Side by side

Platform Engineer vs QA Engineer

Pay is effectively the same — the medians sit within 1.1% apart. Demand is comparable on both sides. Listings for QA Engineer move faster — median age 30 days against 94.

Comparison

Side by side

MeasurePlatform EngineerQA EngineerGap
Open postings38,35242,516-4,164
Posted this week1,1183,216
Median salary$135,500$137,000$-1.5k
25th percentile$107k$108k
75th percentile$168k$170k
Salary disclosed4.6%7.2%
Remote share11.5%11.9%-0.4pp
Median age of posting94d30d
Open over 60 days32.1%48.1%
Visa sponsorship18.1%22.5%
Pay

Pay distribution

Platform Engineer

$61k$234k

QA Engineer

$62k$237k
Freshness

How old the listings are

Platform Engineer

just posted94d median90d+

QA Engineer

just posted30d median90d+
Demand

What each side asks for

Platform Engineer — technologies

Snowflake
72.0%
Kubernetes
65.8%
Python
59.6%
Swift
53.4%
JavaScript
47.2%
Azure
41.0%
Figma
34.8%

QA Engineer — technologies

TypeScript
72.0%
Terraform
65.8%
Kubernetes
59.6%
Java
53.4%
SQL
47.2%
PostgreSQL
41.0%
dbt
34.8%

Platform Engineer — employers

Tidewater Insurance
9.4%
Vantage Logistics
8.7%
Brightline Retail
8.0%
Rivergate Media
7.2%
Solstice Biotech
6.5%
Beacon Robotics
5.8%
Fairmount Legal
5.1%

QA Engineer — employers

Beacon Robotics
9.4%
Northwind Systems
8.7%
Rivergate Media
8.0%
Quarry Analytics
7.2%
Aperture Labs
6.5%
Pinewood Education
5.8%
Tidewater Insurance
5.1%

Track this slice

A weekly note when openings, pay or freshness move for Platform Engineer vs QA Engineer.

More comparisons

Other Engineering comparisons

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Both sides are counted the same way on the same day, so the gap is comparable even where the absolute numbers move. Salary figures use only postings that publish a range — the disclosure rate is in the table because a median over 20% of a cohort is a weaker number than one over 70%.