$145k - $175k
Location - Irvine , CA. This is an on-site/in-person role . Summary/Objective We are seeking an experienced Staff Software Test Engineer to join our pump firmware automation test team at our Irvine location. As a Softwar…
Engineering & IT · San Diego, CA
QA Engineer jobs in San Diego, CA
QA engineers make sure software works before users find out it does not. The role blends manual exploratory testing with automated test suites and close collaboration with developers.
197
Open roles today
$31–$82/hr
Typical pay range
$112k
Median, full-time
10
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01
Open qa engineer roles
12 shown of 197 · sorted by freshness
$92.3k - $166.85k
Leidos has a new and exciting opportunity for a Software Test Engineer in our INTEL Sector's Cyber & Analytics Business Area (CABA). Our talented team is at the forefront in Security Engineering, Computer Network Operati…
$150k - $244k
Staff / Sr Staff Engineer - System SoftwareCategorySoftwareLocationSan Diego, CA ExperienceMore than 8 Years Work Expe.Job Description• Bring up new platform boards and verify the major functions independently• Regular s…
$92.3k - $166.85k
Leidos has a new and exciting opportunity for a Applications Software Engineer in our INTEL Sector's Cyber & Analytics Business Area (CABA). Our talented team is at the forefront in Security Engineering, Computer Network…
CaliforniaSecurity Clearance: SecretBusiness Unit: Zachary PiperPosition Owner: Jesse BowersJoin our team as an Integration & Test Engineer! (TRAVEL)Company: Zachary Piper SolutionsClearance: SecretCompensation: Up to $1…
Job-ID29219588Reference26-25118Salary$94,200.60-$117,699.40 / year Top 5 Skills: Solid understanding of electrical engineering circuits, operation of semiconductor devices(PMIC, digital and analog) Strong troubleshooting…
$75.17k - $130.5k
Req ID:388899NTT DATA strives to hire exceptional, innovative and passionate individuals who want to grow with us. If you want to be part of an inclusive, adaptable, and forward-thinking organization, apply now.We are cu…
$160k - $250k
more information, visit . Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube. Job Description:Shield AI is seeking a Senior Engineer to help design, develop, and integrate a safety critical Run-Time Assurance (RTA)…
$105k - $168k
Job TitleSenior Procurement/Strategic Sourcing EngineerJob DescriptionThe Senior Procurement Engineer develops and industrializes the supply base, drives Product Cost Roadmaps (PCRs), and executes Design for eXcellence (…
$160k - $250k
Instagram, and YouTube. Job Description:Join Shield AI’s Hivemind SDK State Estimation and Vision team to build the tools that help engineers develop, understand, and validate autonomous navigation systems. You will turn…
$140k - $180k
career to new heights with Innoflight—one of San Diego’s fastest-growing Aerospace and Defense innovators. Here, visionary minds engineer the future of space technology through pioneering, compact, and cyber-secure solut…
Sr. Software Test Automation Engineer (Automation Frameworks, Selenium, API Testing, Jmeter, regression testing, performance testing, SQL, CI-CD, Azure, AWS) in San Diego, CA APIs Testing, Automation Frameworks, Data Dri…
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What qa engineers earn in San Diego
Hourly first — that's how the offer arrives
| Experience | Hourly | Annual, full-time |
|---|---|---|
| Entry level | $31–$45 | $65k–$94k |
| Mid level | $45–$62 | $94k–$130k |
| Senior | $60–$82 | $124k–$171k |
Adjusted for the San Diego market from national ranges.
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What employers ask for
The skills these listings keep naming
Test planning and case designAutomation (Selenium, Playwright)API testing (Postman)A scripting language (Python, JS)Bug reporting and triageSQL for data verificationCI integration of test suitesExploratory testingAttention to detail
04
Interview questions worth rehearsing
With the thing the interviewer is actually listening for
How would you test a login form?
Go beyond happy path: invalid inputs, security cases, lockouts, accessibility, and different devices. Structure your answer into categories so it sounds systematic.
What do you automate, and what do you test manually?
Automate the repeatable and regression-prone; explore manually where human judgment finds new bugs. Showing you know automation has a maintenance cost is the senior move.
Walk me through a great bug report you have written.
Reproduction steps, expected versus actual, environment, evidence, and severity. Emphasize that a good report saves a developer an hour.
A developer says your bug is not a bug. What do you do?
Show that you argue from the user's perspective and the spec, escalate with data if needed, and keep the relationship collaborative.
How do you decide what to test when time is short before a release?
Risk-based prioritization: critical paths, recent changes, and areas with bug history. Naming the tradeoff explicitly is what they want to hear.
How do you keep an automated test suite from becoming flaky?
Talk about stable selectors, proper waits, isolated test data, and quarantining flaky tests instead of ignoring red builds.
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Resume tips that move the needle
For qa engineers specifically — generic advice costs you here
01
Quantify your impact in defects: escape rate reduced, critical bugs caught pre-release, regression time cut.
02
Name your automation stack and the size of suites you built or maintained, such as number of tests or coverage of critical flows.
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Show progression from manual to automation if that is your path — it is the expected trajectory and worth making explicit.
04
Mention the domains you tested (payments, healthcare, mobile) since domain risk knowledge transfers.
05
Include CI/CD integration work; a suite that runs on every pull request is worth more than one run by hand.
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Where this role goes
Typical progression
01
QA Analyst
02
QA Engineer
03
Senior QA Engineer
04
QA Lead
05
Head of Quality
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