Everything You Need to Write a Sales Engineer Job Description

If you’re selling highly technical products or services, it goes without saying that you need qualified sales representatives and account executives, but you also need someone who is both a master of sales and possesses extensive knowledge of advanced technology. That’s where a sales engineer comes in.

To help you identify top candidates and write a stellar job description, we’ve created this guide with information on what the role does, how other companies define the responsibilities and requirements and a sales engineer job description template with salary information.

What Does a Sales Engineer Do?

Sales engineers either sell or support the sales team in selling highly technical or scientific products or services. Such roles are common among tech companies, especially SaaS (Software as a Service), DaaS (Data as a Service), AI, big data and cloud-based technologies.

They require a strong technical background in order to effectively sell such products, so they typically have a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent in experience in engineering or computer science. Beyond that, top candidates have several years experience working professionally in sales engineering, technical support, data analysis, sales or engineering.

A key part of their role is presenting proof of concepts, project proposals, product demos and expense estimates to both technical and non-technical clients and stakeholders.

They also work heavily with the sales, product and marketing teams to ensure prospects and customers receive consistent and cohesive information around a product or service. They also collaborate internally to help solve issues and pitch product ideas.

As they progress in their careers, sales engineers may advance to a director of sales engineering or director of sales role.

This role is specific to technology companies and requires extensive knowledge of the industry along with experience using a variety of different platforms and services. 

Here are a few software programs you should be familiar with when hiring a sales engineer:

IT Service Management Systems

• AlertLogic
• Ansible
• Autotask
• BMC Remedy
• Chef
• Cherwell Software
• DataDog
• Freshservice
• New Relic
• Puppet
• Samanage
• ServiceNow
• SpiceWorks
• Symantec
• SysAid
• Zendesk

Programming Languages

• C++
• CSS
• HTML
• Java
• JavaScript
• Python

Cloud Services

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Azure
• Datadog
• Docker
• Google Cloud Manager
• Kubernetes
• Office 365
• Visual Studio

Data Visualization

• Cisco Systems
• Citrix
• Dell EMC
• NetApp
• Nutanix
• Parallels
• Veeam Software
• VMWare

Sales Engineer Job Description Examples

We’ve gathered five of the best job descriptions posted by companies across the United States to provide you with a range of responsibilities and requirements companies expect from sales engineer candidates.         

You’ll notice we’ve redacted some information to respect the privacy of the companies that originally posted them.

Example 1

The Sales Engineer is a go-to technical resource for the sales team, helping to make prospects successful through live assistance, behind the scenes support and education. A Sales Engineer relies on their technical expertise to effectively explain and apply technical concepts including APIs, the inner workings of the [redacted] platform, and integrations with 3rd party and other client systems, to both prospects and teammates.

You Will:

• Effectively balance a range of core functions in support of constantly striving to help increase the output and efficiency of the sales team.
• Be the go-to internal technical resource for the entire go to market team, educating team members as well as prospects in service of providing a consistently positive [redacted] experience.
• Develop and maintain personal relationships with prospects during the sales process across many different prospects simultaneously.
• Use your in-depth product knowledge and technical skills to suggest and potentially develop product solutions for prospects.
• Act with urgency and precision to give users best in class pre-sales support in troubleshooting issues as they arise.
• Solve problems manually first and then either automate future solutions and/or collaborate with Product and Engineering to proactively improve the [redacted] product and customer experience over time.

You Have:

• 3 plus years of sales engineering, technical support, or engineering experience.
• A naturally helpful mindset, great attention to detail, and high technical aptitude.
• Experience in a start-up or a start-up mentality.
• A scrappy, hands-on, get stuff done attitude.
• The desire to be a cross-functional team player.
• Experience working with sales and a sharp business acumen.
• Strong ability to effectively manage a range of simultaneous engagements.
• Working knowledge of web languages preferred (HTML, Javascript, CSS).
• Ability to effectively convey customer requirements to Product Management, Support and Engineering teams.
• Experience developing products or contributing to open source projects is a plus.

Example 2

The ideal candidate should possess a unique combination of interpersonal communications skills, technical acumen, and domain knowledge in the AI/Big Data/Data Analytics/Machine Learning spaces that can build trust quickly to ensure customers gain maximum benefit in minimum project time-frames. You have performed your work with speed and accuracy in prior positions and are looking to deliver world-class transformative projects with the rewards that result.

Position Responsibilities:

• Control all aspects of AI project technical requirements and expectations within [redacted] customers.
• Support the introduction of [redacted] engineering capabilities into new divisions within existing customers by coordinating with local sales resources while keeping an eye on any potential new project areas of value overlap.
• Assist in the creation and delivering presentations, statements of work, proposals, and quotes.
• Support local sales in all project engagements from introduction and qualification to final project delivery into production efficiently transition involvement of Account Executives, product managers and associated engineering teams.
• Collaborate with other team members, in particular the development and engineering teams, to connect appropriate resources with opportunities.

