Technical experts who help sell: demos, proofs of concept, security questionnaires.
How to get here
Salary (US) as of 2026-11
Median$125K
Typical range$93K–$195K
Senior / manager$210K
Sources:
- BLS OES, Sales Engineers (41-9031), May 2025median $124,900; 25th $92,890; 75th $161,230; 90th $195,270
- RepVue, Sales Engineer, Apr 2024median base $135,000; median OTE $190,000; top performers ~$323k
- Payscale, Sales Engineer (all industries), May 2026 (1,226 profiles)avg base $83,531; base 10th-90th $60k-$122k
- Moveworks PreSales Solutions Engineer postingbase $150,000-$210,000 plus variable and equity (5+ yrs)
Figures are base salary. SE comp is usually 75-85% base with variable tied to territory quota (RepVue median base $135K / median OTE $190K; top performers ~$323K). Range high is the BLS 90th-percentile wage. Senior figure is the top of the Moveworks senior SE base band ($150K-$210K, 5+ yrs). Payscale's all-industry figure includes industrial sales engineers and understates SaaS.
Experience to get here
Entry level0-2 years (associate SE programs) or 3-6 years from a technical/consulting role
Typical title3-6 years
Bachelor's is the norm (PreSales Collective: ~78% hold a bachelor's as highest degree), usually technical or business; no certification is required. Vendor platform certs matter at cloud/data vendors.
Typical prior roles
Implementation / Professional Services ConsultantSoftware or Data EngineerTechnical Support or Customer Success EngineerSolutions ArchitectAccount Executive (less common)
Must have
- 5+ years in pre-sales or customer-facing technical roles for senior postings; 2-3 for mid-level
- Discovery and tailored demos; building and maintaining demo environments
- Scoping and running proofs of concept with defined success criteria
- Technical depth in the product domain (APIs, cloud architecture, integrations; SQL/BI for data products)
- RFP and security questionnaire responses; business-value analysis with AEs
Milestones people hit first
- Delivered the technical win on a deal that closed; can quantify influenced pipeline
- Built a reusable demo environment or dataset the whole team uses
- Ran a POC end to end with success criteria and a results write-up
- Presented architecture/security to a customer's technical and executive buyers
Certifications
Preferredin postings: sometimes
| Exam fee | $175 |
| Training | free Snowflake Hands-On Essentials badges (free vendor learning paths elsewhere) |
| Renewal | SnowPro: recert every 2 years; varies by vendor |
| Typical total | $175 (third-party figure; vendor page does not list fees) |
Time: 4-6 weeks at ~5 hrs/week
Prerequisites: none
Pick the one cert that matches the vendor's product; AWS Cloud Practitioner ($100) and Salesforce Admin ($200) are the analogues.
Preferredin postings: sometimes
| Exam fee | not published |
| Training | $499 for 12 months individual access; $899/yr full membership |
| Renewal | annual |
| Typical total | $499 (membership $899/yr) |
Time: 4-6 hours
Prerequisites: none
Senior SC postings (e.g., Heap/Contentsquare) ask for MEDDPICC experience; the Masterclass is one way to show it, not a substitute.
Nice to havein postings: rarely
| Exam fee | not published |
| Training | $5,995 list; $4,995 paid upfront; financing available |
| Renewal | none |
| Typical total | $4,995-5,995 |
Time: 10 weeks part-time cohort plus ~30 weeks job-search support
Prerequisites: none; built for career changers
A career-changer program built for presales; claims $118k median starting salary (self-reported).
Nice to havein postings: rarely
| Exam fee | $200 |
| Training | free on Trailhead |
| Renewal | free annual maintenance module |
| Typical total | $200-500 incl. retake/prep (third-party figure; vendor page does not list fees) |
Time: 60 questions / 105 min, 65% to pass; 2-3 months study
Prerequisites: none
Relevant mainly for Salesforce-ecosystem SE roles; elsewhere it is just a general platform-literacy signal.
Training & learning
- PreSales Collective free membership and Intro to Presales course FREE
PreSales Collective · community · free · a few hours; ongoing Slack communityThe main community for the role; the free intro course covers discovery, demo and entry paths, and the Slack is where referrals happen.
- Great Demo! (book and workshops)
Great Demo! (Peter Cohan) · book · book ~$20-30; workshops pricing on request · book: a weekend; workshop: 2-3 daysThe demo methodology most SE teams train on ('do the last thing first'); named in SE onboarding plans.
- Demo2Win / Discovery2Win
2Win! Global · course · pricing on request (employer-funded) · 2 daysNamed by name in SE postings (e.g., Gong) as a framework candidates should know.
- Salesforce Trailhead FREE
Salesforce · learning path · free · 20-40 hoursFree way to show platform fluency and to learn the CRM your AEs log deals in.
- Tableau free training videos (build a demo dashboard) FREE
Tableau · course · free · 10-15 hoursSE interviews include a live demo; a polished BI walkthrough is the fastest practice for analytics-vendor roles.
- Record a 10-minute discovery-to-demo portfolio piece FREE
self-directed · learning path · free · 1-2 weeksEvery SE loop has a demo round; career changers who were hired prepared by demoing a tool they already knew.
Sources & notes
- BLS OOH - Sales Engineers (May 2025 wages, education)
- Wagedex - Sales Engineers 41-9031 national percentiles (BLS OEWS May 2025)
- RepVue - Sales Engineer salaries
- Payscale - Sales Engineer salary
- Built In - PreSales Solutions Engineer posting, Moveworks (5+ yrs, APIs/cloud, POCs, $150-210k base)
- Greenhouse - Solutions Ecosystems Engineer posting, Gong (5+ yrs, Demo2Win, demo platforms)
- PreSales Collective - PreSales Academy ($5,995 / $4,995 upfront; 10 weeks)
- PreSales Collective - Learn hub (free membership and intro course)
- PreSales Collective - What is a Solutions Consultant (77.9% bachelor's; 71% lateral entry)
- Heap/Contentsquare - Solution Consultant posting (MEDDPICC required; $120-142k base + $30-35k commission)
- MEDDICC - pricing
- Snowflake - SnowPro Core certification ($175)
- Salesforce Trailhead - Administrator credential
- Great Demo!
- 2Win! Global - Demo2Win
- Tableau - free training
- The Data School, How to pass SnowPro Core ($175, 115 min, 100 questions)
- SalesforceGeek - Admin exam logistics ($200, retake $100, 60 Qs, 105 min, 65%)
BLS mapping: 41-9031 Sales Engineers (a close match). PreSales Academy price: the vendor page shows $5,995 list / $4,995 upfront; an older $479 figure appears to have been a different or outdated product, so the current vendor figure is used. Salesforce exam fee comes from a third-party guide because Trailhead credential pages no longer display fees.
Figures are US, from the sources listed, and change often; verify before deciding.