.
About 30,600 new jobs for lead quality engineers are projected over the next decade.
Lead quality engineer salaries have increased 6% for lead quality engineers in the last 5 years.
There are over 82,756 lead quality engineers currently employed in the United States.
There are 81,952 active lead quality engineer job openings in the US.
The average lead quality engineer salary is $104,296.
Are lead quality engineer jobs in demand?
Lead quality engineer job and salary trends over time
Lead quality engineer jobs over time
Lead quality engineer job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 82,756 | 0.02% |
| 2020 | 81,259 | 0.02% |
| 2019 | 81,910 | 0.02% |
| 2018 | 78,635 | 0.02% |
| 2017 | 74,659 | 0.02% |
Average lead quality engineer salary over time
Lead quality engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $104,296 | $50.14 | +1.1% |
| 2024 | $103,206 | $49.62 | +1.1% |
| 2023 | $102,056 | $49.07 | +1.4% |
| 2022 | $100,696 | $48.41 | +1.9% |
| 2021 | $98,855 | $47.53 | +1.0% |
Lead quality engineer jobs by state
Most common states for lead quality engineers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 379 | 55% |
| 2 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 404 | 30% |
| 3 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 541 | 28% |
| 4 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,752 | 26% |
| 5 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 438 | 26% |
| 6 | Delaware | 961,939 | 253 | 26% |
| 7 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 262 | 25% |
| 8 | Alaska | 739,795 | 188 | 25% |
| 9 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 991 | 24% |
| 10 | Michigan | 9,962,311 | 2,292 | 23% |
| 11 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,288 | 23% |
| 12 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 725 | 23% |
| 13 | California | 39,536,653 | 8,872 | 22% |
| 14 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,885 | 22% |
| 15 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,626 | 22% |
| 16 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 654 | 22% |
| 17 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 189 | 22% |
| 18 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 1,264 | 21% |
| 19 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 226 | 21% |
| 20 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 423 | 20% |
Most common cities for lead quality engineers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle River | 2 | 8% | $110,948 |
| 2 | Lexington | 1 | 3% | $114,604 |
| 3 | Chesterfield | 1 | 2% | $93,550 |
| 4 | East Hartford | 1 | 2% | $108,553 |
| 5 | Bloomington | 1 | 1% | $87,418 |
| 6 | Fort Lauderdale | 1 | 1% | $103,093 |
| 7 | Framingham | 1 | 1% | $114,621 |
| 8 | Lynn | 1 | 1% | $114,636 |
| 9 | Sunnyvale | 1 | 1% | $138,688 |
| 10 | Denver | 1 | 0% | $105,623 |
| 11 | Los Angeles | 1 | 0% | $124,420 |
| 12 | Washington | 1 | 0% | $101,117 |
Lead Quality Engineer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of lead quality engineer experts
San Jose State University
Seattle University
University of Minnesota - Duluth
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Weber State University
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Duke University
Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology - Okmulgee
North Carolina State University
North Dakota State University
What general advice would you give to a Lead Quality Engineer?
Tzuyang Yu Ph.D.: Employee must add value to the company by improving efficiency, reducing cost, and ensuring safety. Being able to bring value to the company leads to a salary raise and a promotion.
What Lead Quality Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Kambiz Farahmand Ph.D., P.E.: Hit the ground running. If you are asked to put in 40 hours work 50 hours. Prove yourself and always take on new challenges since that is how you grow.
What general advice would you give to a Lead Quality Engineer?
Julie Brandis: Oregon State University provides support in salary negotiation, also students can work with mentors who are familiar with company hiring practices and wage structures. If you have internship experience, that can help to boost your starting salary.
What Lead Quality Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Julie Brandis: The nation needs engineers across many disciplines. There isn’t one skill that is needed. Honesty and integrity (do what’s right, be honest and be dependable) Leadership - ability to meet deadlines, resolve conflict, balance competing demands, communicate in groups and influence peers, manage budgets
What general advice would you give to a Lead Quality Engineer?
Davide Masato: The high demand for plastics engineers facilitates maximizing starting salaries. Graduates with co-op experience enjoy a competitive edge. To grow both as engineers and team members, young professionals should actively seek professional development opportunities. Continuous learning and seeking advancement within the organization or externally are key. Pursuing advanced degrees or certifications, even remotely, enhances qualifications and marketability.
Christopher Misorski FASM
Brunswick Technical Fellow-Materials Product Development & EngineeringWhat Lead Quality Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Christopher Misorski FASM: While it is tough to predict the future with any accuracy, the best skill-set(s) for succeeding revolve around continuing education and learning what is possible with future materials or future manufacturing methods. Just remember, what you may learn at a conference or meeting may not be immediately relevant to your job, but down the road it could provide valuable solutions or insights into new problems that require “fixing”. In addition to continuing education in your field of interest, improving communication skills, both oral and written are important. Having the solution to a problem is useless unless the ideas can be communicated effectively and clearly to the audience that needs to hear the message. Remember, many in the audience are probably not materials engineers or any type of engineer potentially, so communicate at the appropriate level.