Position Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree or higher.
• 3+ years of large [redacted] consulting projects in the high tech solutions, preferably in the AI, Big Data, or analytics markets.
• Background (or educational focus) in the [redacted] markets.
• Proven positive influencer in prior positions as measured by your previous managers and peers.
• Willing to travel (up to 25%).
• Demonstrated ability to gather user requirements and work within a project SoW, engineering, and sales resources to ensure complete user satisfaction.
• Possess the highest level of organizational ability, influence, and negotiation expertise.
• Demonstrated ability to create and present design proposals and solutions to internal and external stakeholders.

Example 3

In this role, you will work closely with the Sales / Business Development team to pitch and close deals with customers. You will help prospective customers and partners in the retailer and publisher space understand the power of [redacted] solutions by explaining technical features, handling objections, and problem-solving any potential roadblocks. You are the real rock star in the sales process!

Core Responsibilities Include:

• Partner with the Sales / Business Development team to close deals and achieve sales goals.
• Present our solutions, give product demos and handle technical objections or concerns.
• Propose technical and creative business solutions in support of sales objectives.
• Design and deliver high quality technical proof of concepts (POCs) for prospective customers.
• Present technical and business aspects of proposed solutions to a C-Level audience.
• Build strong relationships with customers’ technical and business executives.
• Collaborate with colleagues across the organization to receive the support needed to accomplish the technical sales goals.
• With Sales, achieve quarterly quotas of closed business.
• Collaborate with Growth Managers / Partner Success Managers and Technical Account Managers / Solutions Consultants to ensure a smooth handoff after signing the deal to maximize revenue.

Requirements:

• BA/BS degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 5 years experience serving as a sales engineer supporting the sales team in closing deals with top retailer or publisher partners.
• Track record of exceeding your quotas / key performance metrics.
• Experience presenting to senior business and technical executives, give product demos, lead POCs, and handle any technical concerns or objections.
• Experience working with a client's technical team to develop a joint plan to ensure smooth implementation.
• Experience with SaaS and DaaS (Data as a Service) technologies.
• Ability to communicate effectively with both internal stakeholders and customer executives.
• Bonus: Existing relationships with retailer and publisher executives and decision makers.
• Ability to collaborate across all functions and levels at [redacted]; humbleness in working with internal colleagues.
• Enjoys working hard, having fun and learning a lot in a dynamic and fast paced environment.
• Self starter who can work with limited direction.

Example 4

You are a sales engineer with experience in a B2B software environment (ideally SaaS). You have an established track record of success and enjoy being the model for the ideal sales engineer within a team. You are excited about enabling companies to transform themselves using the public cloud and the service offerings in the cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP, etc.) You hold yourself accountable for the success of any initiative you are involved in. You want to be a part of a high-performance sales organization and hate losing to the competition. You are comfortable working in a fast paced, growing, entrepreneurial environment.

You Will:

• Work in conjunction with the sales team as a key technical advisor and advocate for the [redacted] platform while mapping value to the prospect’s needs.
• Implement strategies to improve trial win rates, beat the competition, and develop stronger technical buyer relationships.
• Contribute to, and employ, best practices in the execution of trials.
• Develop and deliver engaging demonstrations in collaboration with our Sales, Marketing and Training Teams to both business and technical users.
• Understand and implement technical sales strategies based on competitive selling within mid-market companies [redacted].
• Understand and manage the complex technical sales process in a complex IT environment with multiple departments and partners.
• Partner with Product Marketing on effective strategies to manage and deliver demonstrations, maintain demo environments, and respond to RFPs.
• Present to prospects, customers and partners, at external events, conferences, seminars, etc.
• Ensure timely entry of data into internal business support solutions.
• Contribute to systems and tools to provide key business information and metrics to highlight performance and effectiveness.

You Have:

• 3+ years’ experience at a B2B software (ideally SaaS) company in a pre-sales engineering role selling into commercial accounts.
• An understanding of ITSM eco-systems and prominent solutions within them, such as: DataDog, Chef, Ansible, Puppet, New Relic, ServiceNow, AlertLogic etc.
• Experience working with Amazon Web Services (AWS) or equivalent cloud, and Datacenter experience with knowledge of hypervisors like VMWare.
• The ability to take complex pieces of technology and explain them in a simple and easy to understand way.
• Solid verbal, written, presentation and interpersonal communication skills.
• Intellectual curiosity, great problem-solving skills and passion for continuous improvement.
• Previous experience working with/presenting to executive level prospects and customers.
• Experience with modern technical selling best practices and selling in a competitive environment, including implementing new or improved trial, demo and RFP process.
• Proven track record of success in a fast growing and scaling business.
• A Bachelor’s Degree.

Preferred (but not required):

• Strong data analysis skills and the ability to navigate spreadsheets to identify trends, outliers, correlations and reconciliation needs across large data sets.
• Good practical understanding of cloud-centric architectures.
• Comfort level working in a metric-driven environment, including reporting on and improving business performance against a set of monthly KPIs and metrics.

