How to hire a senior quality assurance engineer

How to hire a senior quality assurance engineer, step by step

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

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

What does a senior quality assurance engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The senior quality assurance engineer 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 senior quality assurance engineer 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 senior quality assurance engineer that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of senior quality assurance engineers.

   Type of Senior Quality Assurance Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Quality Assurance Engineer		$39-66
   Quality Analyst	Pumpers are individuals who take responsibility for setting the pumping system controls for product maximization. Their job requires them to set density, concentration, rate, and pressure... Show more	$26-44
   Test Engineer	Test engineers are professionals who observe and record the quality of products, which includes functionality, durability, speed, and safety. They are responsible for checking the materials and procedures thoroughly throughout the production cycle... Show more	$28-50

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • QA
   • Java
   • Python
   • Test Automation
   • API
   • Regression
   • Scrum
   • Jira
   • Jenkins
   • UI
   • Test Scripts
   • C++
   • C #
   • Test Results

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Design and manage test paths using ruby.
   • Manage, design and operate the staging lab used for regression, capacity, stress, performance, and UI testing.
   • Manage onsite and offshore resources by communicating acceptance time frames and testing requirements.
   • Maintain coordination between onsite and offshore very smooth with daily status calls and achieve timely and quality deliverable.
   • Debug daily sanity test automation runs and fix, develop/enhancing automation scripts using python base on feature requirement.
   • Project involve adding and changing data validation rules implement in java.

   More senior quality assurance engineer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the senior quality assurance engineer job description is a good way to get more applicants. A senior quality assurance engineer salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a senior quality assurance engineer in Tennessee may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level senior quality assurance engineer. Additionally, a senior quality assurance engineer with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average senior quality assurance engineer salary

   $106,802yearly

   $51.35 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior quality assurance engineer salary

   $82,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 12, 2026

   Average senior quality assurance engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$132,104	$64
   2	Washington	$105,285	$51
   3	New York	$101,065	$49
   4	District of Columbia	$99,735	$48
   5	Arizona	$98,723	$47
   6	Oregon	$97,209	$47
   7	New Jersey	$96,727	$47
   8	New Hampshire	$96,239	$46
   9	Massachusetts	$95,984	$46
   10	Texas	$91,953	$44
   11	Illinois	$89,822	$43
   12	North Carolina	$89,272	$43
   13	Colorado	$88,883	$43
   14	Minnesota	$87,754	$42
   15	Ohio	$87,356	$42
   16	Georgia	$86,846	$42
   17	Nebraska	$84,661	$41

   Average senior quality assurance engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	The Citadel	$176,266	$84.74	7
   2	Twitter	$152,212	$73.18	23
   3	Credit Karma	$151,821	$72.99	4
   4	Netflix	$149,859	$72.05	25
   5	Integral Ad Science	$149,190	$71.73	6
   6	Chegg	$147,749	$71.03
   7	Match Group	$147,491	$70.91	28
   8	Pacific Investment Management Company LLC	$146,676	$70.52	4
   9	Lyft	$146,198	$70.29	18
   10	Apple	$146,143	$70.26	664
   11	Dotdash	$145,259	$69.84
   12	Aspiration	$145,090	$69.75
   13	Roku	$145,010	$69.72	23
   14	eBay	$144,716	$69.58	27
   15	MongoDB	$143,787	$69.13	53
   16	Palo Alto Networks	$142,148	$68.34	145
   17	Ticketmaster	$141,918	$68.23
   18	Platfora	$141,466	$68.01
   19	Anaplan	$141,393	$67.98	1
   20	PayPal	$140,611	$67.60	41

4. Writing a senior quality assurance engineer job description

   A good senior quality assurance engineer job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a senior quality assurance engineer job description:

   Senior quality assurance engineer job description example

   · Minimum 8 plus years software testing experience in in automated & manual testing.

   · Excellent coding abilities to create Automated tests in C# .

   · Development experience must be full Life Cycle experience including business requirements gathering, test planning, data management, executing tests, automation practices.

   · Outstanding analytical and problem-solving skills.

   · Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

   · Able to lead multiple complex projects and communicate clearly with leaders and team members.

   · Ability to handle fast-paced environment.

   · Ability to maintain confidentiality.

   · Ability to work well with people from many different disciplines with varying degrees of technical experience.

   · Experience leading a small team of QA Engineers onsite & Offshore

   · Ability to interact with business and work on end-to-end testing

   Nice to have skills:

   · Experience in C# coding, development skills

   · Experience in JSON API testing

   · Experience in Test data management.

   · Experience in SQL query and SQL databases

   · Financial Services (Lending) experience.

   · Experience working with onsite & offshore QA teams.

   
   Diversity & EEO Statements: At Santander, we value and respect differences in our workforce and strive to increase the diversity of our teams. We actively encourage everyone to apply.
   
   Santander is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.
   
   Working Conditions: Frequent Minimal physical effort such as sitting, standing and walking. Occasional moving and lifting equipment and furniture is required to support onsite and offsite meeting setup and teardown. Physically capable of lifting up to fifty pounds, able to bend, kneel, climb ladders.
   
   Employer Rights: Employer Rights:This job description does not list all of the job duties of the job. You may be asked by your supervisors or managers to perform other duties. You may be evaluated in part based upon your performance of the tasks listed in this job description. The employer has the right to revise this job description at any time. This job description is not a contract for employment and either you or the employer may terminate at any time for any reason.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find senior quality assurance engineers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior quality assurance engineer job on Zippia to find and attract quality senior quality assurance engineer candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with senior quality assurance engineer candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   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.

   If your interviews with senior quality assurance engineer applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • 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 senior quality assurance engineer

   Once you've selected the best senior quality assurance engineer 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 also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new senior quality assurance engineer. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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.)

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How much does it cost to hire a senior quality assurance engineer?