Solutions Engineering recruitment
Solutions and sales engineers win the technical decision. They run discovery with technical buyers, build tailored demos, manage proofs of concept and give the AE confidence that the product will work.
What the job really covers
A solutions engineer (also called a sales engineer, presales consultant or solutions consultant) is the technical expert in a software sales team who works with Account Executives to understand a prospect’s requirements, design and demonstrate the solution, answer technical and security questions, and run proofs of concept that win the technical decision.
- Technical discovery with architects, engineers and security teams
- Tailored demos and proofs of concept with clear success criteria
- Answering RFPs and security questionnaires
- Feeding market and product gaps back to Product
Titles we recruit
- Solutions Engineer
- Sales Engineer
- Pre-Sales Consultant
- Solutions Architect
- Value Engineer
- SE Manager
- Head of Solutions Engineering
What we assess, and how
Every shortlist comes with notes on all four- 01
Demo under pressure
A live demo with interruptions and at least one awkward question. - 02
Technical depth
APIs, integrations, data and security, deep enough to hold up with an engineer. - 03
Commercial instinct
How they decide which proofs of concept to run, and which to decline. - 04
Partnership with AEs
We ask the AEs they've supported.
A question we always ask
“Tell me about a proof of concept you walked away from.”
Pay benchmarks
Indicative 2026 ranges from the TRG GTM Salary Guide. Varies by company stage and city.| Role | UK | US |
|---|---|---|
| Solutions Engineer | £65–85k base£85–115k OTE | $110–145k base$150–200k OTE |
| Senior Solutions Engineer | £85–105k base£110–140k OTE | $145–185k base$200–270k OTE |
| Principal / Staff SE | £100–130k base£130–170k OTE | $175–230k base$260–350k OTE |
| SE Manager | £110–140k base£140–180k OTE | $180–220k base$250–320k OTE |
| Head / Director of Solutions Engineering | £130–170k base£170–220k OTE | $210–260k base$290–370k OTE |
Career path
- Associate SE
- Solutions Engineer
- Senior or Principal SE
- SE Manager
- Head of SE or VP Solutions
Tools of the trade
- Salesforce
- Gong
- Consensus
- Vivun
- Postman
- AWS
- Azure
- Loom
Market notes
UK SEs often support EMEA deals across several languages and regulatory regimes, particularly GDPR and financial services rules. Security and data platform SEs are the hardest to find.
UK solutions engineering roles are concentrated in London, with strong demand in Manchester, Cambridge, Reading and Edinburgh. Many UK SEs cover EMEA, and German, French or Nordic languages are an advantage. Security clearance is needed for some public sector and defence roles.
IT Jobs Watch reports a London presales median of £87.5k and a UK median of £75k (UK 25th–75th percentile £51k–£92.5k) for the six months to November 2026. Payscale's London figure (£47k median) rests on only six profiles and covers all sectors, so we give it little weight.
Hiring in the UK →Market notes
US SE teams are usually paired one to two or three AEs by segment. Pay is typically 70/30 or 80/20, and depth in cloud and AI is pushing salaries up.
US SE demand is highest in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Seattle, Austin, Boston and Washington DC (for public sector). Many SE roles are remote or field-based by region. US SE ladders are well defined, and variable pay is typically tied to team or regional quota.
KORE1's 2026 guide puts mid-level SEs at $110k–$145k base ($150k–$200k OTE) and senior SEs at $145k–$185k ($200k–$270k). RepVue's median is $140k base / $195k OTE; Bravado's US average is about $119k base and $162k total. Manager and director ranges are our derivation from senior IC levels; public data is thin.
Hiring in the US →Solutions engineer and sales engineer recruitment, UK & US
Skills in demand
- Technical discovery
- Solution architecture
- Demo delivery
- Proof of concept management
- RFP and security questionnaires
- Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
- APIs and integrations
- SQL and data
- Python or JavaScript scripting
- Identity and security
- AI and LLM concepts
- Value engineering
- Presentation and storytelling
What solutions engineers do
Solutions engineers win the technical side of the sale. While the AE manages the commercial relationship and deal process, the SE leads technical discovery, designs how the product will fit into the customer’s environment, builds and delivers tailored demos, manages proofs of concept or pilots, and answers detailed questions on architecture, integrations, security and compliance.
