QA jobs in Houston, United States
For QA work, Houston counts as a tier b hub in United States. It has 12 open QA roles, and United States has 1166 in total. The country's busiest listing hub is San Jose with 54 roles. A mid-level QA Automation Engineer earns about $110k gross a year here, set from the national median with the B-tier pay index of 88.
Index vs New York = 100. 12% below New York. Estimated from tier, not measured.
Open QA roles in Houston
12 roles based in Houston, newest first. Pay is shown upfront.
Application Developer/Tester
Lead Software QA Analyst
Quality Engineer
Performance Engineer
Manager Applications, Quality Assurance Software Testing
Junior Localization Tester
What is hiring in Houston
Share of the 12 listings in Houston.
- SDET4 33%
- Business / Test Analyst3 25%
- Manual QA Tester2 17%
- Performance Test Engineer1 8%
- QA Automation Engineer1 8%
- Localization QA Tester1 8%
Pay in Houston
Mid-level gross pay in USD, from the United States median with a pay index of 88.
| Role | P10 | Median | P90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual QA Tester | $59k | $72k | $88k |
| QA Automation Engineer | $87k | $110k | $130k |
| SDET | $95k | $120k | $140k |
| QA Lead / Manager | $79k | $97k | $120k |
Country figures: United States salary snapshot · QA Automation Engineer pay in United States.
Working hours from Houston
Houston is on UTC-5 (CDT). A 09:00-17:00 day here shares 7 h with US East (09:00-16:00 local), 7 h with US East, 6 h with US West, 2 h with London and 1 h with Central Europe.
Houston changes its clocks: UTC-6 in winter and UTC-5 in summer. Today it is on UTC-5 (CDT). Europe moves its clocks on 25 Oct 2026 and the US on 1 Nov 2026. For that week US East and London overlap 4 h on a 09:00-17:00 day, against 3 h today.
Houston as a QA market
A Tier B city is a growing hub with regular listings.
Houston has about 2.3 million residents (city-proper estimate, GeoNames). It is the 4th largest of the 62 United States cities we list.
Population: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). City-proper figures are not comparable across countries.
Employers in United States hire QA mostly in AI / ML, SaaS, Healthcare / MedTech. Listings name Jira, Selenium, Playwright most often. 409 of 1166 United States roles are remote, against 8% of the listings based in Houston.
The largest QA market in the data, with hiring concentrated in SaaS, fintech, gaming and AI companies on both coasts and in Texas.
Hiring in United States
- Contracts
- Full-time employee (W-2), Contractor (1099 / corp-to-corp), Contract-to-hire
- Notice
- No statutory notice for most employees. Two weeks is the common courtesy, and senior roles often agree longer terms.
- Paid leave
- No federal paid-leave minimum. Employers typically offer 15 to 25 days of PTO plus public holidays.
- Working week
- 40 hours is standard. Non-exempt staff get overtime under federal and state rules.
Typical values only. Full hiring guide for United States. Flex work from United States is open: how Flex works.
QA roles in Houston: jobs and pay
Open a role for local openings and the pay by level in Houston.
Manual QA Tester
Mid-level median $80k
QA Automation Engineer
Mid-level median $120k
SDET
Mid-level median $130k
QA Lead / Manager
Mid-level median $110k
Mobile QA Engineer
Mid-level median $100k
Performance Test Engineer
Mid-level median $140k
Security / Penetration Tester
Mid-level median $180k
Game QA Tester
Mid-level median $64k
Accessibility Tester
Mid-level median $95k
Business / Test Analyst
Mid-level median $86k
Data / ETL QA Engineer
Mid-level median $97k
Localization QA Tester
Mid-level median $47k
AI / LLM Evaluation QA
Mid-level median $100k
Release / DevOps Engineer
Mid-level median $140k
Technical Writer (QA / Docs)
Mid-level median $87k
QA jobs in Houston: FAQ
How much does a QA automation engineer earn in Houston?
A mid-level QA Automation Engineer in Houston earns about $110k gross a year, with a p10 to p90 band of $87k to $130k. Junior roles start near $82k and senior roles reach $140k. This applies a pay index of 88 (anchor city = 100) to the United States median.
How many QA jobs are open in Houston?
Houston has 12 open QA roles today, 1 of them remote, and United States has 1166 in total. Remote roles in the same time zone are open to candidates here.
How much time-zone overlap does Houston have with US and European teams?
On a 09:00-17:00 day in Houston (UTC-5 (CDT)), the overlap is 7 h with US East, 6 h with US West, 2 h with London and 1 h with Central Europe. Houston changes its clocks: UTC-6 in winter and UTC-5 in summer. Today it is on UTC-5 (CDT).
What does it cost to live in Houston compared with New York?
Our approximate cost-of-living index for Houston is 86 against New York at 100, and the pay index is 88. Both are tier-based estimates, not measured prices.
Which industries hire QA testers in United States?
In United States listings, the most common industries are AI / ML, SaaS, Healthcare / MedTech. The tools named most often are Jira, Selenium, Playwright.
How big is Houston and how does it rank as a QA talent pool?
Houston has about 2.3 million residents (city-proper estimate, GeoNames). It is the 4th largest of the 62 United States cities we list. Population alone does not set pay: the pay index of 88 comes from the city tier, and the 12 local listings show how much QA hiring is visible today. Remote roles in the same time zone widen the pool for candidates here.
What notice period and paid leave should I expect in United States?
No statutory notice for most employees. Two weeks is the common courtesy, and senior roles often agree longer terms. No federal paid-leave minimum. Employers typically offer 15 to 25 days of PTO plus public holidays. These are typical values, not legal advice.