Quality Engineer
If you do quality work, you might just get hired. As a quality engineer, you test plans for products to discover any problems that may arise and what is causing them.
A quality engineer is responsible for making sure that engineering and manufacturing processes are performed correctly using the right tools, materials and processes. An important part of the job involves designing the company’s quality standards and testing processes against those criteria. The quality engineer also checks that employees are trained to the right quality standard and that all safety requirements are met throughout the production process.
If anything goes wrong, it’s the quality engineer’s job to meticulously document the problem and work with other engineers to find a solution. These checks are essential not only to meet client requirements but also to satisfy legal demands in most industries.
Job Overview
Salary
Workplace
How to Start
Job Overview
What does a Quality Engineer do?
A quality engineer is responsible for the generation of a strategic plan to improve the business processes and increase production output. Duties include creating the company’s quality standards and testing systems to reflect efficiency, reliability and performance. Quality engineers are also responsible for the creation of documentation that reports issues and errors relating to the production process with efforts placed to find a solution. Depending on the industry and organization, the typical career advancement for a quality engineer is in a managerial or executive position.
A bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related field is often required for the job of a quality engineer with most companies expressing a preference for a master’s degree. A successful track record working as a quality engineer is also often required by hiring managers. Other valuable skills include a high proficiency in computer technology including Microsoft Office applications and strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Increase Quality
Quality engineers develop inspection methods to analyze product quality and improve product quality by making recommendations for change.
Implementation Knowledge
Quality engineers formulate a strategic plan to increase productivity in the business. They then implement a working system to ensure accuracy in the production process.
Team Player
These engineers work together with relevant teams and departments to improve products. They also brainstorm ideas with others to create solutions for identified problems.
Quality Assurance
Quality engineers are responsible for products to adhere to company and industry quality standards. They must also document results and findings after inspections are carried out.
Salary
How much does a Quality Engineer make?
The average Quality Engineer salary in the United States is $104,289. The range for the most popular Quality Engineer positions typically falls between $63,157 and $145,422. Keep in mind that salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including position, education, certifications, additional skills, and the number of years you have spent in your profession.
These are 2025 national salary averages and may fluctuate based on location.
Workplace
What does the workplace for a Quality Engineer look like?
Quality engineers work across a huge variety of manufacturing environments including electronic components, medical device manufacturing, car manufacturing, machine tools, aviation, semiconductors, computers, etc.
Quality engineers can work on the factory floor and are on their feet all day working with the production team, monitoring and improving the production process as well as solving problems or working with suppliers. Others are desk-based in an office – depending on the specific tasks they are carrying out at the time.
Quality engineers are generally part of a larger team responsible for making quality improvements across all aspects of production. senior quality engineers may manage teams of junior quality engineers and may have responsibility across multiple stages of a process.
How to Start
How to become a Quality Engineer?
You need a high level and deep understanding of the manufacturing process to perform the role of a quality engineer. And so for that reason, a bachelor’s degree in a lab/science or an engineering discipline such as mechanical, industrial, production or manufacturing engineering is the typical minimum requirement for quality engineering. The techniques used in quality engineering are usually added onto a lab/science or engineering qualification or learned on the job.
There are plenty of exceptions though depending on the industrial sector and country. An associate’s degree in quality engineering with relevant experience can be enough to secure an entry-level role. And it’s not uncommon for smart production operators, toolmakers, or technicians (with further education) to progress to the role of a quality engineer.
A master’s degree in quality assurance may be useful for advancement to management positions.
