Side-by-side distribution
Manufacturing Engineer
$147,750
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 53.7%
- Live roles
- 925
Quality Control
$50,960
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 32.4%
- Live roles
- 71
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
Quality Control Inspector
Quality Control Inspector
Quality Control Inspector
Quality Control Inspector
Quality Control Technician
Line Maintenance Quality Control Inspector - $800 monthly stipend + $10,000 Bonus!
Technician, Quality Control
Quality Control Inspector
Quality Control Inspector
Repair & Quality Control Technician
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 130 |
Relativity Space
|
$144,500 | 33 |
Archer
|
$171,100 | 15 |
mthree Recruiting Portal
|
$55,750 | 10 |
Fluidstack
|
$217,500 | 9 |
Hadrian Automation
|
$152,500 | 9 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$132,500 | 9 |
SpaceX
|
$108,750 | 9 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Trexon
|
$45,240 | 6 |
|
Murray Company Mechanical Contractors
|
$93,600 | 2 |
|
Xometry
|
$81,750 | 2 |
Thorlabs
|
$42,442 | 2 |
| IE Industrial Electric Manufacturing | $85,998 | 1 |
|
Breeze Airways™
|
$81,120 | 1 |
|
F.H. Paschen
|
$80,000 | 1 |
|
Osmo
|
$74,000 | 1 |
Manufacturing Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $217,500 | 14 |
| Austin | $217,500 | 12 |
| New York | $190,500 | 23 |
| San Francisco | $190,500 | 32 |
| Chicago | $175,000 | 7 |
| Boston | $172,500 | 8 |
| Atlanta | $146,500 | 7 |
| Los Angeles | $145,000 | 32 |
| Denver | $121,000 | 4 |
Manufacturing Engineer vs Quality Control: which pays more?
The median for Manufacturing Engineer is $147,750 per year (typically $120,000–$170,000), versus $50,960 for Quality Control ($44,720–$74,000). That puts Manufacturing Engineer about 190% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Manufacturing Engineer and Quality Control 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.