QA staff are normally clerks these days, i dont know of any QA staff who are qualified licensed engineers
That was nearly true while I worked for a Luton-based carrier; I was one of only 2 LAEs in Quality.
If you look at Part M, the lack of licence or other acceptable qualification can be alleviated by 10 years experience rather than the 5 associated with having a licence etc (lower for non-CAT, non-large and <2730kg).