Quality engineer salary in France
Average monthly net salary in full-time equivalent in the French private sector, according to INSEE (occupation group “Ingénieurs et cadres du contrôle-qualité”).
- Average net per month
- €4,172
- full-time equivalent, 2024
- Estimated monthly gross
- €5,262
- estimate with 2026 executive contributions
- Gap to the average
- +53%
- compared with all private-sector employees (€2,733 net)
- Compared with the SMIC
- 2.8 × the net SMIC
- 2026 net monthly minimum wage: €1,478
Source: INSEE, all-employees database 2024 (average net private-sector pay, full-time equivalent) · Data downloaded on 18 October 2026
Source: French minimum wage (SMIC) as of 1 June 2026 · Data downloaded on 18 October 2026
By sex
| Women | €3,906 |
|---|---|
| Men | €4,383 |
By age
| Under 30 | €2,778 |
|---|---|
| 30 to 39 | €3,634 |
| 40 to 49 | €4,336 |
| 50 to 59 | €4,890 |
| 60 and over | €5,801 |
Working as a quality engineer in France
Search for ingénieur qualité, ingénieur qualité fournisseur, ingénieur qualité client, ingénieur qualité projet or ingénieur qualité système, depending on your specialty. Employers usually expect a diplôme d'ingénieur from a French school or a master's degree in quality, industrial engineering or a technical field; foreign degrees at the same level are generally accepted. The job is not regulated, but the title « ingénieur diplômé » is reserved for graduates of accredited programmes. Positions are typically under cadre status. Sector standards matter a great deal: IATF 16949 in automotive, EN 9100 in aerospace, ISO 13485 in medical devices. English is often required in international groups, with French needed on site.
How to read these figures
The salary shown is an average, not a median: a few high salaries pull the average up. It is net pay before income tax, converted to full time.
The gross figure is an estimate: it applies 2026 employee contributions for a private-sector worker to the net salary. It leaves out bonuses, overtime and health insurance.
Salaries are from 2024 while the minimum wage is the 2026 one, so the comparison gives an order of magnitude.
Your job search, on autopilot
Start my quality engineer job scan
JobFast searches the major job boards for listings that fit you, scores each one out of 10 and prepares a tailored CV and cover letter. You review, you approve.
No credit card · No account to get started
Frequently asked questions
What is the average salary of a quality engineer?
According to INSEE, a quality engineer employed in the private sector earns on average €4,172 net per month in full-time equivalent (2024), about €5,262 gross based on our estimate with 2026 contributions.
Do women and men earn the same as a quality engineer?
According to INSEE (2024), the average full-time equivalent net salary is €3,906 for women and €4,383 for men in this occupation. The gap can come from the positions held, seniority or actual working time.
Does a quality engineer earn more than the minimum wage?
The average net salary for the occupation (€4,172, INSEE 2024) is 2.8 times the 2026 net monthly minimum wage (€1,478). Early in a career, pay is often closer to the minimum wage than to this average.