Quality assurance director vs director of quality

The differences between quality assurance directors and directors of quality can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a quality assurance director and a director of quality. Additionally, a quality assurance director has an average salary of $140,937, which is higher than the $134,435 average annual salary of a director of quality.

The top three skills for a quality assurance director include continuous improvement, quality standards and oversight. The most important skills for a director of quality are healthcare, quality improvement, and patients.

Quality assurance director vs director of quality overview

	Quality Assurance Director	Director Of Quality
Yearly salary	$140,937	$134,435
Hourly rate	$67.76	$64.63
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	66,888	65,443
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	6	6

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.

What does a director of quality do?

In the manufacturing industry, a director of quality is primarily in charge of spearheading and overseeing the daily operations in a quality assurance department. They work to ensure that products adhere to the company's quality standards and industry regulations by conducting research and assessments, developing quality test systems, and reviewing reports. As a director of quality, they have the authority to make significant decisions, establish protocols and guidelines, set objectives and timelines, and implement rules and policies, creating new ones as necessary.

Quality assurance director vs director of quality salary

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

	Quality Assurance Director	Director Of Quality
Average salary	$140,937	$134,435
Salary range	Between $97,000 And $203,000	Between $98,000 And $183,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Portland, OR
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Upstart Network	Google
Best paying industry	Professional	Finance

Differences between quality assurance director and director of quality education

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

	Quality Assurance Director	Director Of Quality
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Quality assurance director vs director of quality demographics

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

	Quality Assurance Director	Director Of Quality
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2%	Male, 65.2% Female, 34.8%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 69.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between quality assurance director and director of quality duties and responsibilities

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.

Director of quality example responsibilities.

Develop and manage internal QMS audit and corrective and preventive action processes.
Manage the transition to a campus AS9100 certification for all major Aero sites.
Manage functional and system testing activities, API customization and RDMBS tools testing teams.
Lead teams from design concept and team feasibility commitment through product launch and PPAP.
Lead targeted staff training and development of CMS, AHCA, and DOEA guidelines and regulations.
Lead a team of engineers and operations personnel to introduce 6 new alpha products into mfg.

Quality assurance director vs director of quality skills

Common quality assurance director skills

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

Common director of quality skills

Healthcare, 8%
Quality Improvement, 5%
Patients, 4%
Oversight, 4%
Patient Safety, 4%
Continuous Improvement, 4%

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Quality Assurance Director
Quality Assurance Director vs Director Of Quality

Updated January 8, 2025

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