In complex sales the SE is often the most trusted person on the vendor side, because they speak the language of the customer’s technical team. A strong SE can turn a sceptical IT or engineering audience into champions; a weak one can lose a deal the AE thought was won.
The role has grown in importance as software has become more technical. Platform products, APIs, data and AI tools, security products and developer tools all need presales people who can go deep. Many companies now treat SE capacity as one of the main constraints on growth.
- Lead technical discovery and requirements gathering
- Design and present solution architecture
- Build and deliver tailored demos
- Run proofs of concept, pilots and technical evaluations
- Answer RFPs, security questionnaires and compliance reviews
Roles we recruit
We recruit solutions engineers and sales engineers at every level, senior and principal SEs, solutions architects and solutions consultants, value engineers, demo engineers, and presales managers, directors and VPs of solutions engineering. We also recruit post-sales technical roles such as technical account managers and customer solutions architects.
Titles vary. In the UK, “presales consultant” and “solutions consultant” are common alongside “solutions engineer”. In the US, “sales engineer” and “solutions engineer” are standard, with “solutions architect” used for the most technical or enterprise-focused roles. Some companies use “customer engineer” or “field engineer”. We map titles by what the person actually does.
We often recruit SEs by technical domain: cloud infrastructure, data and analytics, security, AI and machine learning, developer tools, integration platforms, fintech and payments, or vertical software. Domain expertise is usually essential for senior SE roles.
- Solutions engineer, sales engineer, presales consultant
- Senior and principal SE, solutions architect
- Value engineer and demo engineer
- Presales manager, director and VP of solutions engineering
- Technical account manager and customer solutions architect
What good looks like: SE metrics
SEs are usually measured on team outcomes rather than an individual quota, but there are useful metrics. Technical win rate (the share of evaluations where the customer chose the product on technical grounds), proof-of-concept conversion, and the revenue influenced by deals they supported all show impact.
Many SE teams also track coverage and capacity: how many active opportunities each SE supports, how many demos and POCs they run, and how quickly they respond to requests. These help leaders plan SE-to-AE ratios, which commonly range from one SE for every two to five AEs depending on product complexity.
We also look at quality signals: feedback from AEs and customers, how often demos are reused or improved, contributions to enablement and documentation, and involvement in product feedback.
- Technical win rate
- Proof-of-concept conversion rate
- Revenue influenced and deals supported
- SE-to-AE coverage and capacity
- AE and customer feedback on quality
Skills and technical depth employers want
Strong SEs combine technical depth with communication and commercial awareness. They can explain a complex architecture to a CTO and its business value to a CFO, in the same meeting. They are excellent at discovery: they ask questions that uncover real requirements and hidden objections.
Technical skills depend on the product. Common requirements include cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), APIs and integration, SQL and data, identity and security, scripting (Python or JavaScript) and, increasingly, AI and LLM concepts. SEs selling AI products need to explain model behaviour, data handling, evaluation and governance credibly.
Demo craft is a skill in its own right. The best SEs build demos around the customer’s problem, not the product’s features, and tell a clear story. We assess demo skill directly at interview.
- Technical discovery and solution design
- Story-led demo delivery
- Cloud, APIs, integrations and data
- Security, identity and compliance knowledge
- AI and LLM concepts for AI products
How we run a solutions engineering search
We start by understanding your product’s technical depth, typical buyer, deal size, sales cycle and the SE’s role in it. We look at the current SE-to-AE ratio, whether SEs own POCs, and the technical domain the hire must know.
We map SEs by domain and by sales motion. An SE from a developer-tools company may be a great fit for an API platform but less so for an enterprise HR product. We look for candidates who have sold to similar technical buyers.
