Side-by-side distribution
Manufacturing Engineer
$150,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 54.8%
- Live roles
- 1,009
Quality Control
$51,480
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33.7%
- Live roles
- 83
Highest-paying jobs
Research Engineer, Production Model Post-Training
Risk and Pnl Production Support Engineer
Production Support Engineer - Trading Systems
Product Engineer - Manufacturing Operations
Manufacturing Quality Engineer, Data Center Power & Cooling
Manufacturing Engineer - Data Center Hardware
Senior Manufacturing Engineer (Arc Vehicle)
Senior Manufacturing Engineer (Reentry)
Product Manufacturing Engineer - PCBA
Manufacturing Quality Engineer – Datacenter Infrastructure
Highest-paying jobs
Geomatics Quality Control Technician
Supplier Quality Control Inspector
Technician, Quality Control
1566 - Quality Control Technician- RF Hardware & Electronics
Quality Control Inspector II
Quality Control Inspector II
Quality Control Technician
Structural Steel QC Inspector – 1st Shift
Structural Steel QC Inspector – 1st Shift
Quality Control Technician
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$150,000 | 136 |
Relativity Space
|
$136,000 | 28 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$143,550 | 23 |
SpaceX
|
$115,000 | 21 |
Crusoe
|
$187,500 | 15 |
Fluidstack
|
$250,250 | 12 |
Hadrian Automation
|
$160,000 | 12 |
Vast
|
$165,000 | 11 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Trexon
|
$45,240 | 6 |
|
Qualdoc
|
$65,520 | 2 |
|
Zone 5 Technologies
|
$63,544 | 2 |
fairlife
|
$57,200 | 2 |
| RC Revlon Corporate | $50,000 | 2 |
|
Phasor Engineering Inc
|
$85,000 | 1 |
|
Osmo
|
$74,000 | 1 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$73,840 | 1 |
Manufacturing Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $226,000 | 31 |
| Seattle | $226,000 | 19 |
| Austin | $226,000 | 17 |
| San Francisco | $190,500 | 41 |
| Los Angeles | $152,500 | 41 |
| Boston | $150,000 | 7 |
| Chicago | $135,750 | 6 |
| Atlanta | $130,000 | 7 |
| Denver | $97,500 | 4 |
Quality Control salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $57,200 | 3 |
Manufacturing Engineer vs Quality Control: which pays more?
The median for Manufacturing Engineer is $150,000 per year (typically $125,375–$173,500), versus $51,480 for Quality Control ($47,060–$62,998). That puts Manufacturing Engineer about 191% 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.