Side-by-side distribution
Backend Engineer
$187,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 34.2%
- Live roles
- 2,383
QA Engineer
$141,025
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 38.7%
- Live roles
- 2,168
Highest-paying jobs
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Senior Backend Engineer, Exchange Infrastructure
Senior Backend Engineer, Perpetuals
Senior Backend Engineer, Markets
Senior Backend Engineer, Trust & Safety
Backend Engineer, Markets
Software Engineer, Backend
Senior Backend Engineer, Payments
Staff+ Software Engineer, Backend
Senior Staff Software Engineer, API
Highest-paying jobs
Senior QA Engineer
Senior QA Engineer, Platform
Autonomy & Perception Integration Engineer - Flight Test (R5441)
Senior/Staff Design for Test Engineer
Electrical Engineer, Actuator Test Infrastructure
Principal Electrical Engineer, Integration & Test
Hardware Engineer, Test
Software Engineer, Manufacturing Test Systems
Manufacturing Software Test Engineer
Manufacturing Electrical Test Engineer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Affirm
|
$170,500 | 34 |
Air Apps
|
$67,479 | 33 |
Grafana Labs
|
$137,917 | 26 |
|
OpenAI
|
$355,500 | 14 |
Databricks
|
$195,500 | 13 |
Verkada
|
$220,000 | 12 |
GitLab
|
$187,200 | 10 |
Satispay
|
$57,178 | 10 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$150,000 | 117 |
|
Air Apps
|
$61,135 | 43 |
Relativity Space
|
$163,500 | 32 |
SpaceX
|
$113,750 | 25 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$127,500 | 24 |
Vast
|
$160,444 | 16 |
PlayStation Global
|
$175,600 | 13 |
Astranis
|
$158,750 | 12 |
Backend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $215,000 | 160 |
| Seattle | $214,700 | 49 |
| New York | $205,258 | 165 |
| 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 | $142,558 | 29 |
QA Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | $210,655 | 9 |
| Seattle | $197,000 | 11 |
| New York | $190,000 | 18 |
| San Francisco | $182,500 | 51 |
| Atlanta | $159,000 | 9 |
| Los Angeles | $151,000 | 26 |
| Denver | $140,000 | 7 |
| Boston | $130,000 | 11 |
| Toronto | $107,500 | 15 |
| London | $71,321 | 8 |
Backend Engineer vs QA Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Backend Engineer is $187,500 per year (typically $145,757–$225,000), versus $141,025 for QA Engineer ($114,500–$171,406). That puts Backend Engineer about 33% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Backend Engineer and QA Engineer 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.