Interviews should include a demo. We recommend giving candidates access to your product or a brief and asking them to run a short discovery and demo for a realistic scenario. It is the most reliable way to judge SE quality.
- Discovery on product depth, buyer and SE role
- Market map by technical domain and motion
- Technical and communication screen
- Shortlist with notes on domain depth and demo skill
- Recommended discovery-and-demo exercise
Hiring challenges and how to beat them
Good SEs are scarce, because the role needs a rare mix of technical depth and sales skill. Many strong engineers do not want customer-facing work, and many good communicators lack the technical depth. We approach candidates directly and also look at adjacent pools, such as consultants, technical account managers and implementation engineers.
Under-resourcing is the next challenge. If SEs are stretched across too many AEs, deals slow down and quality drops. We help you think through ratios and when to hire.
Finally, SE compensation needs care. Most SEs have a variable element tied to team results, and it should reward technical wins and good deal support without encouraging SEs to chase only the biggest deals. We advise on market norms.
- Look beyond SEs: consultants, TAMs, implementation engineers
- Plan SE-to-AE ratios before hiring AEs
- Test demo and discovery skill directly
- Design variable pay that rewards team outcomes
- Give SEs a clear technical career ladder
Career paths in solutions engineering
SEs often come from engineering, consulting, implementation, support or technical account management. They progress from SE to senior and principal SE, or to solutions architect, a deeper technical track for the largest deals.
Leadership paths lead to SE manager, director and VP of solutions engineering or presales. Some SE leaders move into wider roles such as chief customer officer or field CTO.
SEs also move sideways into product management, product marketing, partnerships or sales. SE experience is valuable in all of them, because SEs understand both the product and how customers buy it.
- SE → Senior SE → Principal SE or Solutions Architect
- SE → SE Manager → Director / VP Solutions Engineering
- SE leader → Field CTO
- SE → Product management or product marketing
- SE → Partner SE or alliances
Solutions engineering terms explained
Presales teams use specific terms for the stages and outputs of a technical sale. These are the ones we use most when briefing and assessing SE roles.
The technical win is the key idea. In a complex deal, the customer often makes a technical decision (does this product meet our requirements?) before a commercial one (is it worth the price?). The SE owns the first; the AE owns the second. Strong SEs can describe exactly how they secured the technical win in specific deals.
We also ask how candidates decided when not to run a POC. Unqualified POCs absorb SE time and rarely convert.
- Technical win: the customer’s decision that the product meets its technical requirements
- POC / pilot: a structured trial of the product against agreed success criteria
- RFP: a formal request for proposal with detailed requirements
- Security questionnaire: a vendor assessment covering security, privacy and compliance controls
- SE-to-AE ratio: how many Account Executives each solutions engineer supports
Our advice before you hire
Agree the SE-to-AE ratio and how SEs are paid before you hire. Experienced SEs compare these first, and an overstretched ratio shows in the first interview.
Brief us on a Solutions Engineering role →Solutions Engineering recruitment FAQs
A solutions engineer is the technical expert in a sales team. They lead technical discovery, design how the product fits the customer’s environment, deliver demos, run proofs of concept and answer security and integration questions, working alongside the Account Executive.
Usually, yes. Sales engineer, solutions engineer, solutions consultant and presales consultant often describe the same role. Solutions architect usually means a more senior or more technical version, often on the largest deals.
It depends on product complexity and deal size. Common ratios range from one SE for every two AEs in complex enterprise sales to one for every five or more in simpler or smaller deals.
We look at technical depth in your domain, discovery and demo skill, communication with technical and business audiences, and commercial awareness. We recommend a short discovery-and-demo exercise at interview.
SEs usually have a base salary and a variable element tied to team or regional quota, often with a heavier weighting to base than AEs. See our 2026 salary guide for indicative ranges in the UK and US.
Many come from engineering, consulting, implementation, technical support or technical account management. Looking at these adjacent pools is often the best way to find strong SEs in a tight market.