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Hourly Wage for Quality Assurance Senior Manager Salary in the United States

What is the highest and lowest hourly pay for Quality Assurance Senior Manager?

As of August 01, 2026, the average hourly rate for a Quality Assurance Senior Manager in the United States is $78, which translates to an annual salary of about $162,593.

However, the hourly wage can vary significantly based on several factors. Here’s a detailed look at the typical pay range per hour:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $87 per hour
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $72 to $83 per hour
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $66 per hour
Salary Factors Salary-Boosting Skills Salary by Experience Related Job Salaries Top Paying Cities Explore Related Jobs

Key Factors That Influence Quality Assurance Senior Manager Salaries

A Quality Assurance Senior Manager'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, education and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Quality Assurance Senior Manager Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Quality Assurance Senior Manager'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:

  • Quality Assurance Specialist V (7-10 years): $152,383
  • Quality Assurance Manager (10+ years): $128,401
  • Quality Assurance Senior Manager (10+ years): $162,593
  • Quality Assurance Director (10+ years): $198,217
  • VP of Quality Assurance (10+ years): $244,557
Job Role Years of Experience Average Salary
Quality Assurance Specialist V7-10 years$152,383
Quality Assurance Manager10+ years$128,401
Quality Assurance Senior Manager10+ years$162,593
Quality Assurance Director10+ years$198,217
VP of Quality Assurance10+ years$244,557
View as Graph

How Do Quality Assurance Senior Managers Salaries Vary from State to State?

Your salary can change significantly depending on where you work. States with a higher cost of living and strong industrial sectors often pay more to attract Quality Assurance Senior Managers. For example, consider the average annual salaries in these key locations:
  • District of Columbia: $180,023.
  • California: $179,340.
  • Massachusetts: $176,950.

Top Paying Cities for Quality Assurance Senior Manager

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: $205,079
  • San Francisco: $202,833
  • Oakland: $198,559

What Skills Can Increase a Quality Assurance Senior Manager's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Leadership (Mentioned in 4.77% Job Postings): Knowledge of and ability to employ effective strategies that motivate and guide other members within our business to achieve optimum results.
  • Continuous Improvement (Mentioned in 2.23% Job Postings): A continual improvement process, also often called a continuous improvement process (abbreviated as CIP or CI), is an ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes. These efforts can seek "incremental" improvement over time or "breakthrough" improvement all at once. Delivery (customer valued) processes are constantly evaluated and improved in the light of their efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility. Some see CIPs as a meta-process for most management systems (such as business process management, quality management, project management, and program management). W. Edwards Deming, a pioneer of the field, saw it as part of the 'system' whereby feedback from the process and customer were evaluated against organisational goals. The fact that it can be called a management process does not mean that it needs to be executed by 'management'; but rather merely that it makes decisions about the implementation of the delivery process and the design of the delivery process itself.
  • Auditing (Mentioned in 1.46% Job Postings): Auditing refers to the independent examination of financial information of any entity whether profit oriented or not. It is a safeguard measure that prevents corruption.
Skills Demand Percentage
Leadership 4.77%
Continuous Improvement 2.23%
Auditing 1.46%
See More Skills

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 Quality Assurance Senior Manager's salary.

  • Clinical Research: Can increase your salary by up to 11%.
  • Oncology: Can increase your salary by up to 10%.
  • Clinical Trial: Can increase your salary by up to 10%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Clinical Research $180,478
11%
Oncology $178,852
10%
Clinical Trial $178,852
10%
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Quality Assurance Senior Manager Salary by Company Size: Startups vs. Enterprise

Quality Assurance Senior Manager salary potential scales significantly with company size. Data shows that Enterprise companies (5,000+ employees) pay the highest average salary at around $182,013. While startup companies pay approximate $153,979.

Quality Assurance Senior Manager Salary by Company Size

Company Size Employees Average Salary
Startup 1~50 $153,979
Growth Stage 51~500 $162,851
Established 501~5000 $175,766
Enterprise 5000+ $182,013

Quality Assurance Senior Manager Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors

For Quality Assurance Senior Manager roles, the industry you choose can affect earning potential by as much as 40% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries). Data shows that the Business Services and Healthcare sectors offer the strongest compensation, at 20% above the average. In contrast, Quality Assurance Senior Manager positions in Transportation or Pharmaceuticals typically offer lower base pay, as these industries often view Quality Assurance Senior Manager as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.

