Senior associate quality assurance vs quality assurance director

The differences between senior associate quality assurances and quality assurance directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a senior associate quality assurance, becoming a quality assurance director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a quality assurance director has an average salary of $140,937, which is higher than the $77,556 average annual salary of a senior associate quality assurance.

The top three skills for a senior associate quality assurance include QA, GMP and oversight. The most important skills for a quality assurance director are continuous improvement, quality standards, and oversight.

Senior associate quality assurance vs quality assurance director overview

	Senior Associate Quality Assurance	Quality Assurance Director
Yearly salary	$77,556	$140,937
Hourly rate	$37.29	$67.76
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	64,796	66,888
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	44	48
Years of experience	4	6

What does a senior associate quality assurance do?

The quality assurance associate works alongside the production team to ensure and maintain the quality of products and services provided by the company. The senior QA associate works with the production team and gives critical evaluations of the company's products and services. The senior QA associate works with the entire quality assurance team to make sure that customers get the best and, in return, create trust and confidence. The QA associate is one of the vital positions in a company.

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.

Senior associate quality assurance vs quality assurance director salary

Senior associate quality assurances and quality assurance directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Associate Quality Assurance	Quality Assurance Director
Average salary	$77,556	$140,937
Salary range	Between $61,000 And $98,000	Between $97,000 And $203,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	Alaska
Best paying company	Biogen	Upstart Network
Best paying industry	Internet	Professional

Differences between senior associate quality assurance and quality assurance director education

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

	Senior Associate Quality Assurance	Quality Assurance Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Biology	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Senior associate quality assurance vs quality assurance director demographics

Here are the differences between senior associate quality assurances' and quality assurance directors' demographics:

	Senior Associate Quality Assurance	Quality Assurance Director
Average age	44	48
Gender ratio	Male, 37.2% Female, 62.8%	Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% 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	11%	8%

Differences between senior associate quality assurance and quality assurance director duties and responsibilities

Senior associate quality assurance example responsibilities.

Coordinate, oversee and manage the repetitive patient documentation and medical necessity process for all patients meeting the repetitive patient description.
Assist with the start up of Sydcor, teaching an offsite facility the value of internal/external customers and ISO compliance.
Implement test automation framework which involves completing system integration, regression, performance, functionality and load testing.
Conduct regression testing, testing of new features and enhancements to existing software to ensure system compatibility, integrity and performance.
Coordinate, oversee and manage the repetitive patient documentation and medical necessity process for all patients meeting the repetitive patient description.
Authore combined quality system manual for AS9100 and repair stations for the Valencia facility and Connecticut facility.

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.

Senior associate quality assurance vs quality assurance director skills

Common senior associate quality assurance skills

QA, 11%
GMP, 10%
Oversight, 6%
Quality System, 6%
CAPA, 6%
FDA, 4%

Common quality assurance director skills

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

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Senior Associate Quality Assurance vs Quality Assurance Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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