Example 5

The Sales Engineer provides in-depth data expertise to support the technical relationship with [redacted] customers, including product and solution briefings, proof-of-concept work, and partner directly with product management to prioritize solutions. The Sales Engineer will report to the Director of Sales Engineering.

As a Sales Engineer, your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Provide in-depth data expertise to support the technical relationship with [redacted] customers, including product and solution briefings, proof-of-concept work, and partner directly with product management to prioritize solutions.
• Support sales with excellent technical, communication, and organizational skills.
• Accountable for creation of client facing presentations, providing direction on products and services that can be leveraged to achieve clients’ goals, responding to technical questions, data mining, data analysis, and helping sales teams create sales strategies based on their product knowledge.
• Understand the needs of the client, any problems or unmet needs the client is faced with and present products as a tool to fix the problem or fulfill the need.
• Responsible for gathering client solution requirements through collaborating with the client and internal staff.
• Understands how products interact and may be modified to meet client requirements.
• Coordinate and manage internal resources (sales, sales support, product, operations, IT) to ensure solutions fulfill client needs and to estimate development and implementation efforts from both a time and expense perspective.
• Responsible for Insights in the form of professional presentations with an industry or sub-vertical point of view. Insights can be analytic and/or technical in nature. Strong persuasion skills are needed during sales meetings/appointments.

What experience do I need?

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering degree or equivalent.
• 2+ years of data analysis in a sales, sales support role or equivalent experience in customer-facing roles.
• Must possess strong presentation skills.
• Strong oral and written communication skills to effectively communicate with all levels.
• Highly proficient with PPT, Excel and related analytical tools (Python, SQL, R, AWS).
• Aptitude for solving complex problems and a strong analytical aptitude.
• Must be detail oriented, able to flush out complete requirements in support of solution development and delivery.
• Organized and should have presence of mind, able to eliminate sales obstacles through creative and adaptive approaches.
• Provide feedback to both product management and senior sales management on returned assessments to ensure sales training effectiveness and product quality.
• Must be prepared to travel 10%.         

Sales Engineer Job Description Template

In this section, we’ve created a sales engineer job description template for you to customize to best reflect the needs of your role and personality of your company.

Company Bio:

[Use this section to provide a high level overview of your company, culture, perks and benefits, career development opportunities and anything else that will get candidates excited about your company.]

Responsibilities:

• Partner with Sales and Marketing teams to increase efficiency and effectiveness of product sales from the top of the funnel to project delivery and pinpoint areas for improvement.
• Support prospective customers, acting as the primary resource on product and technical knowledge, helping to resolve any unmet needs or issues clients may have.
• Proactively offer product insights and solutions to issues and implement either manual or automated solutions that best suit customer needs.
• Create client-facing presentations with Proof of Concept, project proposals, solutions, product demos, expense estimates and offer solutions to technical complaints and concerns.
• Keep up-to-date with industry trends and assist in researching and developing new products alongside Sales, Business Development and Product Marketing teams.
• Build strong relationships with customers, and regularly check-in to ensure users are optimizing our product. 
• Collaborate with internal teams, including Growth, Customer Success, Product Marketing, Marketing, Engineering, Sales, Business Development and report directly to the Director of Sales Engineering.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science or the equivalent in experience.
• X years experience in sales engineering, technical support, data analysis, sales support role or engineering.
• X years experience in SaaS, DaaS, AI, Big Data, Cloud or similar industries.
• Working knowledge of coding languages, including [insert relevant coding languages].
• Strong communication skills, including written, verbal and presentation.
• Prior experience using [insert relevant software or platforms].
• Experience communicating technical information to non-technical stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel.

How to Use AI to Write a Sales Engineer Job Description

 Generative AI can help to quickly draft a tailored, professional job description that aligns with your company’s needs. Here’s how to use these tools to write a sales engineer job description:

1. Use a Clear Prompt

Input a detailed prompt into the AI tool that includes the job title, company details, industry and key job responsibilities. For example:

“Write a job description for a mid-level sales engineer at a SaaS company focused on B2B solutions. The role involves working with sales and product teams to understand client needs, deliver technical demos, customize solutions and support the sales process with deep product knowledge.”

2. Customize for Skills and Role Requirements

While AI can help produce a solid starting draft for a job description, it’s important to adjust the output to include any necessary specifics about the role or company. 

For example, list essential qualifications and tools for the sales engineer role (like technical expertise, communication skills or problem-solving skills) and ask the AI to include them as role requirements in the job description.

3. Set the Right Tone and Language

Instruct the AI to use an inclusive, clear tone that matches your brand voice, whether that be professional, casual or friendly.

4. Refine and Adjust the Job Description

Review the AI-generated job description and edit for accuracy and clarity, plus update any information where needed based on team input or applicant feedback. It may take a few different prompts or adjustments before receiving a satisfactory job description.

Sales Engineer Salary Information

The 2025 U.S. average base salary for a sales engineer is $128,748, but compensation can vary based on location and candidate experience.

Frequently Asked Questions