Sales Engineers

Summary

What Sales Engineers Do About this section

Sales engineers specialize in selling technical products.

Sales engineers sell business products or services, such as software or support, that require technical expertise.

Duties

Sales engineers typically do the following:

• Prepare and deliver presentations explaining technical products to existing and prospective customers
• Talk with customers, the sales team, and engineers to determine product needs and system requirements
• Provide customers with product sales support
• Work with sales teams to secure and renew orders
• Arrange for installation of products and delivery of services
• Plan and modify products or services to meet customer needs
• Provide support to help customers troubleshoot problems
• Recommend improved products or services to customers, showing how changes will lower costs or increase production

Sales engineers use their technical skills to explain scientific and technological products to potential customers. Many of their duties are similar to those of other salespersons. They must interest the customer in buying their products, such as by giving a presentation to explain the technical aspects of a product and how it will solve a specific customer problem. They then negotiate a price and complete the sale.

Sales engineers also use their expertise to provide technical support or other services to customers. They may offer services as part of the product purchase or as a separate benefit. For example, sales engineers may offer technical support on the use, operation, or maintenance of equipment.

Some sales engineers team with other salespersons, including wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives, who focus on marketing and selling a product. This approach lets sales engineer concentrate on the technical aspects of the product as needed, such as for tailoring equipment to a customer’s needs.

Sales engineers may have other tasks related to sales, such as market research. They also may ask for technical requirements from customers and modify products or services to meet those needs. Some sales engineers work with research and development (R&D) departments to help identify and develop new products.

Work Environment About this section

Sales engineers often give presentations in which they describe the technical aspects of a product and explain how it will solve a specific customer problem.

Sales engineers held about 59,700 jobs in 2023. The largest employers of sales engineers were as follows:

Sales engineers typically work in an office setting. Some sales engineers travel extensively, which may require being away from home for several days each month.

Sales engineers’ work may be stressful because their income and job security often depend on their success in sales and customer service.

Work Schedules

Most sales engineers work full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week.

How to Become a Sales Engineer About this section

Successful sales engineers will have a combination of technical knowledge of the products they are selling and strong interpersonal skills.

To enter the occupation, sales engineers typically need a bachelor’s degree. They combine technical knowledge of the products or services they sell with strong interpersonal skills.

Education

Sales engineers typically need a bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related field, such as business. However, candidates who do not have a degree sometimes meet qualifications if they have sales experience and technical experience or training.

College engineering programs generally include courses in mathematics and the physical sciences. Taking other courses, such as marketing and communications, also may be helpful.

College students may have an opportunity to participate in cooperative education programs or internships. Through partnership with local businesses, these programs allow students to gain practical experience while they complete their education.

Training

Newly hired sales engineers typically need on-the-job training before they work independently. Training covers general sales techniques and specific details about the product. Sales training may involve teaming with a sales mentor who is familiar with the employer's business practices, customers, and products. Training also may include partnering with an experienced salesperson to observe customer interaction and sales technique.

Other Experience

Some employers prefer to hire candidates who have experience in sales or in a related technical field, such as engineering or information technology. For example, sales engineers who sell software may have worked previously as a software developer or computer systems analyst.

Advancement

Promotions for sales engineers may include opportunities such as earning a higher commission rate, assignment of a larger sales territory, or elevation to a position as a supervisor or sales manager.

Important Qualities

Analytical skills. Sales engineers must be able to evaluate the products they sell to determine how they suit their customers’ needs.

Business skills. Sales engineers should understand their customers to market products and customize services for them.

Initiative. Sales engineers need to actively seek out new customers or offer additional products and services to existing customers to increase business.

Interpersonal skills. Sales engineers must be able to build relationships with customers and communicate effectively with other members of the sales team.

Organizational skills. Sales engineers must have strong organizational skills to manage multiple projects and customers.

Persuasion. Sales engineers must be able to convince their customers about the benefits of the product or service they are selling.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage for sales engineers was $116,950 in May 2023. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $67,760, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $202,660.

In May 2023, the median annual wages for sales engineers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Wage data are from nonfarm establishments. The data exclude self-employed workers and owners and partners in unincorporated businesses. Tips, sales commissions, and bonuses for meeting production targets are included in wages; premium pay, such as overtime and shift differentials, is not.

Compensation methods for sales engineers may vary with the type of organization and the product sold. Employers usually pay sales engineers using a combination of salary and commissions or salary plus bonuses. In general, commissions are a percentage of the type and amount of the good or service sold. Bonuses may depend on the performance of an individual, of all sales workers in the group or district, or of the organization.

Most sales engineers work full time and some work more than 40 hours per week.

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of sales engineers is projected to grow 6 percent from 2023 to 2033, faster than the average for all occupations.

About 5,800 openings for sales engineers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Employment

Sales engineers are expected to be in demand to help promote an increasing number of technologically sophisticated products and services.

Employment growth is likely to be strong for sales engineers selling computer software and hardware. Strong industry growth is expected in computer systems design and related services, contributing to employment growth in the occupation.

State & Area Data About this section

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program produces employment and wage estimates annually for over 800 occupations. These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual states, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The link(s) below go to OEWS data maps for employment and wages by state and area.

• Sales engineers

Projections Central

Occupational employment projections are developed for all states by Labor Market Information (LMI) or individual state Employment Projections offices. All state projections data are available at www.projectionscentral.org. Information on this site allows projected employment growth for an occupation to be compared among states or to be compared within one state. In addition, states may produce projections for areas; there are links to each state’s websites where these data may be retrieved.

CareerOneStop

CareerOneStop includes hundreds of occupational profiles with data available by state and metro area. There are links in the left-hand side menu to compare occupational employment by state and occupational wages by local area or metro area. There is also a salary info tool to search for wages by zip code.

Contacts for More Information About this section

For more information about sales engineers, visit

National Society of Sales Engineers

North American Association of Sales Engineers

For more information about careers in sales occupations, visit

Manufacturers' Agents National Association (MANA)

Manufacturers' Representatives Educational Research Foundation (MRERF)

O*NET

Sales Engineers