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QA Engineer Salary and Equity in Seattle 2026
How much does a QA Engineer expect to make at Seattle-based startups? The average expected salary for QA Engineers in Seattle-based startups is 147k per year, with a range from 115k to 215k. These amounts were gathered from Wellfound self-reported data and represent the median salary range. The salary range for QA Engineers in Seattle startups varies depending on factors such as industry, experience, skills, and startup stage.
146.5k
Average Salary
4 years
Average years of experience
Salary
The average salary for a QA Engineer in Seattle is $146,500, which is 8.4% lower than the average Seattle startup salary of$159,875. QA Engineer salaries in Seattle are based on exclusive Wellfound data. All data is updated on a weekly basis. Factors that may influence salary include: years of experience, title, size of company, skill-set, and industry.
Top of market
$197,100/yr
Range $186k - $215k
Average
$146,500/yr
Range $140k - $163k
Below Average
$120,900/yr
Range $115k - $133k
Industries
The highest average salary a QA Engineer in Seattle can get in Hardware + Software, that is $198,500. This pay is 2.5% higher than the average QA Engineer salary in Seattle, which is $193,650. The highest-paying industries in 2023 are: Hardware + Software (avg $198,500 per year), Computers (avg $198,500 per year), Cloud Computing (avg $195,000 per year).
Tech Stack
The highest average salary a QA Engineer in Seattle can get with C, that is $236,500. This pay is 47.9% higher than the average salary in Seattle startups, which is $159,875. Salary range for specific skills will vary based on the supply and demand in the current market.
Top Tech Stacks
The top-paying QA Engineer skills in Seattle of 2026 are:
1. C
$236.5k
2. Go
$214.5k
3. C++
$204k
4. Swift
$204k
5. Objective-C
$198.5k
6. Kubernetes
$195k
7. Rust
$195k
8. TypeScript
$170.5k
9. Azure
$158k
10. AWS
$158k
Years of experience
Below Average
Average
Top of Market
The highest average salary a QA Engineer in Seattle can get with 10+ years of experience, that is $192,500. This pay is 20.4% higher than the average salary in Seattle startups, which is $159,875. The salary range varies with years of experience and depends on other factors such as skill set, size of company, and industry.
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