Solutions Engineer

A Solutions Engineer is a technical pre-sales specialist who helps a prospect understand a product’s value and assess how well it meets their needs. Working with sales colleagues, they prepare demonstrations, support proofs of concept, or POCs, and answer the technical questions that shape the evaluation of the solution.

Their work begins with understanding the prospect’s situation. They relate the intended uses and technical constraints to the product’s capabilities. A demonstration then shows relevant features in a context the people involved can understand. A technical evaluation examines more specific questions against agreed success criteria.

The depth of technical knowledge required depends on the product being sold. A security and networking environment calls for different knowledge from a solution aimed at development teams. To define the role before recruiting, specify the topics the person will need to handle independently, the demonstrations they will need to prepare and the specialists they can turn to.

Solutions Engineer, salesperson and software developer: who does what?

• The Solutions Engineer provides the technical analysis needed to evaluate the product and leads the related discussions with the prospect.
• The salesperson works with them on the sales opportunity. Clarify how they will divide these discussions so that someone is clearly responsible for technical questions.
• The Software Engineer designs, develops, tests and improves software. This need for software development should be distinguished from the need for pre-sales support.

This job profile covers work before the sale. It does not include ongoing responsibility for deployment, support or customer follow-up. Define the reporting line and arrangements for working with product and technical teams separately: the title alone specifies neither these arrangements nor the expected degree of autonomy.

Hiring for this role should enable prospects to make decisions based on clear explanations and understandable technical results. A presentation can show many features without addressing the problem behind the purchase. The aim is to connect what the product can actually do with the needs expressed during discussions.

The first point to consider is therefore how well the person understands the need. When defining the role, distinguish between preparing a demonstration that has already been specified and leading a discussion to decide what needs to be demonstrated. These responsibilities draw on the same product knowledge but require different levels of autonomy when dealing with the prospect.

The second consideration is the scope of the evaluation. A POC should answer an identifiable question, with agreed success criteria. Without this framework, there is a risk of running more and more tests without reaching a usable conclusion. Specify who defines the criteria with the prospect, who carries out the practical work and who presents the results. The extent of the technical work assigned to the Solutions Engineer may vary by role.

Hypothetical example: a prospect wants to check whether a product supports a specific use case. A general demonstration is not enough to resolve their question. The Solutions Engineer restates the use case, prepares a tailored demonstration and suggests what to test if further evaluation is needed.

Finally, adapt recruitment to the product’s actual environment. Someone may explain a solution clearly without understanding the technical constraints your prospects want to examine. Conversely, in-depth expertise alone does not make results accessible to a non-specialist decision-maker. Look for both capabilities and define the support available when a question goes beyond the role holder’s knowledge.

• Clarify the prospect’s business and technical needs to identify which product capabilities to examine.
• Prepare demonstrations tailored to the prospect’s use cases and questions.
• Present how the product works, connecting technical explanations to the business problem.
• Agree success criteria for a technical evaluation with the people involved.
• Conduct or support POCs according to the responsibilities for practical delivery defined for the role.
• Answer technical questions based on the product’s known capabilities.
• Pass on the needs and gaps identified during discussions with prospects to product teams.

Several career paths can prepare someone for technical pre-sales. The capabilities sought combine an understanding of a technical environment with the ability to work with customer contacts. Software development experience is valued at Anchore. Cloudflare cites solutions or systems engineering, technical sales, consulting and architecture among the relevant backgrounds. These examples do not establish a mandatory qualification or a common experience requirement for the profession.

Previous responsibilities help establish the capabilities developed along a career path. Using a product and explaining how it works draw on different capabilities. Preparing a presentation from a supplied scenario and independently clarifying a customer’s need also involve different degrees of autonomy. The same applies to supporting trials and helping define their objectives. A previous job title alone is therefore not enough to establish the autonomy gained.

Workplace apprenticeships are another documented route. In the United Kingdom, Salesforce describes apprentices developing their product knowledge and confidence in customer presentations. This example does not prescribe a French training pathway.

On joining, learning needs also include the product knowledge still to be acquired and situations that still require a specialist’s support.

GetPro’s shared assessment framework

GetPro uses a framework of priority criteria, each linked to an assessment method. It distinguishes what can be verified from a candidate’s background from the skills that need to be explored further at interview. Open questions and concrete examples help examine the essential criteria. Reference checks complement this analysis by shedding light on strengths and outstanding questions.

The guidance below concerns assessing a Solutions Engineer in pre-sales. It should be adapted to the product, prospects and autonomy expected within your organisation.

1. Define the role’s criteria

Build a framework that distinguishes understanding needs, product knowledge, demonstration preparation, POC scoping and communication. For each criterion, describe what the role holder will need to do independently.

Specify which technical knowledge is essential on arrival and which can be acquired with the team. Avoid confusing familiarity with a product with the ability to understand a new environment.

If you lack the necessary expertise, involve a domain specialist in the technical discussions. Ask the sales manager to assess the clarity of explanations and their relevance to the prospect.

2. Examine past work

Ask the candidate to present a demonstration or evaluation they contributed to. Have them clarify the initial need, their personal role, the criteria chosen and the help they received.

Examine how they connect each choice to the customer’s problem. A precise explanation of their contribution is a positive sign. A description of the group’s work that does not make their own work clear calls for further questions.

Also ask what they would do differently. Observe whether their answer concerns understanding the need, technical preparation or explaining the results.

3. Offer an exercise that reflects the role

Hypothetical example: a prospect wants to evaluate a feature, but their request leaves several technical constraints unspecified.

Provide a product description and invite the candidate to ask questions before preparing a demonstration. Observe what information they seek and how it changes their scenario.

Then ask them to define a POC question and its success criteria. Examine whether the anticipated results would answer that question. Have them explain what the trial would not allow them to conclude.

Value reasoning that distinguishes available information from assumptions. A demonstration delivered without taking the prospect’s answers into account is a warning sign.

4. Observe communication and cooperation

Ask the candidate to explain the same constraint first to a technical contact and then to a non-specialist decision-maker. Assess how precisely the candidate explains the constraint and how clearly they convey its implications for the stated need.

Introduce a question whose answer is not in the information provided. Ask how the candidate would find the information and get back to their contact. Observe whether they acknowledge uncertainty without inventing an answer.

Also explore how they work with a salesperson or product specialist. For this role, which has no defined team management responsibilities, assess coordination rather than assuming management experience is required.

5. Cross-check observations

With the candidate’s consent, use references to shed light on their contribution and autonomy in comparable situations. Ask for specific examples of preparation, customer discussions and cooperation.

Compare this information with the initial framework. Distinguish the skills observed, the points that remain uncertain and the support needed. Base your decision on the role’s responsibilities, without allowing confident presentation to conceal an unresolved technical difficulty.