Quality Assurance for Manufacturing
Quality assurance plays a central role in manufacturing environments, where consistency, traceability and compliance directly affect output, cost control and customer confidence. QAagency specialises in recruiting Quality Assurance professionals for manufacturing businesses across the UK, supporting organisations operating in regulated, high-volume and precision-led production environments.
Manufacturing QA roles typically sit within site-based quality teams, working closely with production, engineering and supply chain functions. Responsibilities often combine hands-on inspection and testing with system management, corrective action and audit preparation. Depending on the operation, roles may cover a single production line or have oversight across multiple processes or sites.
In most manufacturing settings, QA professionals report into a Quality Manager, Technical Manager or Head of Quality. The focus is on maintaining robust quality management systems, reducing defects and ensuring compliance with customer, regulatory and certification requirements, while supporting continuous improvement across the operation.
Roles we recruit for within manufacturing QA
We recruit across a broad range of quality-focused roles within manufacturing, including Quality Technicians and QA Inspectors supporting in-process checks and product release, Quality Engineers responsible for root cause analysis and corrective actions, Senior QA professionals overseeing systems and audits and Quality Managers or Heads of Quality leading site-wide or group quality functions.
Many of these roles operate within recognised frameworks such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, IATF 16949 and customer-specific quality standards.
2026 salary insight: manufacturing quality assurance roles
Based on QAagency 2026 salary benchmarking, average UK salaries for manufacturing QA roles are:
Quality Technician or QA Inspector (0–2 years experience): £29,800
Quality Engineer (3–5 years experience): £38,900
Senior Quality Engineer (5–10 years experience): £47,600
Quality Manager or Head of Quality: £60,900
Salary progression within manufacturing QA is influenced by process complexity, customer exposure, audit ownership and whether the role includes responsibility for supplier quality, production release or multi-site oversight.
Market and hiring trends in manufacturing QA
Demand for manufacturing QA professionals has remained stable through 2025 and into 2026, with continued pressure on manufacturers to reduce waste, improve consistency and meet increasingly detailed customer requirements. Quality roles are becoming more closely integrated with production and engineering teams rather than operating as isolated compliance functions.
Year on year salary growth from 2025 to 2026 has typically ranged between 4.3% and 4.9%, with senior and management roles seeing the strongest increases. Over the past five years, senior manufacturing QA salaries have increased by approximately 17%, reflecting broader responsibility and heightened audit expectations.
Employers are placing greater emphasis on candidates who can drive corrective action independently, analyse data effectively and communicate clearly with both production and customer-facing teams. Experience with lean manufacturing and continuous improvement methodologies continues to attract a salary premium.
Location and salary variation
London and the South East remain the highest-paying regions for manufacturing QA roles, particularly for management-level positions within complex or regulated environments. However, manufacturing hubs in the Midlands, North West and Yorkshire continue to show strong demand, with average QA salaries in these regions increasing by around 15% over the past five years.
Site-based roles show relatively consistent pay nationally, while senior roles with multi-site responsibility command higher salaries regardless of location. Candidates with experience across regulated manufacturing sectors tend to progress more quickly into higher-paying positions.