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The average salary for a Senior Quality Assurance Engineer is $106,802 annually, translating to about $51 per hour. Factors influencing this salary include geographical location, years of experience, and the specific industry. For instance, states like California and New York typically offer higher salaries due to the cost of living and demand for skilled professionals.
Entry-level positions may start at approximately $80,000, while seasoned professionals with advanced expertise can earn upwards of $130,000. The increasing complexity of software development has led to a growing need for experienced QA engineers.
Industries such as technology, finance, and healthcare often provide the most competitive salaries. Senior Quality Assurance Engineers are essential in maintaining software quality, and job prospects in this field are strong, with many organizations seeking qualified candidates to ensure their products meet high standards.
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The highest-paying states for senior quality assurance engineers are California, Washington, and New York. The lowest average senior quality assurance engineer salary states are Tennessee, Kansas, and Arkansas.
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $123,925 | $59.58 |
| 2 | Washington | $104,805 | $50.39 |
| 3 | Arizona | $98,631 | $47.42 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $96,072 | $46.19 |
| 5 | Oregon | $96,917 | $46.59 |
| 6 | Utah | $91,082 | $43.79 |
| 7 | Nevada | $97,090 | $46.68 |
| 8 | New York | $100,843 | $48.48 |
| 9 | District of Columbia | $99,728 | $47.95 |
| 10 | Rhode Island | $91,617 | $44.05 |
| 11 | Pennsylvania | $92,767 | $44.60 |
| 12 | Massachusetts | $96,020 | $46.16 |
| 13 | Maryland | $98,901 | $47.55 |
| 14 | Texas | $90,882 | $43.69 |
| 15 | Connecticut | $94,971 | $45.66 |
| 16 | Virginia | $94,218 | $45.30 |
| 17 | New Jersey | $96,720 | $46.50 |
| 18 | Idaho | $92,057 | $44.26 |
| 19 | Indiana | $87,940 | $42.28 |
| 20 | North Carolina | $88,436 | $42.52 |
| 21 | Michigan | $88,598 | $42.60 |
| 22 | Delaware | $90,215 | $43.37 |
| 23 | Vermont | $88,987 | $42.78 |
| 24 | Wyoming | $86,513 | $41.59 |
| 25 | West Virginia | $88,401 | $42.50 |
| 26 | New Mexico | $89,993 | $43.27 |
| 27 | Colorado | $88,897 | $42.74 |
| 28 | Montana | $89,141 | $42.86 |
| 29 | Illinois | $89,684 | $43.12 |
| 30 | Ohio | $87,584 | $42.11 |
| 31 | Maine | $89,138 | $42.85 |
| 32 | Wisconsin | $86,751 | $41.71 |
| 33 | Minnesota | $87,745 | $42.19 |
| 34 | North Dakota | $85,582 | $41.15 |
| 35 | South Carolina | $87,870 | $42.25 |
| 36 | South Dakota | $86,125 | $41.41 |
| 37 | Alaska | $86,454 | $41.56 |
| 38 | Hawaii | $90,568 | $43.54 |
| 39 | Arkansas | $84,101 | $40.43 |
| 40 | Alabama | $83,997 | $40.38 |
| 41 | Georgia | $86,769 | $41.72 |
| 42 | Louisiana | $87,181 | $41.91 |
| 43 | Tennessee | $84,445 | $40.60 |
| 44 | Kentucky | $84,625 | $40.69 |
| 45 | Nebraska | $84,571 | $40.66 |
| 46 | Florida | $85,734 | $41.22 |
| 47 | Mississippi | $84,981 | $40.86 |
| 48 | Missouri | $85,820 | $41.26 |
| 49 | Kansas | $84,159 | $40.46 |
| 50 | Oklahoma | $84,020 | $40.39 |
| 51 | Iowa | $82,252 | $39.54 |
The highest-paying cities for senior quality assurance engineers are San Mateo, CA, Seattle, WA, and New York, NY.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Mateo, CA | $132,104 | $63.51 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $105,285 | $50.62 |
| 3 | New York, NY | $101,065 | $48.59 |
| 4 | Washington, DC | $99,735 | $47.95 |
| 5 | Phoenix, AZ | $98,723 | $47.46 |
| 6 | Beaverton, OR | $97,209 | $46.74 |
| 7 | Jersey City, NJ | $96,727 | $46.50 |
| 8 | Merrimack, NH | $96,239 | $46.27 |
| 9 | Boston, MA | $95,984 | $46.15 |
| 10 | Austin, TX | $91,953 | $44.21 |
| 11 | Chicago, IL | $89,822 | $43.18 |
| 12 | Raleigh, NC | $89,272 | $42.92 |
| 13 | Denver, CO | $88,883 | $42.73 |
| 14 | Minneapolis, MN | $87,754 | $42.19 |
| 15 | Columbus, OH | $87,356 | $42.00 |
| 16 | Alpharetta, GA | $86,846 | $41.75 |
| 17 | Omaha, NE | $84,661 | $40.70 |
A senior quality assurance engineer's salary ranges from $82,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $138,000 at the 90th percentile.

| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $138,000 | $11,500 | $66 |
| 75th Percentile | $122,000 | $10,167 | $59 |
| Average | $106,802 | $8,900 | $51 |
| 25th Percentile | $93,000 | $7,750 | $45 |
| 10th Percentile | $82,000 | $6,833 | $39 |
The highest paying types of senior quality assurance engineers are senior software development engineer, senior software engineer, and engineer lead quality assurance lead.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality Analyst | $71,957 | $5,996 | $34.59 | 110,980 |
| Test Engineer | $79,832 | $6,653 | $38.38 | 228,974 |
| Lead Engineer | $84,927 | $7,077 | $40.83 | 301,777 |
| Engineer Lead Quality Assurance Lead | $110,007 | $9,167 | $52.89 | 278,178 |
| Quality Assurance Analyst | $73,532 | $6,128 | $35.35 | 108,078 |
| Software Quality Engineer | $99,902 | $8,325 | $48.03 | 279,437 |
Top companies hiring senior quality assurance engineers now:
Senior quality assurance engineer salaries at The Citadel and Twitter are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average senior quality assurance engineer salary at companies like Credit Karma and Netflix are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Citadel | $176,266 | $84.74 |
| 2 | $152,212 | $73.18 | |
| 3 | Credit Karma | $151,821 | $72.99 |
| 4 | Netflix | $149,859 | $72.05 |
| 5 | Integral Ad Science | $149,190 | $71.73 |
| 6 | Chegg | $147,749 | $71.03 |
| 7 | Match Group | $147,491 | $70.91 |
| 8 | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC | $146,676 | $70.52 |
| 9 | Lyft | $146,198 | $70.29 |
| 10 | Apple | $146,143 | $70.26 |
| 11 | Dotdash | $145,259 | $69.84 |
| 12 | Aspiration | $145,090 | $69.75 |
| 13 | Roku | $145,010 | $69.72 |
| 14 | eBay | $144,716 | $69.58 |
| 15 | MongoDB | $143,787 | $69.13 |
| 16 | Palo Alto Networks | $142,148 | $68.34 |
| 17 | Ticketmaster | $141,918 | $68.23 |
| 18 | Platfora | $141,466 | $68.01 |
| 19 | Anaplan | $141,393 | $67.98 |
| 20 | PayPal | $140,611 | $67.60 |
The average senior quality assurance engineer salary varies across industries:
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Telecommunication | $112,284 | $53.98 |
| 2 | Manufacturing | $109,685 | $52.73 |
| 3 | Health Care | $107,557 | $51.71 |
| 4 | Finance | $107,456 | $51.66 |
| 5 | Technology | $107,321 | $51.60 |
The average senior quality assurance engineer salary has risen by $17,483 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average senior quality assurance engineer earned $89,319 annually, but today, they earn $106,802 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for senior quality assurance engineers over the last decade.
Compare senior quality assurance engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Compare senior quality assurance engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $107,000 | $51.35 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $103,000 | $49.66 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $101,000 | $48.53 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | $99,000 | $47.58 | +2.3% |
| 2021 | $96,700 | $46.51 | +1.5% |
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DBA Carta, Inc. | Senior QA Automation Engineer | Seattle, WA | 06/30/2025 | $158,100 |
| Insurance Company of The West | SR. QA Engineer (EBI) | San Diego, CA | 06/29/2025 | $95,379 |
| Inceed | Senior QA Engineer | Houston, TX | 06/28/2025 | $90,000 |
| Agile Resources, Inc. | Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | Phoenix, AZ | 06/28/2025 | $130,000 |
| Amazon.com, Inc. | Senior Software QA Engineer, Device OS | Sunnyvale, CA | 06/27/2025 | $120,000 |
| Veracyte | SR. Software QA Engineer | San Diego, CA | 06/27/2025 | $104,000 |
| Assetmark | Senior QA Engineer | Charlotte, NC | 06/27/2025 | $120,000 |
| Trackonomy | Senior Software QA Automation Engineer | San Jose, CA | 06/27/2025 | $130,000 |
| Robinhood | Senior QA Engineer | Menlo Park, CA | 06/26/2025 | $119,000 |
| Volant Partners | Senior QA Engineer | Bellevue, WA | 06/26/2025 | $123,000 |
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