Quality inspection salary: $150K median
The median advertised Quality inspection salary is $150K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $118K to $172K: counted from 221 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range: about $72 an hour or $12,500 a month. A tenth of the postings offer $198K or more. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.
Check an offer against these figuresAll Quality inspection jobs
$150Kmedian advertised salary
$118K – $172Kmiddle half of roles
$151Kaverage advertised salary
221roles counted
Quality inspection salary by level
Lead roles advertise a median of $196K, 15% more than senior roles ($171K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.
| Level | Median salary | Middle half | Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | $171K | $148K–$172K | 78 |
| Lead and above | $196K | $172K–$222K | 34 |
| No level in the title | $125K | $109K–$150K | 108 |
Quality inspection salary by location
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸San Francisco Bay Area | $177K | 24 |
| 🇺🇸California | $164K | 138 |
| 🇺🇸United States | $152K | 216 |
| 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA | $140K | 33 |
Skills that pay more for Quality inspection roles
| Skill | Median with it | Above the median | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security clearance | $172K | +$22K | 64 |
| MATLAB | $172K | +$22K | 26 |
| Siemens NX | $171K | +$21K | 54 |
| Sensor fusion | $170K | +$20K | 83 |
| FMEA | $170K | +$20K | 91 |
Top-paying companies
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| Skydio | $198K | 3 |
| Cowboyspace | $198K | 5 |
| 1X | $180K | 4 |
| Varda Space Industries | $172K | 7 |
| Anduril Industries | $170K | 83 |
| Rocket Lab | $166K | 3 |
| Crusoe | $150K | 5 |
| Archer | $139K | 6 |
| Shield AI | $134K | 8 |
| True Anomaly | $132K | 3 |
| ALTEN Technology USA | $116K | 6 |
| SpaceX | $115K | 19 |
| Valar Atomics | $85K | 6 |
| Jukebox Health | $85K | 3 |
Highest-paying open Quality inspection roles
All Quality inspection jobs- Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality (GxP)Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. · 🇺🇸South San Francisco, CA$351K - $388KLead and aboveGCPRegulatory complianceQuality inspection
- Principal Engineer, cUAS Lead, OmenAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$220K - $292KLead and abovePythonC++MATLAB
- Optomechanical Engineer, StaffTrue Anomaly · 🇺🇸Denver, CO or Long Beach, CA$185K - $285KLead and aboveOpticsCADGD&T
- Principal M&P Engineer, MetallicsArcher · 🇺🇸San Jose, California, United States$219K - $274KLead and aboveAWSTest planningPRDs
- Staff Supplier Development Engineer - Structures & Welding (R5984)Shield AI · 🇺🇸Seattle, WA, US$178K - $267KLead and aboveAWSSecurity clearanceSix Sigma certification
- Senior Staff Engineer, Supply Chain - Mechanical Commodities (R6524)Shield AI · 🇺🇸Seattle, WA, US$178K - $267KLead and aboveSecurity clearanceSix Sigma certificationAPICS
- Principal Manufacturing Engineer (Structures)Varda Space Industries · 🇺🇸El Segundo, California, United States$182K - $263KLead and aboveCADGD&TBlueprint reading
- Engineering Technician, ActuatorsOpenAI · 🇺🇸San Francisco$113K - $260KMechatronicsMechanical assemblyCNC machining
- Advanced / NPI Quality EngineerSkydio · 🇺🇸Hayward, California, United States$145K - $257KPythonSQLSix Sigma certification
- Principal NPI Engineering Manager - SparkCrusoe · 🇺🇸Denver, CO - US$225K - $255KLead and aboveHardware testingCADMechanical assembly
- Principal Product EngineerSambaNova · 🇺🇸San Jose, California, United States$180K - $255KLead and aboveGenerative AIOracle ERPFirmware
- Senior PLM Software Engineer, Manufacturing SystemsAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$191K - $254KSeniorJavaC++CI/CD
- Manufacturing Quality Engineer BotQFigure · 🇺🇸San Jose, CA$150K - $250KSix Sigma certificationAuditMechatronics
- Supplier Quality EngineerFigure · 🇺🇸San Jose, CA$150K - $250KMechatronicsGD&TQuality inspection
- Senior Hardware Product Packaging EngineerSkydio · 🇺🇸San Mateo, California, United States$153K - $243KHybridSeniorCADAviationMechanical assembly
- Senior Manager Quality Engineering1X · 🇺🇸San Carlos, CA$198K - $242KSeniorPRDsMechatronicsRobotics
- Staff Mechanical Engineer, Robot Head1X · 🇺🇸San Carlos, CA$110K - $240KLead and aboveMechatronicsRF engineeringCAD
- Senior Manager, Supplier QualityValar Atomics · 🇺🇸Torrance, California, United States$190K - $240KSeniorAuditProcurementCNC machining
- Senior Technical Program ManagerAgility Robotics · 🇺🇸Hybrid- Fremont, CA$150K - $235KHybridSeniorJiraConfluenceMechatronics
- Principal Propulsion Engineer- ComponentsVarda Space Industries · 🇺🇸El Segundo, California, United States$182K - $232KLead and aboveMechatronicsCADAviation
Questions about Quality inspection pay
- What is the average Quality inspection salary?
- $151K a year on average and $150K at the median, across 221 open Quality inspection postings at companies that state pay (November 2026). The median is the better guide: a few very high offers pull the average up.
- What is the typical range?
- The middle half of the postings offer $118K to $172K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
- Which companies advertise the highest Quality inspection pay?
- Skydio ($198K), Cowboyspace ($198K), 1X ($180K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
- Is a quality inspection a high-paying job?
- The median Quality inspection posting advertises $150K a year, less than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 14% below the middle of the market.
- How much can you earn as a quality inspection?
- A tenth of the postings offer $198K a year or more; the highest open Quality inspection role advertises up to $388K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
- What is the Quality inspection salary per hour and per month?
- The median of $150K a year is about $72 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $12,500 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $57 to $82 an hour.
- Which skills pay more for Quality inspection roles?
- Postings that ask for Security clearance (+$22K, 64 postings), MATLAB (+$22K, 26 postings), Siemens NX (+$21K, 54 postings) advertise more than the $150K median of all Quality inspection postings with pay.
- Where do these figures come from?
- From the pay ranges employers print in their own job postings, read from their careers pages every hour. The midpoint of each range is counted. These are advertised ranges for open roles, mostly in the United States and in US dollars, not what people are actually paid.
Writing about this? A sentence you can quote
The median advertised salary for Quality inspection roles at companies is $150K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $118K to $172K. Counted from 221 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Jobs Every Hour, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/quality-inspection/
Free to use with the link.