How to Hire a Sales Engineer [Updated 2025]

Our mission

Indeed’s Employer Resource Library helps businesses grow and manage their workforce. With over 15,000 articles in 6 languages, we offer tactical advice, how-tos and best practices to help businesses hire and retain great employees.

Read our editorial guidelines

2 min read

Do you need to hire a sales engineer? A skilled sales engineer can bridge the gap between technical products and customer needs, helping drive sales by clearly demonstrating value and solutions.

Understanding the steps behind hiring a sales engineer, including job-seeker data, salary information and key terms to include in your job description, can help you stand out from the competition to effectively attract and hire quality candidates.

Hire your next Sales Engineer today.

Post a Job

Hire your next Sales Engineer today.

Post a Job

Our mission

Read our editorial guidelines

Sales Engineer: What is the cost of hiring?

What is a sales engineer?

A sales engineer combines technical knowledge with sales expertise to help customers understand how complex products or services meet their needs. They often support the sales team by presenting solutions, addressing technical concerns and customizing product recommendations.

Why hire a sales engineer?

Sales engineers can improve close rates by translating technical features into real-world benefits. You may need to hire one if your company offers complex software, machinery or systems that require expert-level product knowledge during the sales process.

Contributions of a great sales engineer:

supports the sales process by delivering product demonstrations and technical consultations
works closely with product and engineering teams to understand new offerings
translates complex features into clear, customer-focused solutions

Defining your hiring needs for sales engineers

Start by identifying the technical complexity of your product and the typical questions your customers ask. Are you selling software to enterprise clients or machinery to manufacturers? Determine whether your business requires full-time, part-time or freelance support across regions or specialized assistance for high-value clients. Decide if you need a generalist or someone with a niche technical background.

What are the types of sales engineers?

Sales engineers may specialize based on the product, customer type or industry. Some focus on presales support, while others assist throughout the customer lifecycle.

Common types of sales engineers include:

Presales engineer: supports the sales team with demos, presentations and technical specs
Technical sales specialist: focuses on explaining highly technical or niche products
Solutions engineer: helps tailor offerings to unique client requirements
Post-sales engineer: continues technical support after the sale is complete
Field sales engineer: works directly with clients on-site for demonstrations and troubleshooting

When writing your sales engineer job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on sales engineer jobs, according to Indeed data:

Want more hiring insights for your sales engineer role? Sign in or create your free Indeed account.

Where to find sales engineers

You can find sales engineers in Canada by reaching out to engineering programs, professional sales associations and experienced candidates looking to move into hybrid sales roles. Focus on candidates who have a technical background and experience working with customers.

To find the right sales engineer for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

Engineering schools: Universities like UBC, Waterloo and McGill graduate engineers with strong communication skills.
Sales industry events: Events such as the Canadian Professional Sales Association (CPSA) network professionals across verticals.
Social media groups and forums: Technical sales communities often post jobs or refer candidates.
Internal promotion: Technical support reps or engineers with sales acumen can transition into hybrid roles.

Post your job online: Try posting your sales engineer job on Indeed to find and attract quality sales engineer candidates.

Skills to look for in a sales engineer

A successful sales engineer candidate will typically have the following skills and competencies, which may be gained through a variety of experiences, training or education:

strong technical knowledge related to your product or service
effective verbal and written communication to explain technical concepts to non-experts
sales and negotiation skills to support deal closing
collaboration with sales, engineering and product teams
problem solving to tailor solutions to customer needs
confidence delivering demos, presentations and pitches

Writing a sales engineer job description

Now that you know the key skills, salary expectations, popular job-seeker search terms and hiring insights for a sales engineer, you’re ready to write a job description.

A sales engineer job description typically includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position. You may also want to include information about your company culture, benefits and perks to attract candidates to your open role.

Ready to get started? See our full guide for writing sales engineer job descriptions.

Interviewing sales engineer candidates

Strong candidates for sales engineer positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

experience delivering technical presentations or demos
ability to tailor product messaging to different audiences
comfort with complex products or services
collaboration with product, sales, and support teams
strategies for managing technical objections during the sales process

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of sales engineer interview questions for examples (with sample answers).

FAQs about how to hire a sales engineer

Sales engineers typically hold a degree or diploma in engineering, computer science or a technical discipline related to the product or service they’ll be supporting. Many employers also seek candidates with experience in sales or customer engagement, as the role combines technical knowledge with effective communication and persuasion skills. Industry certifications, product-specific training or experience with CRM tools can further enhance a candidate’s profile, especially in competitive sectors such as SaaS or industrial sales.

You can assess a candidate’s technical ability by asking them to explain your company’s product, or a similar product they’ve worked with, in a way that would make sense to a non-technical client. Look for clarity, confidence and accuracy. Reviewing any relevant certifications or technical training, such as networking credentials, CAD proficiency or software demos they’ve led, can also help gauge their readiness.

Sales engineers are in demand across a range of technical and industrial sectors. Common industries include enterprise software, industrial automation, telecommunications, advanced manufacturing, electronics, medical devices and engineering consulting. Any industry that sells complex or highly customizable products often relies on sales engineers to translate technical product knowledge into practical solutions that meet the needs of prospective customers.

A sales engineer is responsible for understanding the technical specifications of a product or system and demonstrating how it can meet a client’s needs. They often work closely with product development teams and may assist in customizing solutions or troubleshooting during the pre-sales process. In contrast, a sales representative typically manages prospecting, lead generation, building relationships and the sales pipeline.