How to hire a quality assurance tester

How to hire a quality assurance tester, step by step

Here's a step-by-step quality assurance tester hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a quality assurance tester job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new quality assurance tester
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a quality assurance tester do?

Post a quality assurance tester job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   The quality assurance tester hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a quality assurance tester to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a quality assurance tester that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of quality assurance tester salaries for various roles:

   Type of Quality Assurance Tester	Description	Hourly rate
   Quality Assurance Tester	A Quality Assurance Tester is responsible for evaluating software quality through manual and automated testing. They collaborate with the IT department and business units for executing and validating various quality tests.	$26-47
   Tester	The role of technical testers is to test computer software for defects, bug errors, or any issues that may come across by an end-user. They mainly conduct product testing and prepare reports about any problems or recommendations for improvements... Show more	$20-47
   ETL Tester	An ETL tester is responsible for validating data sources, extracting data applications of transformation logic, and uploading data in target tables. They are responsible for designing, testing, and troubleshooting the company's data storage system before it goes live... Show more	$31-48

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Manual Test Cases
   • Regression
   • Test Scripts
   • Selenium Webdriver
   • Java
   • Status Reports
   • Jira
   • Test Results
   • PL/SQL
   • Test Data
   • Bug Fixes
   • Data Warehouse
   • SQL Server
   • User Acceptance

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Test UNIX shell scripts as part of the ETL process, automate the process of loading, pulling the data.
   • Manage departmental inventory and troubleshoot testing, reporting and inventory issues.
   • Perform functional testing, regression testing and integration testing, and UI testing according to the requirement specification and test plan.
   • Experience in load and performance testing tool JMeter.
   • Work with testing frameworks - TestNG / JUnit.
   • Develop selenium scripts for identify test cases using TestNG framework.

   More quality assurance tester duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your quality assurance tester job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A quality assurance tester salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a quality assurance tester in South Dakota may be lower than in Maryland, and an entry-level quality assurance tester usually earns less than a senior-level quality assurance tester. Additionally, a quality assurance tester with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average quality assurance tester salary

   $74,140yearly

   $35.64 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level quality assurance tester salary

   $55,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 20, 2025

   Average quality assurance tester salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$85,753	$41
   2	Maryland	$85,500	$41
   3	Connecticut	$83,893	$40
   4	District of Columbia	$82,024	$39
   5	New Jersey	$80,755	$39
   6	Virginia	$80,520	$39
   7	New York	$79,353	$38
   8	Massachusetts	$79,254	$38
   9	Washington	$77,097	$37
   10	North Carolina	$75,133	$36
   11	Pennsylvania	$75,095	$36
   12	Oregon	$72,638	$35
   13	Ohio	$71,878	$35
   14	Nevada	$70,886	$34
   15	Illinois	$70,619	$34
   16	Missouri	$70,124	$34
   17	Arizona	$70,007	$34
   18	Minnesota	$69,847	$34
   19	Michigan	$69,323	$33
   20	Georgia	$68,091	$33

   Average quality assurance tester salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$114,060	$54.84	186
   2	Bloomberg	$105,379	$50.66	14
   3	Yummly	$104,942	$50.45
   4	Citi	$104,128	$50.06	7
   5	Barclays	$103,631	$49.82
   6	Cantaloupe	$102,669	$49.36
   7	Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group	$101,744	$48.92
   8	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$98,704	$47.45	106
   9	Berkshire Hathaway	$96,848	$46.56	6
   10	Charles Schwab	$95,885	$46.10	2
   11	Magellan Health	$95,521	$45.92
   12	Costco Wholesale	$95,092	$45.72	6
   13	Fuhu	$95,035	$45.69
   14	Grandbridge Real Estate Capital	$94,484	$45.42	41
   15	Jefferies	$93,933	$45.16
   16	MassMutual	$93,205	$44.81
   17	Cabela's	$91,235	$43.86
   18	Wheels Up	$91,177	$43.84
   19	Dollar Tree	$90,915	$43.71
   20	Ford Motor	$90,638	$43.58	98

4. Writing a quality assurance tester job description

   A quality assurance tester job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a quality assurance tester job description:

   Quality assurance tester job description example

   Welocalize is hiring Part-Time Linguistic QA Testers that speak Dutch from Netherlands at native-level fluency. You will be an important part of the QA Testing process for emerging technology. Depending on the project, you could be testing never before seen apps/technology, e-courses, marketing materials, or any other interesting task that comes your way. Attention to detail is a must! If you are technologically savvy and speak Dutch at native-level fluency, then this is the opportunity for you!
   You must be located in Portland, OR to be considered for this position.
   
   Job information:
   
   Job Title: Part-Time Linguistic QA Tester
   Location: Portland, OR
   Hourly Rate: $25+ (Negotiable based on experience)
   Hours: Part-Time (Hours vary based on project need and demand)
   Start date: TBD
   Employment Type: Freelance/Independent Contract or W2 Employee
   
   Please note that this work is part-time depending on project needs. Due to this, hours will vary and flexibility with a changing schedule is very important.
   RequirementsNative-level fluency in Dutch as spoken in Netherlands (Linguistic competency in target language equal to the following: ILR Level 5 or CEF C2) Must be based in Portland, ORMust be available to work in the Portland office for ongoing projects.Excellent written/verbal communication in English (for bug reporting purposes) Up-to-date awareness of current and common technical language usage in the target language Strong practical knowledge of computers and mobile devices Ability to follow written testing instructions in EnglishLocalization QA experience is preferred Knowledge of common technological terms in English and target language Flexibility with varying hours
   Welocalize transforms content across platforms, devices, and channels so that it resonates locally and delivers a superior customer experience worldwide. We ensure that the content is relevant and culturally appropriate at every step.
   
   What to expect
   · Working on projects with leading tech companies
   · Learn and develop skills with an experienced testing team
   · Gain hands-on experience in the world of localization
   · Develop quality assurance testing skills that can be used across multiple industries
   · Rare opportunity to put to good use your native language skills and to improve products for users in local market and around the World which speak/use your language.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find quality assurance testers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any quality assurance testers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level quality assurance testers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   To find quality assurance tester candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting quality assurance testers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   Sometimes, it's not enough to interview quality assurance tester candidates, so you can ask them to do a test project. If you are not a technical person and don't know what a test project should be, you can use these websites:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new quality assurance tester

   Once you've selected the best quality assurance tester candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new quality assurance tester first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a quality assurance tester?