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What is a quality assurance director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
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Quality assurance directors are responsible for identifying a quality mentality in a whole organization and encouraging it. They are responsible for managing all quality assurance or QA functions, working with cross-departmental leadership to deliver high-quality products on schedule.

From recruiting analysts and administrators to performing incident reviews, QA directors set up and maintain a quality structure to guarantee that the company's services, infrastructure, staff, practices, systems, and policies meet internal requirements and regulatory expectations. They are also in charge of creating a method of product consistency reporting by drafting and reviewing quality assurance procedures. That is why they need to have extensive knowledge of the quality system requirements.

The requirements to work as a quality assurance director include a bachelor's degree in related discipline and experience working with QA measuring and testing equipment. Some employers look for candidates with five to ten years of experience working as QA director or few years working in the company. Candidates must have strong knowledge of safety requirements and legal standards.

ScoreQuality Assurance DirectorUS Average
Salary
8.7

Avg. Salary $140,937

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
9.8

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
2.1
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 9.05%

Black or African American 3.79%

Hispanic or Latino 12.97%

Unknown 3.86%

White 69.81%

Gender

female 36.23%

male 63.77%

Age - 48
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48
Stress level
9.8

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
9.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Quality assurance director career paths

Key steps to become a quality assurance director

  1. Explore quality assurance director education requirements

    Most common quality assurance director degrees

    Bachelor's

    64.7 %

    Master's

    17.9 %

    Associate

    11.1 %
  2. Start to develop specific quality assurance director skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Continuous Improvement8.48%
    Quality Standards6.77%
    Oversight5.08%
    Test Automation4.53%
    Scrum4.18%
  3. Complete relevant quality assurance director training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New quality assurance directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a quality assurance director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real quality assurance director resumes.
  4. Research quality assurance director duties and 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.
  5. Get quality assurance director experience

    Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a quality assurance director. The most common roles before becoming a quality assurance director include quality assurance manager, quality manager team lead and senior quality assurance manager.
  6. Prepare your quality assurance director resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your quality assurance director resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a quality assurance director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable quality assurance director resume templates

    Build a professional quality assurance director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your quality assurance director resume.
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    Quality Assurance Director Resume
    Quality Assurance Director Resume
    Quality Assurance Director Resume
    Quality Assurance Director Resume
    Quality Assurance Director Resume
    Quality Assurance Director Resume
  7. Apply for quality assurance director jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a quality assurance director job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first quality assurance director job

Zippi

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Average quality assurance director salary

The average quality assurance director salary in the United States is $140,937 per year or $68 per hour. Quality assurance director salaries range between $97,000 and $203,000 per year.

Average quality assurance director salary
$140,937 Yearly
$67.76 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do quality assurance directors rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Quality assurance director reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019
Pros

Planning and ensuring project success by implementing QA standards

Cons

administrative tasks - lack of basic QA tools such as MS Project for scheduling


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019
Pros

Quality compliance, Concurrent documentation, Good Laboratory practice

Cons

Misconduct, Manipulation


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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