Side-by-side distribution
Sales Engineer
$162,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 46.1%
- Live roles
- 922
Solutions Engineer
$170,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 43.1%
- Live roles
- 1,206
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Sales Systems Engineer
Field Sales Engineer
Senior Sales Systems Engineer, Kasten, West
Director, Enterprise Sales Engineer (West)
Senior Solutions Engineer - Pre Sales (SF)
Sales Engineer (Bay Area)
Senior Solutions Engineer - Pre Sales (NYC)
Principal Sales Engineer – Warehouse Robotics Systems
Forward Deployed AI Engineer (Post-Sales)
Solutions Engineer (AI/ML, Pre-Sales)
Highest-paying jobs
Enterprise Solutions Engineer
Senior Solution Engineer
Senior Applied AI Solutions Engineer
Senior Solutions Engineer - Pre Sales (SF)
Senior Solutions Engineer - Pre Sales (NYC)
Strategic Solutions Engineer, SF Bay Area
Lead Solutions Engineer
Staff Solutions Engineer - Mid Atlantic
Software Engineer, Applications (Scientific Development Solutions) (High Seniority)
Sr. Solutions Engineer - Public Sector (Defense Industrial Base)
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
CaptiveAire
|
$85,000 | 33 |
Zscaler
|
$188,063 | 32 |
Samsara
|
$124,574 | 22 |
Datadog
|
$137,500 | 15 |
| RL Rithum LinkedIn Board | $130,000 | 15 |
| AX Axon | $146,250 | 12 |
Everpure
|
$176,750 | 11 |
Sierra
|
$215,000 | 10 |
Esri
Netskope
Snowflake
Grafana Labs
Hightouch
Asana
Decagon
Verkada
Sales Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | $215,000 | 12 |
| London | $203,842 | 5 |
| Los Angeles | $195,460 | 8 |
| San Francisco | $195,000 | 59 |
| New York | $180,000 | 67 |
| Boston | $176,650 | 16 |
| Seattle | $176,350 | 12 |
| Toronto | $146,552 | 5 |
| Chicago | $142,500 | 6 |
| Austin | $138,175 | 5 |
Solutions Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago | $190,781 | 18 |
| San Francisco | $188,750 | 78 |
| Los Angeles | $187,500 | 9 |
| Atlanta | $186,490 | 4 |
| Austin | $178,675 | 12 |
| Boston | $175,438 | 16 |
| New York | $175,250 | 88 |
| Seattle | $150,000 | 7 |
| Denver | $136,084 | 42 |
| London | $132,272 | 17 |
Sales Engineer vs Solutions Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Sales Engineer is $162,500 per year (typically $130,000–$205,793), versus $170,000 for Solutions Engineer ($133,014–$202,500). That puts Solutions Engineer about 5% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Sales Engineer and Solutions Engineer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.