Principal Quality Assurance Engineer Jobs

Principal Quality Assurance Engineer jobs are open across software, fintech, healthtech, and enterprise technology, from senior QA engineer to staff and principal levels, with specializations in test automation, quality strategy, and platform reliability. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.

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Overview

Open roles23
Top stateCalifornia
Top employerCardinal Health
Top citySunnyvale, CA
Work type50% On-site
Top industryDistribution

Showing 5 of 23+ Principal Quality Assurance Engineer jobs

Sr. Principal Engineer - Quality Assurance (Onsite - El Segundo, CA) Secret clearance required
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New 9h ago
Sr. Principal Engineer - Quality Assurance (Onsite - El Segundo, CA) Secret clearance required
Collins Aerospace
El Segundo, California
Project & Program Management
Project Management
Technical Program Management
$146k - $277k/yr
On-Site
Master's degree
10,000+

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Principal QA Specialist
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Added 1d ago
Principal QA Specialist
KBI Biopharma
Durham, North Carolina
Factory & Production Work
Manufacturing Operations
Quality Control
Master's degree
1,001-5,000

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Principal Specialist, Quality Assurance, Fremont CA
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Added 2w ago
Principal Specialist, Quality Assurance, Fremont CA
Boehringer Ingelheim
Fremont, California
Compliance & Risk
Health & Safety
Project Management
Bachelor of Science
10,000+

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Principal Software Dev QA Engineer
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Added 2w ago
Principal Software Dev QA Engineer
Fortinet
Sunnyvale, California
Academic & Educational Administration
Corporate Training & Learning Development
Executive Leadership & C-Suite
Human Resources
10,000+

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Principal QA Specialist (Multi-dose pens), CVRM
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Added 2w ago
Principal QA Specialist (Multi-dose pens), CVRM
Genentech
Holly Springs, North Carolina
Academic & Educational Administration
Corporate Training & Learning Development
Executive Leadership & C-Suite
Human Resources
$115k - $213k/yr
Bachelor's degree
10,000+

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Principal Quality Assurance Engineer Job Market

Who's Hiring

Cardinal Health3 open roles
Fortinet2 open roles
Genentech2 open roles

Top Industries Hiring

  • Distribution & Wholesale
  • Cybersecurity
  • Technology & Software
  • Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals

What Employers Look For

The qualifications that appear most often in principal quality assurance engineer jobs.

  • 8 or more years of software quality assurance experience, including automation engineering
  • Expert-level proficiency in test automation frameworks such as Selenium, Cypress, or Playwright
  • Experience defining and executing quality strategy across multiple product teams or platforms
  • Strong knowledge of CI/CD pipelines and integrating automated tests into build processes
  • Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a closely related technical field
  • Demonstrated ability to mentor QA engineers and influence engineering quality standards organization-wide

Tips for Your Principal Quality Assurance Engineer Job Search

Quantify your quality impact on resumes

Principal-level QA roles demand proof of scale, not just process knowledge. Replace vague claims with specifics: defect escape rates you reduced, test coverage percentages you achieved, or release cycles you accelerated. Hiring managers at this level scan for outcomes, not responsibilities.

Apply early to roles that fit

Migrate Mate lists principal quality assurance engineer openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.

Tailor your resume to each job description

Principal QA job postings vary widely between companies emphasizing automation architecture, manual strategy, or cross-functional quality ownership. Rewrite your summary and bullet points to mirror the language of each listing so your application clears automated screening before a human ever reads it.

Prepare a cross-functional influence story

Interviewers for principal QA roles test whether you can drive quality culture beyond your own team. Come ready with a specific example of how you influenced an engineering, product, or DevOps team to adopt a quality practice they initially resisted.

Target companies with mature CI/CD pipelines

Principal QA engineers are hired to lead automation strategy, not build from scratch at every company. Focus your search on organizations that already use continuous integration and delivery, since those roles reward strategic thinking over foundational setup and move faster through the interview process.

Negotiate scope before you negotiate compensation

At the principal level, your reporting structure, ownership over tooling decisions, and access to engineering roadmaps matter as much as pay. Clarify these in your final interview round so your offer conversation reflects the actual role, not a narrower version of it.

Principal Quality Assurance Engineer Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions

Which companies are hiring the most principal quality assurance engineers?

The most active employers for principal quality assurance engineers right now are Cardinal Health, Fortinet, and Genentech, and the most openings are in California, Indiana, and North Carolina, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Demand is strongest at software companies and enterprises undergoing large-scale platform modernization.

How many principal quality assurance engineer jobs are remote?

About 50% of principal quality assurance engineer openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting broad acceptance of distributed work at this seniority level. Test automation and quality strategy roles are the most remote-friendly sub-areas, while roles tied to embedded systems or hardware validation more often require on-site presence.

How do you become a principal quality assurance engineer?

Becoming a principal quality assurance engineer typically requires progressing through individual contributor QA roles, building deep expertise in test automation frameworks, and taking on cross-team quality initiatives. You'll need to demonstrate strategic thinking, not just technical execution, by owning quality processes end-to-end, mentoring junior engineers, and partnering directly with product and engineering leadership to shape release standards.

Can you get hired as a principal quality assurance engineer without direct principal-level experience?

Yes, candidates who have operated at a staff or senior QA level and led high-impact automation or quality infrastructure projects can be competitive for principal roles. The clearest path is demonstrating that you've already been doing principal-level work informally: owning a testing strategy, influencing engineering practices across teams, or architecting a framework others depend on, even without the formal title.

What does the principal quality assurance engineer interview process look like?

The process typically includes an initial recruiter screen, a technical interview focused on automation architecture and system design for testability, and one or more cross-functional rounds assessing how you influence quality culture beyond your immediate team. Expect a final round with engineering or product leadership evaluating your strategic vision. Some companies ask for a take-home design exercise covering test strategy for a complex system.

Where can I find and apply to principal quality assurance engineer jobs?

You can find and apply to principal quality assurance engineer jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States in one place. Find the roles that match your experience and location preference, then apply directly to each listing from the page.

See All 23 Principal Quality Assurance Engineer Jobs

Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.

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