Solutions Engineer Job Description
Elavize
Introduction
Solutions engineers play a vital role in technical sales by connecting the dots between customer challenges and technical products. Blending business acumen with technical expertise, solutions engineers work closely with sales teams to provide subject matter guidance, conduct discovery calls, demo products, and configure proof of concepts.In this blog, we’ll dive into:
- An example job description
- What the role actually entails
- Average salaries
Whether you’re an engineer exploring sales or a sales rep looking to level up technical knowledge, understanding the solutions engineer’s multifaceted role is valuable for pursuing this role or bolstering collaboration between departments. Let’s explore what makes solutions engineers such a crucial asset for sealing complex B2B deals.
Job Description
The solutions engineer plays a critical technical sales role, working closely between the sales and engineering teams to provide subject matter expertise on products and services to prospects and customers.
Responsibilities:
- Conduct technical needs assessments and discovery calls with prospects to understand their business goals, challenges, and infrastructure. Identify opportunities to demonstrate value.
- Design, install, and configure product proofs of concept and prototypes to validate solutions against customer requirements and use cases.
- Deliver compelling product demonstrations, POCs, trials, and pilots to prospects using technical knowledge, presentation skills, and solution selling techniques.
- Equip the sales team with useful insights and compelling materials to shorten sales cycles and close more deals. Provide technical guidance to optimize pitches.
- Maintain expert-level knowledge on the company's technology and products as well as emerging tools, trends, and best practices in the industry.
- Partner with product management and engineering teams to convey customer and prospect feedback for product enhancements and new features.
- Develop and nurture relationships with prospects and customers, serving as a trusted advisor and point of contact for technical questions.
- Monitor account progress and activity metrics using CRM tools to report on the sales funnel and forecast revenue opportunities.
- Represent the company at industry events, seminars, and technical conferences to demonstrate thought leadership.
Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering or a technical field.
- 3+ years of experience as a software engineer, solutions architect, or related technical sales role.
- Deep understanding of the company's products and applications.
- Knowledge of competitor landscapes, target personas, and positioning.
- Excellent communication and presentation abilities. Able to explain complex technical concepts clearly.
- Solution-selling mindset with the ability to identify customer pain points and match appropriate solutions.
- Self-motivated and driven, with high energy and a passion for sales.
- Willingness to travel for on-site meetings and events.
What the role actually entails
The solutions engineer plays a critical role in the sales process, leveraging a blend of technical and business savvy to drive revenue. They serve as highly knowledgeable resources to demonstrate value, evaluate solutions, and accelerate deals.
As an SE myself, having over 6+ years of experience, I can also help shed some light on what my day-to-day responsibilities look like:
- Working with my AE’s on discovery calls before conducting a tailored demo for the prospect.
- Building out requirements docs that align with our product and the prospect’s needs.
- Being the main technical point of contact throughout the POC/POV (proof of value/concept).
- Working with product to document feature requests.
- Working with CSMs to help with implementation (customer just bought the product).
- Building workarounds leveraging our APIs that connects a third-party tool to our product.
- Building out sales enablement docs around our product.
Average Salaries
Salaries can vary but typically Solutions Engineers have their compensation broken in the following way: 70% base, 30% commission. What this means is that if your expected OTE is $100K that your base pay is $70K and your commission is $30K barring that the company hits their sales targets.
Junior Solutions Engineer:
$84K in total compensation
Solutions Engineer:
$124K in total compensation
Sr. Solutions Engineer:
$186K in total compensation
Conclusion:
Solutions engineers play an integral role in technical sales by connecting the capabilities of products and services to real-world solutions. They combine engineering know-how, business acumen, and communication skills to provide technical expertise to sales teams and customers. As the solutions engineering field continues to grow in demand, those with the right balance of technical depth and business savvy will find excellent career opportunities. A solutions engineering role allows technology-focused professionals to work closely with cutting-edge products without needing to be in a purely engineering function. For sales-minded engineers or technically-adept sellers, solutions engineering offers the best of both worlds - technical complexity and human collaboration. With a solutions engineer's unique perspective guiding the sales process, businesses can expect to close more deals and foster happier customers.
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