How to hire an inside sales engineer

How to hire an inside sales engineer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step inside sales engineer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an inside sales engineer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new inside sales engineer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an inside sales engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The inside sales engineer hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An inside sales engineer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, inside sales engineers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of inside sales engineer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Inside Sales Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Inside Sales Engineer	Sales engineers sell complex scientific and technological products or services to businesses. They must have extensive knowledge of the products’ parts and functions and must understand the scientific processes that make these products work.	$15-36
   Sales Development Representative	A sales development representative qualifies leads at the sales funnel's initial stages. Sales development representatives need to conduct research for prospective clients and qualify the leads before handing them to the sales team... Show more	$16-37
   Sales Support Representative	A sales support representative is responsible for assisting the complex operations of sales departments, performing administrative duties under the supervision of a direct manager. Sales support representatives' tasks include acknowledging and encoding customers' orders in the system, processing payments, responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns about the products, writing sales reports, and updating the customer of the shipment details... Show more	$14-23

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Product Knowledge
   • CRM
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Cleanliness
   • Distributors
   • Sales Orders
   • Sales Process
   • Outbound Calls
   • Logistics
   • Technical Support
   • Order Entry
   • Purchase Orders
   • Excellent Interpersonal

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage inbound domestic and international logistics and domestic shipping with respect to carrier selection, forwarding, brokering and expediting.
   • Provide technical contribution during the RFP / RFI process.
   • Write custom SQL reports for customers.
   • Utilize SQL to query databases while troubleshooting issues.
   • Design and configure computer systems for clients in the Pre-Sales mode.
   • Generate 3D renderings in AutoCAD and other design software for customer review.

   More inside sales engineer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your inside sales engineer job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. An inside sales engineer can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, inside sales engineers' average salary in kentucky is 46% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level inside sales engineers 57% less than senior-level inside sales engineers.
   • Certifications. An inside sales engineer with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in an inside sales engineer's salary.

   Average inside sales engineer salary

   $50,487yearly

   $24.27 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level inside sales engineer salary

   $33,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 20, 2025

   Average inside sales engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Virginia	$67,025	$32
   2	New York	$63,746	$31
   3	California	$62,747	$30
   4	Illinois	$57,464	$28
   5	Arizona	$56,721	$27
   6	Maryland	$56,308	$27
   7	Massachusetts	$56,144	$27
   8	Texas	$53,900	$26
   9	Colorado	$53,232	$26
   10	Georgia	$50,946	$24
   11	Florida	$50,121	$24
   12	Ohio	$49,153	$24
   13	Wisconsin	$48,559	$23
   14	Washington	$48,381	$23
   15	Nevada	$46,699	$22
   16	Minnesota	$46,624	$22
   17	North Carolina	$46,213	$22
   18	Pennsylvania	$44,188	$21
   19	Oregon	$43,075	$21
   20	Tennessee	$39,842	$19

   Average inside sales engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Fluid Components International	$111,474	$53.59
   2	Motion Industries	$99,156	$47.67
   3	Noblis	$91,772	$44.12
   4	Eaton	$91,722	$44.10	79
   5	Curtiss-Wright	$85,087	$40.91	26
   6	AMETEK	$84,446	$40.60	4
   7	Trend Micro	$82,665	$39.74	7
   8	Siemens	$81,271	$39.07	12
   9	Aerotech	$80,905	$38.90	1
   10	ABB	$80,503	$38.70	39
   11	MKS Instruments	$77,163	$37.10	1
   12	Novaspect	$75,043	$36.08	7
   13	Schneider Electric Industrial Services	$74,563	$35.85	16
   14	Yokogawa Electric Corp.	$73,704	$35.43	2
   15	Pharmaceutical	$73,308	$35.24
   16	SentinelOne	$71,213	$34.24	2
   17	Teradyne	$70,892	$34.08	17
   18	Hoffman & Hoffman	$69,982	$33.65	31
   19	Carrier	$68,412	$32.89	58
   20	Efinancial	$67,220	$32.32	1

4. Writing an inside sales engineer job description

   A job description for an inside sales engineer role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an inside sales engineer job description:

   Inside sales engineer job description example

   Brooks Instrument is an industry leader in flow measurement and flow control products for critical applications, and a division of ITW (A Fortune 200 Company) is seeking candidates for an Inside Sales Engineer. This position will be based out of our headquarters facility in Hatfield, PA (Suburban Philadelphia). In addition to our Pennsylvania operations, Brooks maintains manufacturing locations in, Hungary, and Korea. The Company also maintains sales offices throughout the world. Our products are used in laboratory and process applications in end markets such as: life sciences, chemicals, semiconductor, analytical instruments, nuclear, and solar cells.
   Basic Function
   
   Provide sales support for Brooks' direct customers, sales engineers, territory managers, and regional managers. Receive customer or sales representative inquiries regarding the company's products and/or services. Review inquiry and research to obtain necessary information from policies, procedures, and other documentation.
   
   Essential Duties and Responsibilities
   
   * Assess competitors by analyzing and summarizing competitor information and trends; identify sales opportunities.
   * Develop sales opportunities by researching and identifying potential accounts; solicit new accounts; build rapport; provide technical information and explanations; prepare quotations.
   * Source new sales opportunities through inbound lead follow-up and outbound cold calls and emails.
   * Respond by phone, fax or e-mail to customer including requests for quotes, applications, pricing and availability of product.
   * Maintain relationships with key customers to support ongoing business and enhance customer satisfaction.
   * Assist in product selection, sizing, configuration and pricing of Brooks products to fit the customer's application.
   * Ability to apply the various flow sizing programs and My Team Brooks/CPQ programs for application analysis.
   * Support the quote and order placement process to ensure accurate information is provided to the customer and/or order entry in a timely manner.
   * Fill orders by verifying and entering information, process orders and expedite in MAPICS when necessary, communicate expected delivery date.
   * Develop accounts by checking customer's buying history; suggesting related and new items; explaining technical features.
   * Maintain and improve quality results by following standards; recommending improved policies and procedures.
   * Keep current with technological and competitive developments, update job knowledge by studying new product descriptions; participating in educational opportunities.
   * Accomplish department and organization goals by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.
   * Assist customers and Sales Representatives with any complaint, using the formal customer complaint process when appropriate.
   * Contribute to a team environment by sharing responsibility in support of the outside sales function and support of the outside sales personnel.
   * Provide direct technical support to regional managers, representatives, and customers through telephone communication.
   * Possess a strong understanding of physics, chemistry, and electronic engineering for application and technical support to customers at various levels of process competency. Aid in developing thorough product knowledge for fitting product to application with reasonable expectation of success.
   * The ability to follow all safety procedures.
   * Support company continuous improvement initiatives.
   * Other duties as assigned.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right inside sales engineer for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your inside sales engineer job on Zippia to find and recruit inside sales engineer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting inside sales engineers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new inside sales engineer

   Once you've selected the best inside sales engineer candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new inside sales engineer. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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