Description

Sales engineers sell sophisticated technological goods to business customers, including engineers and mechanical contractors. They utilize both technical and sales skills to perform their job duties.

Strong interpersonal, communication, and problem-solving skills are critical for sales engineers to build enduring relationships with clients. They need to actively listen to understand customers’ needs and then use technical knowledge of industry products and services to design system solutions and recommend equipment that aligns with their clients’ plans and specifications. The products that sales engineers in the HVAC/R field may sell include traditional fossil-fuel based equipment as well as modern electricity-based heating and cooling devices and IT-enabled building automation (smart) systems. Workers whose past experience focused on oil and gas burning boilers, furnaces, and chillers will need additional training on clean energy systems as the use of air and ground source heat pumps, variable refrigerant flow systems, and other environmentally friendly technologies increases.

Sales engineers prepare and demonstrate products to clients and they need strong presentation skills to pitch proposals that persuade customers of the value of the products and services they are selling. As electrification of mechanical systems in homes and larger buildings becomes more common, sales engineers need to be able to communicate the benefits of heat pumps and similar clean energy technologies – which include reduced carbon emissions to help the environment, cost savings from system efficiency, and improved comfort resulting from features such as multiple heating and cooling zones in the building.

They also provide cost estimates to customers, prepare sales contracts, and oversee product orders and shipping to complete sales transactions. Sales engineers provide ongoing customer service support to clients by providing training and technical support, including altering the design of products as needed to meet customers’ specifications. They must be organized and able to prioritize tasks to meet the needs of multiple clients.

Effective sales engineers are self-starters who take initiative to develop new business and grow sales by engaging with prospective clients, conducting research into new markets and products, aiding in the design and formation of new products, and contributing to their employer’s marketing strategies. They often collaborate with other sales, marketing, and manufacturing personnel, so it is important that sales engineers work well as members of a larger team.

Working as a sales engineer often requires traveling to vendor or client meetings, and sometimes trade organization events. Sales engineers who are responsible for client accounts over large regions tend to travel farther and more frequently than those who oversee smaller areas. Most sales engineers work full-time, and the job can be stressful as many work extra hours over evenings and weekends to meet sales targets.

Job Outlook

According to the New York State Department of Labor, there are approximately 2,700 sales engineers in New York State. Employment prospects are expected to be favorable through 2030 – the Department projects this occupation to grow by 460 jobs across all industries between 2020 and 2030.

Entering the Field

A bachelor’s degree and sales experience are typically required by employers hiring sales engineers – many look for candidates with three or more years of experience selling or working with related products in a technical capacity. Relevant programs of study include engineering (with a focus on mechanical engineering for sales engineers in the HVAC/R field), business, or marketing. New graduates without any sales experience or mechanical engineers who work in design consulting and want to transition into sales often receive on-the-job training through working with more seasoned workers. Workers without a bachelor’s degree who want to work as sales engineers need to prove their competence through extensive years of technical and sales experience. Within the HVAC/R field, experienced service technicians, service managers, cost estimators, or inspectors can use the knowledge of HVAC/R products and system design that they gained through experience installing, maintaining, and repairing equipment to transition into a role as a sales engineer. Knowledge of clean energy products such as heat pumps and building automation systems is increasingly important as their use becomes more commonplace.

Sales engineers may choose to demonstrate competence by obtaining certification(s) from the Manufacturers’ Representatives Educational Research Foundation (MRERF). MRERF offers training to become a Certified Professional Manufacturer’s Representative (CPMR) or a Certified Professional Sales Consultant (CPSC), formerly titled Certified Sales Professional (CSP), although employers do not generally require these credentials. Sales engineers who must travel may need to have a driver’s license. 

Wages

In New York State, the median wage for sales engineers is approximately $112,700. Entry-level workers earn about $78,700 and experienced workers earn about $161,600.

Annual Wage (Q1 2023 dollars, rounded to 100s) – Statewide and by Labor Market Region

Source: New York State Department of Labor, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Survey, SOC Code 41-9031 (Sales Engineers); N/A denotes wage data that is not available.

Employers

Sales engineers working in the HVAC/R field are often employed by companies that manufacture ventilation, heating, air conditioning, or refrigeration equipment, or wholesale distributors that sell these products. Online job advertisements posted in 2022 for openings in New York State all included “sales engineer” in the job title; some job ads used a more specific title, such as inside sales engineer. Searching online job boards using those titles and keywords such as “HVAC,” “heating,” “ventilation,” “air conditioning,” or “refrigeration” can help to identify opportunities to work in this occupation.

Labor Unions

Workers in sales occupations tend to have low rates of unionization. Check to see if local employers that hire sales engineers have a union affiliation or check with local union chapters active in the HVAC/R field to see if they represent sales engineers.

Education and Training Programs

Sales engineers who want a general understanding of clean energy building mechanical systems can enroll in Steven Winter Associates, Inc.’s Building Electrification Training Series, which covers topics such as heat pumps and strategies for implementing environmentally friendly systems. Those who sell and support specific HVAC/R equipment (including modern electricity-based variable refrigerant flow systems, heat pumps, and building automation systems) can receive training offered by manufacturers and distributors of those technologies. See which companies partner with NYSERDA through Clean Heat Connect and check with individual manufacturers and distributors for a complete list of online or in-person course offerings and to see which ones are most appropriate for sales professionals.

A variety of educational programs at colleges, universities, or technical schools (some of which are listed in the table below) may prepare workers to become a sales engineer in the HVAC/R field – from a certificate or associate degree focused on HVAC/R or mechanical engineering technology to a bachelor’s degree in engineering or business. Workers with a master’s degree may not be required to have as many years of experience as those with an undergraduate degree or field experience.

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