Manufacturing quality manager vs quality assurance director

The differences between manufacturing quality managers 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 a manufacturing quality manager and a quality assurance director. Additionally, a quality assurance director has an average salary of $140,937, which is higher than the $121,115 average annual salary of a manufacturing quality manager.

The top three skills for a manufacturing quality manager include continuous improvement, lean manufacturing and ISO. The most important skills for a quality assurance director are continuous improvement, quality standards, and oversight.

Manufacturing quality manager vs quality assurance director overview

	Manufacturing Quality Manager	Quality Assurance Director
Yearly salary	$121,115	$140,937
Hourly rate	$58.23	$67.76
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	88,190	66,888
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	6	6

What does a manufacturing quality manager do?

A manufacturing quality manager ensures the manufacturing processes and products meet minimum standards of quality. In this position, they are required to ensure a certain level of quality is met, understand customer needs and requirements, develop quality control processes that meet the requirements provided, review specifications for products and processes, inspect final products to ensure they comply with legal standards, and set requirements for raw materials from suppliers.

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.

Manufacturing quality manager vs quality assurance director salary

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

	Manufacturing Quality Manager	Quality Assurance Director
Average salary	$121,115	$140,937
Salary range	Between $82,000 And $178,000	Between $97,000 And $203,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Apple	Upstart Network
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Professional

Differences between manufacturing quality manager and quality assurance director education

There are a few differences between a manufacturing quality manager and a quality assurance director in terms of educational background:

	Manufacturing Quality Manager	Quality Assurance Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Manufacturing quality manager vs quality assurance director demographics

Here are the differences between manufacturing quality managers' and quality assurance directors' demographics:

	Manufacturing Quality Manager	Quality Assurance Director
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 86.8% Female, 13.2%	Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 9.2% White, 69.4% 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 manufacturing quality manager and quality assurance director duties and responsibilities

Manufacturing quality manager example responsibilities.

Manage quality assurance inspectors, conduct internal, customer FDA and ISO audits.
Manage initial USDA regulatory visits, working collaboratively with USDA inspectors leading audit preparation and follow-up activities and reports.
Assist with FDA inspection preparation.
Revise and maintain a broken complaint handling and CAPA process.
Conduct, review, and approve process and product CAPA investigations.
Co-Host customer audits, ISO audits and are primary host for contract manufacturing customer.

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.

Manufacturing quality manager vs quality assurance director skills

Common manufacturing quality manager skills

Continuous Improvement, 7%
Lean Manufacturing, 6%
ISO, 6%
Product Quality, 6%
Sigma, 5%
Quality Management System, 5%

Common quality assurance director skills

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

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Manufacturing Quality Manager vs Quality Assurance Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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