Sales Engineer Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 4,954 US job postings by 2,036 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for sales engineers: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 4,954 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for sales engineers in US job postings is $140,000 a year (1,602 postings from 668 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $103,000 to $180,000.
- The skills that most set sales engineer postings apart are presentation skills, sales engineering, solutions engineering.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 4 years of experience.
Sales Engineer job postings in the US, October 2026
- $140,000
- Median advertised pay (1,602 postings)
- $103,000–$180,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 4,954
- US job postings from 2,036 employers
- 4 years
- Median experience asked
How much does a sales engineer make?
The median advertised pay is $140,000 a year, from 1,602 US job postings by 668 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $228,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 1,602 US sales engineer job postings: median $140,000 a year, middle half $103,000 to $180,000.
- Median: $140,000
- 25th percentile: $103,000
- 75th percentile: $180,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $20K–$30K | 0.1% |
| $40K–$50K | 0.3% |
| $50K–$60K | 1.2% |
| $60K–$70K | 2.0% |
| $70K–$80K | 6.3% |
| $80K–$90K | 5.6% |
| $90K–$100K | 6.0% |
| $100K–$110K | 8.3% |
| $110K–$120K | 7.2% |
| $120K–$130K | 7.3% |
| $130K–$140K | 5.4% |
| $140K–$150K | 6.8% |
| $150K–$160K | 8.1% |
| $160K–$170K | 4.2% |
| $170K–$180K | 5.6% |
| $180K–$190K | 3.6% |
| $190K–$200K | 3.2% |
| $200K–$210K | 3.1% |
| $210K–$220K | 2.9% |
| $220K–$230K | 3.1% |
| $230K–$240K | 2.4% |
| $240K–$250K | 1.4% |
| $250K–$260K | 3.1% |
| $260K–$270K | 1.0% |
| $270K–$280K | 0.5% |
| $280K–$290K | 0.5% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an annual salary | $141,000 | $105K–$181K | 1,470 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $140,000 | $103K–$180K | 1,602 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Sales Engineers (41-9031) at $125,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a sales engineer?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Sales engineer levels and pay
Levels as they appear in job titles, ordered by the median experience asked. Senior sales engineers have a median advertised pay of $164,000 a year.
| Level in title | Share of postings | Median experience asked | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| No level in title | 81.1% | 3 years | $133,000 |
| Senior | 13.7% | 5 years | $164,000 |
Highest-paying sales engineer jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solutions Engineer | $166,000 | 338 | 179 |
| Sales Engineer (general) | $130,000 | 587 | 250 |
| Application Engineer | $119,000 | 335 | 169 |
Sales engineer pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | $160,000 | $123,000–$190,000 | 113 | 9.5% |
| California | $142,000 | $105,000–$195,000 | 245 | 18.6% |
Skills employers ask for in sales engineer job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 48% |
| Problem-solving | 19% |
| Presentation skills | 16% |
| Interpersonal skills | 13% |
| Analytical skills | 12% |
| Python | 11% |
| Excel | 11% |
| Organizational skills | 10% |
| Microsoft Office | 9% |
| Work independently | 9% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set sales engineers apart
- Presentation skills9.6× as often as in all postings · 16%
- Sales engineering157.5× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Presentation8.2× as often as in all postings · 9%
- Azure8.4× as often as in all postings · 8%
- APIs11.9× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Python3.4× as often as in all postings · 11%
- AWS4.8× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Google Cloud7.7× as often as in all postings · 5%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a sales engineer job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a sales engineer do?
Employers post these jobs as Solutions Engineer, Applications Engineer, Application Engineer, Senior Solutions Engineer, Senior Sales Engineer and other titles. The largest specializations are Solutions Engineer (20%), Application Engineer (22%), Solutions Consultant (7%), Pre-Sales Engineer (5%), Solution Manager (1%), Director, Sales Engineering (under 1%).
The closest official occupation is Sales Engineers (41-9031.00). Its most important tasks:
- Develop, present, or respond to proposals for specific customer requirements, including request for proposal responses and industry-specific solutions.
- Collaborate with sales teams to understand customer requirements, to promote the sale of company products, and to provide sales support.
- Create sales or service contracts for products or services.
- Visit prospective buyers at commercial, industrial, or other establishments to show samples or catalogs, and to inform them about product pricing, availability, and advantages.
- Keep informed on industry news and trends, products, services, competitors, relevant information about legacy, existing, and emerging technologies, and the latest product-line developments.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a sales engineer?
Among 2,661 postings that state a minimum, the median is 4 years. 2% say 0 years and 9% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 2,661 US sales engineer job postings: median 4 years, and 9% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 2% |
| 1 yr | 7% |
| 2 yrs | 14% |
| 3-4 yrs | 34% |
| 5-7 yrs | 35% |
| 8-9 yrs | 4% |
| 10+ yrs | 5% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Full-time 99% of the 343 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a sales engineer: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Sales Engineer | 510 (25.1%) |
| Solutions Engineer | 349 (17.1%) |
| Applications Engineer | 140 (6.9%) |
| Application Engineer | 115 (5.7%) |
| Senior Solutions Engineer | 92 (4.5%) |
| Senior Sales Engineer | 86 (4.2%) |
| Solution Consultant | 72 (3.5%) |
| Field Application Engineer | 72 (3.5%) |
| Technical Sales Engineer | 68 (3.3%) |
| Field Applications Engineer | 53 (2.6%) |
| Solutions Consultant | 51 (2.5%) |
| Inside Sales Engineer | 37 (1.8%) |
| Senior Applications Engineer | 37 (1.8%) |
| Pre-Sales Engineer | 36 (1.8%) |
| Solution Engineer | 31 (1.5%) |
| Sales Application Engineer | 27 (1.3%) |
| Senior Solution Engineer | 26 (1.3%) |
| Outside Sales Engineer | 23 (1.1%) |
| Field Sales Engineer | 22 (1.1%) |
| Senior Application Engineer | 22 (1.1%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Sales engineer job titles compared
The titles people search for most, from the US job postings that use each exact title (October 2026).
| Job title | Open postings | Employers | Median pay | Median experience | Skills named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solutions Engineer | 590 | 349 | – | 4 years | communication, Python, problem-solving |
Sales Engineer compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales Engineer | $140K | 4 years | 4,954 | – |
| Solutions Architect | $175K | 5 years | 7,307 | 11 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $157K | 5 years | 11,153 | 10 |
| Implementation Consultant | $112K | 3 years | 1,436 | 18 |
| Engineering Manager | $200K | 5 years | 5,505 | 11 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Solutions Architect | 11 | $175K |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | 10 | $157K |
| Implementation Consultant | 18 | $112K |
| Engineering Manager | 11 | $200K |
| IT Manager | 10 | $134K |
| Software Engineer | 8 | $164K |
Applying for sales engineer jobs?
- Sales engineer resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find sales engineer jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a sales engineer make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 18 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.