How many levels do quality engineering ladders have?
Data collected on
We read 13 quality engineering ladders that companies and public employers publish for their own staff and counted their levels. The median is 4 levels for quality engineers and testers who do not manage people, and 4 is the most common count. Every source is linked below, and the data is free to download.
Key findings
- Ladders run from 3 to 7 levels. The median is 4, and 8 of the 13 ladders use exactly 4.
- 8 of the 12 ladders that use job titles have a Senior level. Its median position is step 3 from the bottom.
- 9 ladders publish a separate track for managers. The 6 that say where it starts put it between step 2 and step 5, and the median is between steps 3 and 4.
- In 2 of 3 ladders that have both a Senior level and a placed manager track, management starts at the Senior level or later.
How many levels quality engineering ladders have
Each bar is the number of ladders with that many levels for quality engineers and testers who do not manage people.
- 3 levels1 ladder
- 4 levels8 ladders
- 5 levels3 ladders
- 6 levels0 ladders
- 7 levels1 ladder
Which titles the ladders use
The bars cover the 12 ladders whose levels are job titles. The other one uses grades or scope names instead of job titles, such as “Level 1” or “Level 2”. One ladder can use several of these words.
- Associate or Junior4 of 12
- Senior8 of 12
- Lead4 of 12
- Principal2 of 12
Senior counts Senior or Sr., not Senior Staff, Senior Principal or Semi-Senior.
Where the manager track starts
This chart shows the step, counted from the bottom of each ladder, where the first people-manager role sits. It covers the 6 ladders that say where it starts. Of the rest, 3 have a manager track but do not say where it starts and 4 do not say whether they have one.
- Step 21 ladder
- Step 32 ladders
- Step 41 ladder
- Step 52 ladders
Download the data
One row per ladder: its name, who publishes it, the source link, the number of levels, the level names, the manager track and the step it starts at.
Download the CSVAll 13 ladders
| Ladder | Levels | Level names | Manager track |
|---|---|---|---|
| 37signals | 5 |
| Not stated |
| AM Digital | 4 |
| Separate; start not stated |
| Dropbox | 4 |
| Separate, from step 2 (level with IC3 Quality Engineer) |
| Iberia | 5 |
| Not stated |
| Infinum | 7 |
| Separate, from step 3, level with Software Tester (ST3) |
| Layr | 4 |
| Separate, above the top level (step 5) |
| Loan Market Group | 4 |
| Separate, from step 4 (level with Principal Automation Engineer) |
| Monzo | 3 |
| Not stated |
| Penn State UniversityPublic employer | 4 |
| Separate, from step 3 (level with Advanced Professional) |
| REDspace | 4 |
| Separate; start not stated |
| State of WashingtonPublic employer | 4 |
| Separate, above the top level (step 5) |
| TTech | 5 |
| Separate; start not stated |
| UK Government Digital and Data ProfessionPublic employer | 4 |
| Not stated |
How we did it
We read 13 quality engineering ladders that their publishers use for their own staff: 10 from companies and 3 from public employers, on their own sites or in documents they publish. We kept only those whose levels we could read as text. We left out templates written by individuals, professional bodies’ standards and ladders only for software developers or test managers.
Levels are the steps a quality engineer or tester can climb without managing people, lowest first. Interns and trainees are left out. When a ladder splits one title into numbered steps, each with its own expectations (like “Quality Engineer 1” and “2”), each step counts. Pay bands inside one level do not. A level above both tracks that the ladder does not open to individual contributors is not counted.
The manager track starts where the ladder puts its first people-manager role: the same band or level number, the same row of its table, or the step where it says the tracks split. When that role sits above the top level, it counts as the next step up. When a ladder has a manager track but does not place it, we do not guess.
Title shares only count ladders whose levels are job titles. A level counts as Senior when its title says Senior or Sr., but not Senior Staff, Senior Principal or Iberia’s mid-level “QA Semi-Senior” and “QA semi-senior advance”. Associate or Junior counts a title with either word.
This is a sample of the ladders people chose to publish, mostly from companies, with a few government and university employers, and some are several years old. It shows what public ladders look like, not what every employer does.
We store only public facts: how many levels a ladder has, what the levels are called and where the manager track starts. Each ladder belongs to its publisher, so follow the links for the full text. None of them has reviewed or endorsed this study, and Competrace is not affiliated with them.
Spotted a mistake, or a public ladder we missed? Email support@competrace.com with the link, and we will update the data.
See levels with their skills
The study counts levels. To see what each level needs, browse our quality engineering career path with the skills each level expects, or read what a career ladder is.
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