Post job

What is a quality/reliability engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted expert
James Swisher

The quality/reliability engineer's nickname could be "Old Reliable." That's because their whole job is to make sure that a business's equipment lives up to standards of quality and reliability to prevent any failures, profit loss, or work stoppages. Many businesses are very interested in avoiding any loss of profits, which is why the demand for quality/reliability engineers is expected to grow by 8% by 2028.

The quality/reliability engineer performs various tasks to ensure that a business's operations system or equipment is reliable. They design and implement quality control tests, trace any losses in productivity to problem areas in the operations system, and manage risks using tools like FTA (fault tree analysis).

Overall, a quality/reliability engineer needs to be really good at analysis and repairs. They often develop these skills through higher education as 47% of quality/reliability engineers have master's degrees in engineering or a similar field.

What general advice would you give to a quality/reliability engineer?

James SwisherJames Swisher LinkedIn profile

Director of Continuing Education, Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers

It's truly an exciting time to be an Industrial and Systems Engineer. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics projects demand for ISEs to grow by 10% over the next ten years, which is much faster than the rate for all occupations. Firms across a broad range of industries will continue to focus on the skills that ISEs bring to improve efficiencies, enhance quality, and lower costs. In addition, ISEs bring skills in the related fields of big data, artificial intelligence, and project management that make them extremely valuable to organizations. ISEs ability to quickly make an impact in an organization also means that their potential for promotion is very good. It's a great profession to be in.
ScoreQuality/Reliability EngineerUS Average
Salary
7.2

Avg. Salary $92,713

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
7.5

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
6.7
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 15.11%

Black or African American 4.24%

Hispanic or Latino 10.39%

Unknown 3.88%

White 66.22%

Gender

female 14.74%

male 85.26%

Age - 41
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 - 41
Stress level
7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Quality/reliability engineer career paths

Key steps to become a quality/reliability engineer

  1. Explore quality/reliability engineer education requirements

    Most common quality/reliability engineer degrees

    Bachelor's

    70.3 %

    Master's

    18.1 %

    Associate

    7.2 %
  2. Start to develop specific quality/reliability engineer skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Product Quality7.21%
    Statistical Analysis6.14%
    Corrective Action5.02%
    Failure Analysis5.01%
    Quality Standards4.89%
  3. Complete relevant quality/reliability engineer training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New quality/reliability engineers 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/reliability engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real quality/reliability engineer resumes.
  4. Research quality/reliability engineer duties and responsibilities

    • Manage supplier commodities and support manufacturing operations ensuring product conformance to print specification and monitoring production processes on the line level.
    • Initiate FMEA program across multiple product platforms in order to increase probability of successful product launch.
    • Perform maintainability, spare parts and system safety analysis.
    • Utilize statistical tools such as Weibull modeling and failure rate analysis to evaluate device reliability.
  5. Prepare your quality/reliability engineer resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your quality/reliability engineer 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/reliability engineer 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/reliability engineer resume templates

    Build a professional quality/reliability engineer 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/reliability engineer resume.
    Quality/Reliability Engineer Resume
    Quality/Reliability Engineer Resume
    Quality/Reliability Engineer Resume
    Quality/Reliability Engineer Resume
    Quality/Reliability Engineer Resume
    Quality/Reliability Engineer Resume
    Quality/Reliability Engineer Resume
    Quality/Reliability Engineer Resume
    Quality/Reliability Engineer Resume
  6. Apply for quality/reliability engineer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a quality/reliability engineer 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/reliability engineer job

Zippi

Are you a quality/reliability engineer?

Share your story for a free salary report.

Average quality/reliability engineer salary

The average quality/reliability engineer salary in the United States is $92,713 per year or $45 per hour. Quality/reliability engineer salaries range between $74,000 and $115,000 per year.

Average quality/reliability engineer salary
$92,713 Yearly
$44.57 hourly

What am I worth?

salary-calculator

How do quality/reliability engineers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Quality/reliability engineer reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on May 2021
Pros

Defined Quality test procedure validated test components and planned integration tests for leading parts manufacture for industry. • Prepares and maintained important company quality control documentations such as quality manuals quality procedure, quality standards and quality assurance • Prepared the final inspection report before the dispatched for the machining process • Resolved machining department complaints, took preventive measure to prevent future complaints and clearly, documented all feedback, Mechanical Engineer for Third Party Inspection jobs in Baroda • Typically deals with several problems of the same time

Cons

Yes


Working as a quality/reliability engineer? Share your experience anonymously.
Overall rating*
Career growth
Work/Life balance
Pay/Salary

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.

Browse architecture and engineering jobs