Side-by-side distribution
Backend Engineer
$184,175
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33.8%
- Live roles
- 2,597
QA Automation
$137,750
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 22.8%
- Live roles
- 987
Highest-paying jobs
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Expert Backend Engineer
Senior Backend Engineer, Perpetuals
Software Engineer, Backend
Senior Staff Software Engineer, API
Staff/Principal Backend Software Engineer
Staff/Principal Backend Software Engineer
Backend Software Engineer, Applied Foundations
Software Engineer, API Agents
Software Engineer, API Frontiers
Highest-paying jobs
Staff Software Development Engineer in Test (Graph Database)
Staff Software Development Engineer in Test (Infrastructure)
Staff Software Development Engineer in Test (Connectors)
Senior Principal, Solution Test & Automation Engineer
Lead Automation QA Engineer (Calypso)
Lead Automation QA Engineer (Calypso)
Lead Automation QA Engineer (Calypso)
Principal Test Automation Engineer
Senior SDET - Platform [Remote-US]
Senior SDET, Back End [Remote-US]
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Affirm
|
$170,500 | 52 |
Air Apps
|
$65,555 | 33 |
|
OpenAI
|
$355,500 | 18 |
Databricks
|
$195,500 | 14 |
Grafana Labs
|
$148,144 | 14 |
Verkada
|
$225,000 | 11 |
| KA Kalepa | $219,000 | 11 |
Robinhood
|
$180,500 | 9 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Air Apps
|
$59,402 | 11 |
PlayStation Global
|
$145,600 | 7 |
CACI
|
$134,200 | 7 |
Blue Origin
|
$161,953 | 6 |
Anduril Industries
|
$150,000 | 5 |
Fiserv
|
$132,400 | 5 |
Accenture Federal Services
|
$125,500 | 5 |
Lightmatter
|
$190,250 | 4 |
Backend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $215,250 | 148 |
| New York | $205,000 | 173 |
| Seattle | $200,000 | 52 |
| Los Angeles | $196,000 | 17 |
| Boston | $191,500 | 19 |
| Denver | $167,950 | 11 |
| Austin | $160,000 | 13 |
| Chicago | $150,350 | 10 |
| Singapore | $143,718 | 6 |
| Toronto | $139,976 | 42 |
QA Automation salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | $167,500 | 4 |
| Seattle | $161,953 | 10 |
| New York | $145,000 | 7 |
| Denver | $142,888 | 4 |
| San Francisco | $141,500 | 10 |
| Boston | $140,750 | 6 |
| Atlanta | $137,500 | 5 |
| Chicago | $128,503 | 10 |
| Toronto | $106,497 | 12 |
Backend Engineer vs QA Automation: which pays more?
The median for Backend Engineer is $184,175 per year (typically $140,485–$220,000), versus $137,750 for QA Automation ($105,000–$167,500). That puts Backend Engineer about 34% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Backend Engineer and QA Automation are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.