Sales Engineer

What it officially is

Sell business goods or services, the selling of which requires a technical background equivalent to a baccalaureate degree in engineering.

O*NET, US Department of Labor · classified as “Sales Engineers”

What the work involves

  • Identify resale opportunities and support them to achieve sales plans. 49% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Collaborate with sales teams to understand customer requirements, to promote the sale of company products, and to provide sales support. 49% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Create sales or service contracts for products or services. 49% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Recommend improved materials or machinery to customers, documenting how such changes will lower costs or increase production. 49% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Secure and renew orders and arrange delivery. 49% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Develop sales plans to introduce products in new markets. 49% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Attend company training seminars to become familiar with product lines. 49% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Prepare and deliver technical presentations that explain products or services to customers and prospective customers. 48% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Maintain sales forecasting reports. 48% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Develop, present, or respond to proposals for specific customer requirements, including request for proposal responses and industry-specific solutions. 47% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Visit prospective buyers at commercial, industrial, or other establishments to show samples or catalogs, and to inform them about product pricing, availability, and advantages. 47% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Keep informed on industry news and trends, products, services, competitors, relevant information about legacy, existing, and emerging technologies, and the latest product-line developments. 47% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Confer with customers and engineers to assess equipment needs and to determine system requirements. 47% of people in this occupation report doing this
  • Plan and modify product configurations to meet customer needs. 47% of people in this occupation report doing this

What employers actually ask for

Counted from listings on this board. Each line shows how many of that tier's listings for this role carried it — the denominator is the point.

Large employers

  • experience with customer engagements a plus, but not a requirement 3 of 12

Only one tier has enough listings for this role to count from. A share measured over fewer than three listings is not a measurement, so it is not shown.

What they call it

Large employers

  • Embedded Linux Consultant - Japan Canonical
  • Embedded Linux Field Engineer for Devices/IoT Canonical
  • Alliances Field Engineer Canonical Ltd.
  • Embedded Linux Field Engineer for Devices/IoT Canonical Ltd.
  • Ubuntu Sales Engineer (Entry-Level) Canonical Ltd.
  • Customer Engineer, India (Based in Mumbai) Cloudflare

Startups

  • Forward Deployed Engineer Encord
  • Forward Deployed Engineer, SF Encord
  • Forward Deployed Engineer HackerRank
  • Customer Solutions Engineer Agave
  • GTM Engineering Intern Aviator
  • Pre-Sales Solutions Engineer Blee

Tools the occupation uses

Access software Citrix cloud computing software
Administration software Cisco Systems CiscoWorks
Application server software Docker
Cloud-based management software Google Cloud software
Computer aided design CAD software Autodesk AutoCAD, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
Content workflow software Atlassian JIRA

How well this role is advertised

218listings reviewed
55/100median HR-standards score
78/100median title accuracy

Open now

Search all Sales Engineer listings →

Official definitions and responsibilities come from public occupational records — O*NET (US Department of Labor) and ESCO (European Commission). The employer half is counted from listings on this board and shown with its denominator. Nothing on this page is written by a language model: the measured half is arithmetic over real postings, and the official half is quoted.