Side-by-side distribution
Backend Engineer
$185,375
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33%
- Live roles
- 2,443
QA Engineer
$136,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 35.8%
- Live roles
- 2,129
Highest-paying jobs
Intermediate Backend Software Engineer
Senior Staff Backend Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Staff Software Engineer (Backend)
Lead Software Engineer (Backend)
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Backend Engineer, AI
Backend Engineer
Senior Backend Engineer
Senior Backend Engineer (Java)
Senior Backend Engineer (Java)
Highest-paying jobs
Senior QA Engineer
Senior Quality Assurance Engineer
Senior Associate - Test Automation & Tools Development Engineer
Senior/Staff Design for Test Engineer
Principal Electrical Engineer, Integration & Test
Staff Software Development Engineer in Test (Staff SDET)
Embedded Software Test Engineer, Onboard Test Automation
Principal Software Engineer in Test (SDET)
Manufacturing Software Test Engineer
Software Engineer, Manufacturing Test Systems
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Air Apps
|
$68,094 | 33 |
Affirm
|
$183,000 | 20 |
Databricks
|
$205,100 | 16 |
Grafana Labs
|
$192,485 | 15 |
OpenAI
|
$309,000 | 9 |
Teleport
|
$261,440 | 9 |
Verkada
|
$215,000 | 9 |
Whoop
|
$150,000 | 9 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$164,500 | 101 |
|
Air Apps
|
$61,692 | 43 |
Relativity Space
|
$153,375 | 30 |
SpaceX
|
$108,750 | 18 |
|
PlayStation Global
|
$209,700 | 15 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$117,500 | 15 |
Vast
|
$166,656 | 11 |
Archer
|
$162,000 | 11 |
Backend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $220,000 | 165 |
| New York | $207,500 | 163 |
| Seattle | $205,500 | 38 |
| Denver | $195,875 | 4 |
| Austin | $189,750 | 6 |
| Los Angeles | $184,075 | 12 |
| Boston | $178,750 | 20 |
| Chicago | $175,000 | 5 |
| Singapore | $151,034 | 3 |
| Toronto | $145,000 | 37 |
QA Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Bangalore | $194,838 | 3 |
| Seattle | $162,500 | 9 |
| San Francisco | $161,000 | 39 |
| Austin | $155,000 | 7 |
| Atlanta | $152,750 | 10 |
| Los Angeles | $152,500 | 25 |
| Boston | $136,400 | 12 |
| New York | $134,750 | 12 |
| Denver | $115,000 | 4 |
| Toronto | $106,250 | 20 |
Backend Engineer vs QA Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Backend Engineer is $185,375 per year (typically $145,499–$225,000), versus $136,000 for QA Engineer ($107,500–$170,000). That puts Backend Engineer about 36% 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.