Side-by-side distribution
Backend Engineer
$187,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 34.4%
- Live roles
- 2,364
QA Automation
$143,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 24.5%
- Live roles
- 489
Highest-paying jobs
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Software Engineer, Backend
Senior Backend Engineer, Markets
Senior Backend Engineer, Perpetuals
Senior Backend Engineer, Trust & Safety
Senior Backend Engineer, Exchange Infrastructure
Backend Engineer, Markets
Senior Backend Engineer, Payments
Staff+ Software Engineer, Backend
Senior Staff Software Engineer, API
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Software Engineer in Test (SDET)
Senior Software Development Engineer in Test
Sr Software Development Engineer in Test, ML
Sr. Software Development Engineer in Test, AI/ML
Embedded Software Engineer, Onboard Test Automation
Staff Software Development Engineer in Test
Staff RF Test Automation Engineer, Electronic Warfare
Software Development Engineer in Test, AI Platform
Sr. Test Automation Engineer (SIL/HIL Infrastructure)
Test Automation Engineer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Affirm
|
$158,000 | 33 |
Air Apps
|
$67,479 | 33 |
Grafana Labs
|
$137,917 | 26 |
OpenAI
|
$339,000 | 14 |
Databricks
|
$195,500 | 13 |
Verkada
|
$220,000 | 12 |
GitLab
|
$187,200 | 10 |
Satispay
|
$57,178 | 10 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
PlayStation Global
|
$175,600 | 12 |
|
Air Apps
|
$61,135 | 11 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$178,750 | 4 |
Housecall Pro
|
$76,800 | 4 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$141,025 | 3 |
Accenture Federal Services
|
$125,500 | 3 |
Dialpad
|
$117,006 | 3 |
Forge Global
|
$190,000 | 2 |
Backend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $215,000 | 161 |
| Seattle | $214,700 | 49 |
| New York | $205,129 | 166 |
| Los Angeles | $198,500 | 13 |
| Boston | $195,750 | 12 |
| Denver | $193,171 | 6 |
| Austin | $185,000 | 5 |
| Chicago | $165,000 | 3 |
| Singapore | $156,000 | 5 |
| Toronto | $143,419 | 28 |
QA Automation salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $180,000 | 5 |
| San Francisco | $162,500 | 7 |
| Los Angeles | $162,500 | 4 |
| Atlanta | $157,500 | 3 |
| Toronto | $107,500 | 3 |
Backend Engineer vs QA Automation: which pays more?
The median for Backend Engineer is $187,500 per year (typically $146,042–$225,000), versus $143,000 for QA Automation ($110,000–$175,000). That puts Backend Engineer about 31% 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.