Quality engineer salary
Space employers offer quality engineers and inspectors a median of $130k a year, and the middle half of their postings sits at $106k–$158k. That comes from 312 jobs at 48 employers whose own postings name a salary.
- 25th percentile$105,574.41/hr
- Median (50th)$130,000/hr
- 75th percentile$158,080.88/hr
- Distinct posted rates312
- Jobs stating an hourly rate312
- Employers48
The median is the middle of the 312 distinct rates they post, and the middle half, $105,574.41–$158,080.88 an hour, runs from their 25th percentile to their 75th: half of the rates fall between them. Each range counts at its midpoint, and a job posted many times at one rate counts once, so no employer's posting volume sets the figure.
- 25th percentile$105,574.41/hr
- Median (50th)$130,000/hr
- 75th percentile$158,080.88/hr
- Distinct posted rates312
- Jobs stating an hourly rate312
- Employers48
The median is the middle of the 312 distinct rates they post, and the middle half, $105,574.41–$158,080.88 an hour, runs from their 25th percentile to their 75th: half of the rates fall between them. Each range counts at its midpoint, and a job posted many times at one rate counts once, so no employer's posting volume sets the figure.
- Median posted pay, a year$130,000
- Hours in a full-time year2,080
- The same per hour, full time$62.50/hr
Every figure here is a year's pay: a job that posts pay counts at 2,080 hours (40 a week for 52 weeks). Rounded to the nearest $100.
- Northrop Grumman55 jobs
- Lockheed Martin39 jobs
- SpaceX36 jobs
- Amazon Leo23 jobs
- Relativity Space19 jobs
- Vast15 jobs
- Blue Origin8 jobs
- Impulse Space8 jobs
- BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems7 jobs
- Ursa Major6 jobs
Jobs stating pay, the employers with the most first: 216 at the 10 shown and 96 at 38 other employers, 312 in all.
The jobs themselves: Quality engineer jobs
What quality engineers and inspectors are paid
How many postings fall in each salary step, a range counted at its midpoint; the darker bars are the middle half of what employers offer.
Median $130k a year. Middle half $106k to $158k. Point at a bar for its count. Tap a bar for its count.
Posted on open jobs
Middle half of 312 distinct posted rates (a job posted many times at one rate counted once), median $130k. 56% of the 561 open quality engineer jobs state pay. Another 1 states an "up to" ceiling, a weekly travel rate or a per-visit fee, left out.
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Quality engineer pay by employer
What each employer posts for quality engineers and inspectors, the employers with the most jobs stating pay first. An employer with at least 5 such jobs has a page of its own with every range it posts.
Median of each employer's own jobs (a range at its midpoint), and the lowest and highest rate it posts. Jobs stating pay link to the employer's open jobs.
Quality engineer pay by state
States where at least 8 open jobs from 3 employers state pay, highest median first. Each opens the state's own page, with its towns and employers.
| State | Median posted | Middle half | BLS median | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $155k | $139k–$162k | n/a | 33 |
| California | $148k | $122k–$166k | n/a | 128 |
| Florida | $134k | $101k–$150k | n/a | 29 |
| Colorado | $129k | $105k–$162k | n/a | 49 |
| Alabama | $112k | $88k–$146k | n/a | 23 |
| Arizona | $105k | $90.1k–$127k | n/a | 8 |
| Virginia | $102k | $81.1k–$118k | n/a | 8 |
Median and middle half of employers' rates in the state. BLS medians are for the occupation's main SOC code in the state (latest release).
Best-paid open quality engineer jobs
The current postings with the highest stated salaries, no more than two per employer.
$180,000–$325,000/yr
$213,000–$287,500/yr
$225,000–$275,000/yr
$203,165–$284,430/yr
$201,507–$277,073/yr- $197,529–$276,540/yr
$129,150–$327,810/yr
$209,000–$233,000/yr
$175,400–$263,200/yr
$162,360–$265,392/yr- $162,360–$265,392/yr
$190,000–$225,000/yr
Every open job: Quality engineer jobs
Questions about quality engineer pay in space
What do space companies pay quality engineers and inspectors?
Postings that state a salary put the median at $130k a year and the middle half at $106k–$158k, across 312 postings from 48 employers (one employer's repeated posting counted once). Full time, the median is about $62.50/hr an hour.
Where do quality engineers and inspectors earn the most?
Ranked by the median salary in each state's postings: Washington ($155k), California ($148k) and Florida ($134k) come first, Virginia ($102k), Arizona ($105k) and Alabama ($112k) last. A state's own salary page splits its figure by town and employer.
Which space companies pay quality engineers and inspectors the most?
Of the employers that state a salary on at least 5 postings: Blue Origin ($176k), Impulse Space ($168k) and Vast ($166k). The employer table covers the 40 with the most postings that state pay.
Where do these figures come from?
From the salaries in space companies' own postings, read every night: 312 of 561 current quality engineer postings (56%) state one. Nothing is estimated for a posting without pay, "up to" ceilings are set aside, and an hourly rate counts as 2,080 hours.
Salaries in quality
Sources and method
- SpaceJobs.Now: salaries stated in space companies' own postings, read every night, published 7 Nov 2026
Cite this page
SpaceJobs.Now. (2026). Quality engineer salary. Data as of 7 Nov 2026. https://spacejobs.now/salaries/quality-engineers