What will help Lead Quality Engineers increase their earning potential?
Christopher Misorski FASM: Maximizing salary potential at the start of your career is not a clear pathway generally. One way that you can be considered more valuable, and hence worth a better salary, is to have participated in a co-op or internship program with a company in your field. This experience gives employers some confidence that you were able to carry out assignments and thrive in a workplace environment. The employer that you worked for may be inclined to offer you a position upon graduation and you are now worth more because you have already proven to them your abilities. Even if they don’t offer you a job (no appropriate open position may be available) your ability to discuss your experiences with the HR recruiter or hiring manager at another company can instill confidence in your selection as a hire. Just remember, if you tell them you did a project, be prepared to explain it so it doesn’t appear you were just in the background of this project, just going along for the ride.
Professor Winncy Du
Professor, PhD, PE, ASME FellowSan Jose State University
Mechanical Engineering
What general advice would you give to a Lead Quality Engineer?
Professor Winncy Du: Keep Engineering Ethics in mind -- protect the public and the engineers themselves. Make sure that they know and understand the core concepts of their field. No matter what they design, they need to follow the industrial standards or grades, and safety measurements closely. Check, check, and double check, especially when they design biomedical devices, mobile robots, autonomous vehicles or drones, and automated material handling systems. I saw increasing engineers' designs or products challenged by the prospect of being deposed in the courtroom.
What Lead Quality Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Thomas Congedo PhD: That comes from your ability to focus on technical product of the highest quality, always seeking to truly understand the customer’s needs. For example, often a customer will phrase a problem by stating the solution he or she assumes. Taking the time to respectfully draw out the thinking further can make you the customer’s hero, and this makes you the person likely to be selected for the challenging and most rewarded assignments.
Jhon Smith
Associate Professor and Director of MS in Structural EngineeringSeattle University
Civil Engineering
What general advice would you give to a Lead Quality Engineer?
Jhon Smith: Do not be afraid to ask questions to your supervisors (although do not take it to an extreme and become demanding—show initiative). You get the fundamentals of engineering at school and you are equipped to use them but it takes a few years to feel comfortable. Engineering is a profession of practice and it is only through practice that you best learn it.
What Lead Quality Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Jhon Smith: Expand your network, join professional organizations and committees, become valuable in whatever company you work for, never stop learning, seek for opportunities for professional work, get your PE license. After these you will become more valuable naturally and could comfortably ask for a promotion or a salary increase because you’d know you deserve it.
What will help Lead Quality Engineers increase their earning potential?
Richard Davis: Engineering offers career opportunities across various industries, from technology and healthcare to infrastructure and environmental sustainability. With technological advancements and the increasing complexity of global challenges, such as climate change, food and clean water, and urbanization, engineers are in high demand to develop innovative solutions. For example, environmental engineers are crucial in developing sustainable solutions to reduce pollution and conserve resources. Engineering provides opportunities for creativity and problem-solving, making it a rewarding career choice for those who enjoy tackling complex problems. The global focus on sustainability and renewable energy presents exciting prospects for engineers to contribute to meaningful projects that positively impact society and the environment.
What general advice would you give to a Lead Quality Engineer?
Mishah Salman Ph.D.: An underappreciated skill that I think will become more sought-after is the ability to validate computer-made decisions and their shortcomings. With the growing prominence of AI use in design, problem solving, and decision making, the engineering field will need experts to error-check decisions made using these technologies. Sometimes there are unexplored gaps that these technologies overlook, and sometimes there are biases or inappropriate assumptions baked into AI-based results. Humans are inherently imaginative and creative. We excel at picking up on things that computer algorithms may miss. Talented experts that recognize and address these issues will remain invaluable in the workforce. Another indispensable skill that is often overlooked in engineering is effective interpersonal communication. Whether in a teamwork context, a leadership role, or a client interaction, competent communication is crucial. This can take the form of conversation, live presentations, written correspondence, and beyond. People that hone their communication skills are often recognized, and tend to be the individuals that are promoted to more senior roles.
What Lead Quality Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Mansooreh Mollaghasemi Ph.D.: Concurrent with building technical skills, they must build soft skills such as communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and leadership. These skills are often the differentiators between good and great engineers.
What will help Lead Quality Engineers increase their earning potential?
Megumi Usui: Even after obtaining a degree, it is crucial to recognize that continuous learning is a fundamental aspect of professional development in the workplace. One must cultivate an open-minded attitude and demonstrate a willingness to acquire new knowledge and skills at any time and in any context. Effective communication with colleagues and clients is essential for successful collaboration and project execution. It is important to understand that the professional environment is significantly different from the academic setting. In a company, the focus is delivering work that meets the expectations and standards set by the employer and satisfies the needs of clients, rather than merely fulfilling personal criteria. Furthermore, it is imperative to produce high-quality work consistently. Mediocre performance is unacceptable, and organizations will not hesitate to seek replacements if the work delivered does not meet their standards. Ensuring that your work is thorough, precise, and aligns with the company's objectives is critical for maintaining the position and advancing their career.
