QA jobs in Washington DC, United States
Washington DC sits in the tier a hub group for QA hiring in United States. It has 23 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 $120k gross a year here, set from the national median with the A-tier pay index of 96.
Government contractors, cybersecurity and health IT. Some roles require citizenship or clearance.
Index vs New York = 100. 4% below New York. Estimated from tier, not measured.
Open QA roles in Washington DC
23 roles based in Washington DC, newest first. Pay is shown upfront.
Software QA Specialist II
QA Manager
Business Analyst / Tester
Accessibility Tester
Technical Writer - Active TS/SCI with CI Poly
Linguistic QA Tester
What is hiring in Washington DC
Share of the 23 listings in Washington DC.
- Manual QA Tester14 61%
- QA Lead / Manager3 13%
- Business / Test Analyst2 9%
- Localization QA Tester2 9%
- Accessibility Tester1 4%
- Technical Writer (QA / Docs)1 4%
Pay in Washington DC
Mid-level gross pay in USD, from the United States median with a pay index of 96.
| Role | P10 | Median | P90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual QA Tester | $65k | $79k | $96k |
| QA Automation Engineer | $95k | $120k | $140k |
| SDET | $100k | $130k | $150k |
| QA Lead / Manager | $87k | $110k | $130k |
Country figures: United States salary snapshot · QA Automation Engineer pay in United States.
Working hours from Washington DC
Washington DC is on UTC-4 (EDT). A 09:00-17:00 day here shares 8 h with US East (09:00-17:00 local), 8 h with US East, 5 h with US West, 3 h with London and 2 h with Central Europe.
Washington DC changes its clocks: UTC-5 in winter and UTC-4 in summer. Today it is on UTC-4 (EDT). 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.
Washington DC as a QA market
A Tier A city has steady QA listings and a deep talent pool. Government contractors, cybersecurity and health IT. Some roles require citizenship or clearance.
Washington DC has about 690,000 residents (city-proper estimate, GeoNames). It is the 20th 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 4% of the listings based in Washington DC.
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 Washington DC: jobs and pay
Open a role for local openings and the pay by level in Washington DC.
Manual QA Tester
Mid-level median $87k
QA Automation Engineer
Mid-level median $130k
SDET
Mid-level median $140k
QA Lead / Manager
Mid-level median $120k
Mobile QA Engineer
Mid-level median $110k
Performance Test Engineer
Mid-level median $160k
Security / Penetration Tester
Mid-level median $190k
Game QA Tester
Mid-level median $70k
Accessibility Tester
Mid-level median $100k
Business / Test Analyst
Mid-level median $94k
Data / ETL QA Engineer
Mid-level median $110k
Localization QA Tester
Mid-level median $51k
AI / LLM Evaluation QA
Mid-level median $110k
Release / DevOps Engineer
Mid-level median $150k
Technical Writer (QA / Docs)
Mid-level median $95k
QA jobs in Washington DC: FAQ
How much does a QA automation engineer earn in Washington DC?
A mid-level QA Automation Engineer in Washington DC earns about $120k gross a year, with a p10 to p90 band of $95k to $140k. Junior roles start near $89k and senior roles reach $150k. This applies a pay index of 96 (anchor city = 100) to the United States median.
How many QA jobs are open in Washington DC?
Washington DC has 23 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 Washington DC have with US and European teams?
On a 09:00-17:00 day in Washington DC (UTC-4 (EDT)), the overlap is 8 h with US East, 5 h with US West, 3 h with London and 2 h with Central Europe. Washington DC changes its clocks: UTC-5 in winter and UTC-4 in summer. Today it is on UTC-4 (EDT).
What does it cost to live in Washington DC compared with New York?
Our approximate cost-of-living index for Washington DC is 95 against New York at 100, and the pay index is 96. 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 Washington DC and how does it rank as a QA talent pool?
Washington DC has about 690,000 residents (city-proper estimate, GeoNames). It is the 20th largest of the 62 United States cities we list. Population alone does not set pay: the pay index of 96 comes from the city tier, and the 23 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.