How to hire a sales and service engineer

How to hire a sales and service engineer, step by step

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

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a sales and service engineer, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A sales and service engineer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, sales and service 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 sales and service engineer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Sales And Service Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Sales And Service 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.	$23-55
   Consultant And Sales Representative	A consultant and sales representative's role is to perform research and analysis to devise strategies for reaching sales targets and optimal services. Aside from providing consultations and business plans, they may also represent the company by reaching out to clients through calls and correspondence... Show more	$68-171
   Regional Sales Representative	A regional sales representative is responsible for selling goods and services to their designated areas by interacting with potential customers, demonstrating the product's features and functions, and responding to their inquiries and requests. Regional sales representatives should be highly communicative to negotiate with the customers to increase product sales and boost the company's profitability... Show more	$19-38

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Retrofit
   • Switches
   • HVAC
   • Business Development
   • Technical Support
   • Sales Process
   • Maintenance Contracts
   • Project Management
   • Pre Sales
   • ISO
   • Business Relationships
   • Sales Support
   • Technical Presentations

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage inbound domestic and international logistics and domestic shipping with respect to carrier selection, forwarding, brokering and expediting.
   • Negotiate preventative maintenance contracts for building HVAC systems.
   • Identify new HVAC contract service and sales opportunities through organize sales prospecting and qualifying process.
   • Leverage sales knowledge to author significant training documents to help account executives market and sell new IP services.
   • Communicate directly with manufacturers on high visibility orders and significant RFP's.
   • Develop powerful alliances, designed/deploy cutting-edge security and networking solutions, and complete RFP reviews and write-ups.

   More sales and service engineer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the sales and service engineer job description is a good way to get more applicants. A sales and service engineer salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a sales and service engineer in Alabama may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level sales and service engineer. Additionally, a sales and service engineer with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average sales and service engineer salary

   $75,063yearly

   $36.09 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level sales and service engineer salary

   $48,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

   Average sales and service engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$101,819	$49
   2	New York	$99,140	$48
   3	Virginia	$95,535	$46
   4	Colorado	$83,474	$40
   5	Texas	$83,195	$40
   6	Pennsylvania	$81,195	$39
   7	Maryland	$80,485	$39
   8	New Hampshire	$80,421	$39
   9	Washington	$78,358	$38
   10	Utah	$78,152	$38
   11	Florida	$74,179	$36
   12	Massachusetts	$73,449	$35
   13	North Carolina	$72,680	$35
   14	Georgia	$71,339	$34
   15	Illinois	$70,394	$34
   16	Arkansas	$66,891	$32
   17	Louisiana	$63,216	$30
   18	Ohio	$62,678	$30
   19	Michigan	$60,986	$29
   20	Alabama	$59,127	$28

   Average sales and service engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	AEA Investors	$128,831	$61.94	9
   2	Palo Alto Networks	$106,562	$51.23
   3	Snowflake Computing	$104,134	$50.06	11
   4	HSBC Bank	$96,355	$46.32
   5	IBM	$93,685	$45.04	6
   6	Workday	$91,841	$44.15	1
   7	J. J. Keller & Associates	$90,082	$43.31	2
   8	First Foundation	$88,586	$42.59
   9	Faraday Future	$87,626	$42.13
   10	Accenture	$85,236	$40.98	84
   11	Cognizant	$85,230	$40.98	2
   12	Hoffman & Hoffman	$82,357	$39.59	34
   13	Ecolab	$81,569	$39.22
   14	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America	$81,454	$39.16	1
   15	Grundfos	$81,164	$39.02
   16	Siemens	$80,451	$38.68	29
   17	Crown Equipment	$79,503	$38.22
   18	Automatic Building Controls	$77,808	$37.41
   19	GEA North America Inc	$77,808	$37.41
   20	Lloyd's Register	$76,389	$36.73

4. Writing a sales and service engineer job description

   A sales and service engineer job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a sales and service engineer job description:

   Sales and service engineer job description example

   Job DescriptionHiring Opportunity: Piqua, Ohio
   
   Our client is looking for an Aftermarket Sales & Service Engineer who will be responsible for processing polymer and oilseed aftermarket orders for repair parts that are requested by our clients customers.
   
   Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
   
   -Actively calls on customers to sell repair parts or receives quote request from customers.
   -Prepares quotes to inform customers of price, delivery, and any additional information needed by customer.
   -Checks inventory for items in stock.
   -Follows up quote requests to check on status of sale.
   -Works with finance to review credit ratings of customers and assists in developing letter of credits for foreign customers.
   -Enters sales data into computer to initiate order.
   -Determines shipping requirements and recommends type of packing or labeling needed on order.
   -Receives and reviews customer complaints.
   -Confers with production, sales, shipping, or our client's Logistics Coordinator to expedite or trace missing or delayed shipments.
   -Assists Finance in securing past due payments for repair orders.
   -Coordinate Polymer and Oilseed service activity.
   -Schedules and coordinates with the Assembly Team Lead for Polymer and Oilseed field service work after approval from appropriate personnel.
   -Review service work paperwork after completion. Review expense reports for field service work and forward to finance for payment.
   
   Supervisory Responsibilities:
   
   -Will assume direct supervisory responsibility for the Field Service Technician only when they are traveling and performing their duties at a customer location away from our facility.
   
   Qualifications:
   
   -To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
   
   Education and/or Experience:
   
   -Two (2) or four (4) year engineering degree; and three to five years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
   
   Language Skills:
   
   -Ability to read detail and assembly drawings, interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.
   
   Mathematic Skills:
   
   -Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume. Ability to apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry.
   
   Reasoning Ability:
   
   -Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
   
   Physical Demands:
   
   -While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; and use hands to finger, handle, or feel. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, and ability to adjust focus.
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right sales and service 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 sales and service engineer job on Zippia to find and recruit sales and service engineer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit sales and service engineers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to 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 sales and service engineer

   Once you've decided on a perfect sales and service engineer candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new sales and service engineer first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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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