The top paying industries for a Quality Assurance Senior Manager

Industry Sector Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Rate Pay vs.Avg
Business Services$195,112$94.020%
Healthcare$191,860$92.018%
Aerospace & Defense$186,982$90.015%
Construction$182,104$88.012%
Biotechnology$178,852$86.010%

How Education impacts an Quality Assurance Senior Manager's Salary?

Your level of education can impact your salary potential. While many Quality Assurance Senior Manager enter the field with a Bachelor's Degree, higher education can lead to more specialized and higher-paying roles.

According to our 100% employer-reported salary data, the median salary for an Quality Assurance Senior Manager with a Bachelor's Degree is between $158,916 and $166,769.

Quality Assurance Senior Manager Salaries by Degree Level

Typical Education for Quality Assurance Senior Manager
Degree Level % of user with this level of education
No Diploma 0.7%
High School 7.0%
Associates 5.0%
Bachelors 40.1%
Masters 43.6%
Doctorate 3.6%
View as Graph

Quality Assurance Senior Manager Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Quality Assurance Senior Manager's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.

Last Updated on August 01, 2026
$149,515
Average $162,593/year
$172,611
$12,460
Average $13,549/month
$14,384
$2,875
Average $3,127/week
$3,319
$72
Average $78/hour
$83
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $172,611 $14,384 $3,319 $83
Average $162,593 $13,549 $3,127 $78
25th Percentile $149,515 $12,460 $2,875 $72

Most common benefits for Quality Assurance Senior Manager

  • Social Security
  • 401 (k)
  • Disability
  • Healthcare
  • Pension
  • Time Off (days)

Common company salaries for Quality Assurance Senior Manager

Here are companies hiring for Quality Assurance Senior Manager and their salaries, click below for more details.

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FAQ about Quality Assurance Senior Manager

1. What are the responsibilities of Quality Assurance Senior Manager?

Responsible for the implementation of policies and procedures to ensure adherence to production quality standards. Monitors and audits process, material, and product testing against established standards and conducts a continuous analysis of quality defects and deviations. Identifies deficiencies or gaps in testing activities and develops solutions to ensure adequate and robust quality processes. Optimizes processes to comply with existing and new regulatory requirements. Typically requires a bachelor's degree. Typically reports to a director. Typically manages through subordinate managers and professionals in larger groups of moderate complexity. Provides input to strategic decisions that affect the functional area of responsibility. May give input into developing the budget. Typically requires 3+ years of managerial experience. Capable of resolving escalated issues arising from operations and requiring coordination with other departments.

2. What are the skills of Quality Assurance Senior Manager

Specify the abilities and skills that a person needs in order to carry out the specified job duties. Each competency has five to ten behavioral assertions that can be observed, each with a corresponding performance level (from one to five) that is required for a particular job.

1.)

Leadership: Knowledge of and ability to employ effective strategies that motivate and guide other members within our business to achieve optimum results.

2.)

Continuous Improvement: A continual improvement process, also often called a continuous improvement process (abbreviated as CIP or CI), is an ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes. These efforts can seek "incremental" improvement over time or "breakthrough" improvement all at once. Delivery (customer valued) processes are constantly evaluated and improved in the light of their efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility. Some see CIPs as a meta-process for most management systems (such as business process management, quality management, project management, and program management). W. Edwards Deming, a pioneer of the field, saw it as part of the 'system' whereby feedback from the process and customer were evaluated against organisational goals. The fact that it can be called a management process does not mean that it needs to be executed by 'management'; but rather merely that it makes decisions about the implementation of the delivery process and the design of the delivery process itself.

3.)

Auditing: Auditing refers to the independent examination of financial information of any entity whether profit oriented or not. It is a safeguard measure that prevents corruption.

Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third-party data sources. We also provide multiple percentiles of salary information for your reference, click here to know Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial to Getting Pay Equity Right. With more online, real-time compensation data than any other website, Salary.com helps you determine your exact pay target.

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