Senior quality manager vs quality assurance director

The differences between senior quality managers and quality assurance directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a senior quality manager and a quality assurance director. Additionally, a quality assurance director has an average salary of $140,937, which is higher than the $127,285 average annual salary of a senior quality manager.

The top three skills for a senior quality manager include continuous improvement, oversight and project management. The most important skills for a quality assurance director are continuous improvement, quality standards, and oversight.

Senior quality manager vs quality assurance director overview

	Senior Quality Manager	Quality Assurance Director
Yearly salary	$127,285	$140,937
Hourly rate	$61.19	$67.76
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	62,683	66,888
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	6	6

What does a senior quality manager do?

A senior quality manager is in charge of designing and developing quality control measures to ensure that a company's products are according to standards. They typically coordinate with analysts and other experts to identify the market and clients' needs, evaluate existing quality control methods, and create strategies to improve production procedures. Aside from optimizing quality control, a senior quality manager must also monitor the workflow and the workforce's performance to ensure efficiency and their adherence to the company's standards and regulations.

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 quality manager vs quality assurance director salary

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

	Senior Quality Manager	Quality Assurance Director
Average salary	$127,285	$140,937
Salary range	Between $90,000 And $178,000	Between $97,000 And $203,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Upstart Network	Upstart Network
Best paying industry	Professional	Professional

Differences between senior quality manager and quality assurance director education

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

	Senior Quality Manager	Quality Assurance Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Senior quality manager vs quality assurance director demographics

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

	Senior Quality Manager	Quality Assurance Director
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 69.4% Female, 30.6%	Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.4% Asian, 9.3% White, 69.1% 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	8%	8%

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

Senior quality manager example responsibilities.

Manage material review board (MRB) reviews to address issues.
Manage the daily activities consisting of a team of 3 QC inspectors and 1 Jr.
Manage all aspects of change control for business operational, overseeing all CAPA programs and management.
Assist Sr. Director QRC in producing QC metrics and managing corrective and preventive action (CAPA) system.
Manage FRB, MRB, FMEA, product alert/recall of the approved vendor list and resultant underperformance management.
Manage personnel to complete all quality assurance, regulatory, and validation activities for QC and production relate activities.

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 quality manager vs quality assurance director skills

Common senior quality manager skills

Continuous Improvement, 8%
Oversight, 5%
Project Management, 4%
FDA, 4%
Quality Standards, 4%
Corrective Action, 4%

Common quality assurance director skills

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

Senior Quality Manager vs. similar jobs

Senior Quality Manager related careers

Senior Quality Manager related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Senior Quality Manager
Senior Quality Manager vs Quality Assurance Director

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs