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QA/Validation Engineer I Salary in Oak Ridge, TN

How much does a QA/Validation Engineer I make in Oak Ridge, TN?

As of July 01, 2026, the average salary for a QA/Validation Engineer I in Oak Ridge, TN is $69,120 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $33.

However, a QA/Validation Engineer I's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $78,825
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $63,120 to $74,200
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $57,657
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View as table View as graph 25% $63,120 10% $57,657 90% $78,825 75% $74,200 $69,120 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click

QA/Validation Engineer I Salaries by Percentile

Annual
Salary
Monthly
Pay
Weekly
Pay
Hourly
Wage
75th Percentile $74,200 $6,183 $1,427 $36
Average $69,120 $5,760 $1,329 $33
25th Percentile $63,120 $5,260 $1,214 $30

Key Factors That Influence QA/Validation Engineer I Salaries

A QA/Validation Engineer I's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location, skills, and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects QA/Validation Engineer Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a QA/Validation Engineer I's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:

  • QA/Validation Engineer I (0-2 years): $69,110
  • Intermediate Quality Assurance Engineer (2-4 years): $81,340
  • QA/Validation Engineer III (4-7 years): $92,000
  • QA/Validation Engineer IV (7+ years): $114,417
  • Expert/Consultant Level Quality Assurance Engineer (7-10 years): $137,281
Job Role Years of Experience Average Salary
QA/Validation Engineer I0-2 years$69,110
Intermediate Quality Assurance Engineer2-4 years$81,340
QA/Validation Engineer III4-7 years$92,000
QA/Validation Engineer IV7+ years$114,417
Expert/Consultant Level Quality Assurance Engineer7-10 years$137,281
$69,110 QA/Valida...
$81,340 Intermedi...
$92,000 QA/Valida...
$114,417 QA/Valida...
$137,281 Expert/Co...
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What Am I Worth?

Top Paying Cities for QA/Validation Engineer Is

Salaries can also vary between different cities. Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay. Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:

  • San Jose: $95,470
  • San Francisco: $94,430
  • Oakland: $92,440

What Skills Can Increase a QA/Validation Engineer I's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Analysis (Mentioned in 4.09% Job Postings): Analysis is the process of considering something carefully or using statistical methods in order to understand it or explain it.
  • Software Development (Mentioned in 2.91% Job Postings): Software development is the process of conceiving, specifying, designing, programming, documenting, testing, and bug fixing involved in creating and maintaining applications, frameworks, or other software components. Software development is a process of writing and maintaining the source code, but in a broader sense, it includes all that is involved between the conception of the desired software through to the final manifestation of the software, sometimes in a planned and structured process. Therefore, software development may include research, new development, prototyping, modification, reuse, re-engineering, maintenance, or any other activities that result in software products. Software can be developed for a variety of purposes, the three most common being to meet specific needs of a specific client/business (the case with custom software), to meet a perceived need of some set of potential users (the case with commercial and open source software), or for personal use (e.g. a scientist may write software to automate a mundane task). Embedded software development, that is, the development of embedded software, such as used for controlling consumer products, requires the development process to be integrated with the development of the controlled physical product. System software underlies applications and the programming process itself, and is often developed separately.
  • Scrum (Mentioned in 2.02% Job Postings): Using an agile process for managing the lifecycle development of software products.
See More Skills
Skills Demand Percentage
Analysis 4.09%
Software Development 2.91%
Scrum 2.02%
What skills can make your compensation higher?
Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay. Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on a QA/Validation Engineer I's salary.
  • Scrum: Can increase your salary by up to 31%.
  • Software Testing: Can increase your salary by up to 22%.
  • Jenkins: Can increase your salary by up to 18%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Scrum
$90,547
31%
Software Testing
$84,326
22%
Jenkins
$81,562
18%
Agile
$78,797
14%
Linux
$78,106
13%
QA Automation
$77,414
12%
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QA/Validation Engineer I Salary by Company Size: Startups vs. Enterprise

QA/Validation Engineer I salary potential scales significantly with company size. Data shows that Enterprise companies (5,000+ employees) pay the highest average salary at around $77,310. While startup companies pay approximate $65,381.

QA/Validation Engineer I Salary by Company Size

Company Size Employees Average Salary
Startup1~50$65,381
Growth Stage51~500$69,151
Established501~5000$74,658
Enterprise5000+$77,310