Side-by-side distribution
Manufacturing Engineer
$147,750
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 53.7%
- Live roles
- 925
Quality Assurance
$112,112
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33.5%
- Live roles
- 254
Highest-paying jobs
Research Engineer, Production Model Post-Training
Software Engineer, Production Engineering
Principal Production Engineer
Software Engineer, Production Engineering
Sr. Staff Production Engineer - Data Platform
Staff Site Reliability Engineer, Production Engineering
Manufacturing Software Test Engineer
Principal Software Engineer, Manufacturing Systems
Manufacturing Design Engineer (NPI & Robotics)
Software Engineer, Manufacturing Test Systems
Highest-paying jobs
Technical Program Manager, QA Program
QA Engineering Manager
QA Engineering Manager
Senior Manager, CMC QA
Senior Manager, GxP Electronic System Validation QA
ClearCalc Quality Assurance Manager
Senior Manager, GMP QA Operations
QA Manager, Training Services
Project Quality Assurance Manager
Principal Analytical QA Specialist, Drug Substance
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 130 |
Relativity Space
|
$144,500 | 33 |
Archer
|
$171,100 | 15 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$133,750 | 10 |
mthree Recruiting Portal
|
$55,750 | 10 |
Hadrian Automation
|
$152,500 | 9 |
SpaceX
|
$108,750 | 9 |
|
Fluidstack
|
$217,500 | 8 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Legend Biotech US
|
$90,478 | 4 |
Green Thumb
|
$107,500 | 3 |
|
Revolution Medicines
|
$99,000 | 3 |
|
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical
|
$171,425 | 2 |
Olema Oncology
|
$170,000 | 2 |
|
Radformation
|
$162,500 | 2 |
Genetix Biotherapeutics
|
$142,000 | 2 |
Quince
|
$117,500 | 2 |
Manufacturing Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $217,500 | 13 |
| Austin | $217,500 | 11 |
| San Francisco | $190,500 | 31 |
| New York | $187,500 | 22 |
| Chicago | $175,000 | 7 |
| Boston | $172,500 | 8 |
| Atlanta | $146,500 | 7 |
| Los Angeles | $145,000 | 32 |
| Denver | $121,000 | 4 |
Quality Assurance salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Boston | $171,250 | 4 |
| San Francisco | $166,250 | 8 |
| New York | $161,250 | 4 |
Manufacturing Engineer vs Quality Assurance: which pays more?
The median for Manufacturing Engineer is $147,750 per year (typically $120,000–$170,000), versus $112,112 for Quality Assurance ($76,250–$161,000). That puts Manufacturing Engineer about 32% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Manufacturing Engineer and Quality Assurance 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.