What general advice would you give to a Lead Quality Engineer?
Michael Denn: 1. Become the expert in whatever you do. 2. Understand how your work fits into the bigger picture and keep that in mind when you do your work. 3. Keep learning! Your engineering degree is not the end of your education! 4. Take stretch assignments and opportunities whenever you can.
What will help Lead Quality Engineers increase their earning potential?
Michael Denn: The answers to this question are largely the same as the answer to question 1. However, here are some additional points: 1. Excel in your job. Become the person everyone goes to for whatever type of work you do. 2. Develop and maintain a career plan. Make sure your assignments and tasks align with your plan. When you have the opportunity to change positions, keep you plan in mind.
What will help Lead Quality Engineers increase their earning potential?
Dr. Elizabeth Adams PhD, PE: My personal recommendation for maximizing your salary potential is to play the long game. Focus on learning and becoming an expert in your field – find the area you enjoy working in and get really good at it. Maybe it’s bridge construction, maybe it’s electrical infrastructure, maybe it’s project management. Internships and co-op experiences during your college years are invaluable as they are excellent resume boosters and networking opportunities, and they can help you differentiate between areas you are more and less interested in.
What will help Lead Quality Engineers increase their earning potential?
Dr. Kelvin Erickson: a. Artificial Intelligence - The use of artificial intelligence as a tool in engineering has been around for awhile, but there have not been many successes. There is a lot more interest now, which I expect will eventually find some uses. Programming - The programming may not be in the “traditional” language sense. But, one will be faced with an occasional programming task like writing an Excel macro, or a JavaScript or Python script.
What Lead Quality Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Jimmie Lenz D.B.A.: Engineering encompasses so many areas of modern life that it’s impossible to provide a comprehensive answer here. The training that engineers receive, both the technical and the applied nature, make these individuals quite attractive to all types of industries. Perhaps the most surprising to many people are the significant number of engineers employed in financial services.
Jim Gordon
Faculty- Construction ManagementOklahoma State University Institute of Technology - Okmulgee
Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians
What Lead Quality Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Jim Gordon: First, always be learning, the more you know the more value you have as an employee. Show up on time ready to work and always give your best effort.
What general advice would you give to a Lead Quality Engineer?
Daniel Armentrout: The excessive number of baby boomer engineers are retiring at high rates and you as a new engineering graduate are desperately needed to make up for their loss in the workforce. You will face challenges in your career we could not anticipate or prepare you for in your education. You will have to adapt and continue to learn new fields of study which did not exist when you graduated. We have given you tools to learn and you will have to use those tools to remain relevant throughout your career. Find your place as an engineer when you can be effective, help humanity, and have fun. Plot a career path where you can utilize your strengths and challenge your mind to do new things. Contribute to making a better world and you will be able to enjoy immense satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.
What general advice would you give to a Lead Quality Engineer?
Alexey Gulyuk: In my opinion, being an engineer is to be a problem-solver. Regardless of the conditions and situations. As one of my colleagues and mentors said: 'I am an engineer, I can learn and fix anything' - this was a short comment regarding some questionable repairs offered by a car mechanic. For people who are curious, this is the perfect field to be at: you continuously learn new things about yourself and about the world around us. Being an engineer also means that you have access and able to interact with the smartest people: every day my colleagues share some new facts, and this challenges you and allows you to grow professionally. Live and learn in action. Lastly, being an engineer opens the path to make some real societal impact - in essence, most of the things that changed the world one day and are essential to us nowadays were created by great engineers like DaVinci, Rutherford, Marconi, Benz, or Wright brothers.... As of the dislikes. One can mention things like heavy workload and endless learning. Everything comes at a price, and, sometimes, engineers cannot balance work and life. Moreover, being surrounded by intelligent and straightforward people sometimes may be a challenge, and having scientific disputes can be something that drains your batteries very fast. In many instances, the bright ideas may hit the wall of lack of the resources available, while some scientists may not be that realistic with their budgeting expectations.... Lastly, setting up experiments require rigorous planning and following all the safety protocols - sometimes, this may impose some limitations on the activities planned initially. Again, live and learn and adjust according to the external conditions.... However, despite all challenges, many people will definitely find engineering rewarding and very opportunistic field to join and thrive at.
Andriy Voronov
ProfessorNorth Dakota State University
Coatings and Polymeric Materials Department
How have salaries changed over time for Lead Quality Engineers?
Andriy Voronov: Being materials scientist means being able to do lot of things starting from fundamental research on material properties and characterization up to developing entirely new formulations and modify them to make new products suitable for new applications. One should be prepared to work in research lab, but also in pilot plants, as well as in manufacturing facilities. As for the soft skills, those are critical thinking, problem solving, communication, written and oral, including ability to communicate science to scientists, but also nonscientific audience, also flexibility and adaptability in (always) willing to learn. Although not a soft skill, but rather technical one, do not forget about fundamental knowledge and understanding of materials specifics and properties one works with.