(aka Solution Consultant)
Sales Engineer to AE Ratios
AE:SE (by ACV) | Median |
Transactional (< $25K) | 4.9 |
Solution ($25K to $75K) | 3.0 |
Consultative (> $75K) | 2.9 |
AE:SE (by ARR) | Median |
$0 to $10M ARR | 3.0 |
$10M to $20M | 3.5 |
$20M to $50M | 3.2 |
$50M to $100M | 3.4 |
Over $100M | 5.2 |
Compensation Plans for Sales Engineers
According to RepVue as of February 2023, the median OTE for sales engineers is $175,000 with a base/variable split of 70/30. The 25th percentile is $125K and the 75th percentile is $225K.
Based on data from Insight Partners, the ratio of AE:SE quota is 1.44:1.
Quotas for sales engineers align with the broadest group of sellers they support. For example, if a sales engineer is paired 1:1 with an AE, then the SE has the same quota as the AE. In contrast, if an SE can support any AE in the company, then the SEs quota is the company new business quota.
To keep things simple, I recommend SE comp plans mirror those of AEs, including payout curves and accelerators. Hence, just like AEs, SEs should have accelerators for exceeding quota in the range of 1.5x to 2.0.
Median Total Pay | New York | Austin | San Francisco |
---|---|---|---|
Sales Engineer | $159K | $169K | $189K |
Senior Sales Engineer | $235K | $240K | $255K |
Manager, Sales Engineering | $214K | $237K | $252K |
Director, Sales Engineering | $256K | $267K | $284K |
Sr. Director, Sales Engineering | $312K | $345K | $360K |
Vice President, Sales Engineering | $429K | $403K | $442K |