Sales Engineer salary
From 4,334 certified H-1B filings (FY2025–FY2026). Base salary only.
- Occupation code 41-9031: Sales Engineers
- Also filed as: Solutions Engineer
At a glance
- Mostly Level IV (expert). 34% of Sales Engineer filings are Level IV, compared with 18% across all H-1B filings.
- Top filer: Google. 419 filings (10% of the total), median $163,000.
- Pay depends on the city. Among the 10 metro areas with the most filings, the median ranges from $129,100 in Chicago, IL to $169,770 in San Jose, CA.
- Median up 28% since FY2020. From $117,007 in FY2020 to $149,350 in FY2026 (Q1–Q3). Nominal, not adjusted for inflation.
Sales Engineer H-1B salary overview
Employers filed 4,334 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Sales Engineer jobs in FY2025–FY2026 (occupation code 41-9031, Sales Engineers). The median base salary is $146,888, 20% above the median for all H-1B filings ($122,699), and half of the filings fall between $120,810 and $175,000. The most common wage level is Level IV (expert), at 34% of filings. San Jose, CA has the most filings (863), and Google is the employer that files the most (419).
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Percentiles from certified H-1B filings, base salary only. Metro areas with at least 10 filings.
Top employers for Sales Engineer
Google419 filings · 10%$163,000
Cisco Systems152 filings · 4%$139,256
NVIDIA142 filings · 3%$173,916
Microsoft135 filings · 3%$177,100
ServiceNow129 filings · 3%$155,314
Cadence Design Systems105 filings · 2%$151,659
HCLTech99 filings · 2%$128,190
Salesforce89 filings · 2%$168,806
Snowflake85 filings · 2%$155,625
Siemens73 filings · 2%$145,000
Employers with the most Sales Engineer filings. Bar: share of all Sales Engineer filings. Figure: median base salary.
Pay by level
Entry-level · 12% of filings
Mid-level · 28% of filings
Senior · 27% of filings
Expert · 34% of filings
Show the table
By experience level
| Wage level | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Level I · Entry | $95,000 | 443 |
| Level II · Qualified | $125,923 | 1,057 |
| Level III · Experienced | $155,522 | 1,033 |
| Level IV · Fully competent | $184,000 | 1,294 |
Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.
Sales Engineer pay by city
Median base salary in each metro area. Rent: HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027.
Show all 39 metro areas
| Metro area | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $169,770 | 863 |
| New York, NY | $161,500 | 391 |
| San Francisco, CA | $161,470 | 372 |
| Dallas, TX | $140,000 | 291 |
| Austin, TX | $150,000 | 230 |
| Seattle, WA | $145,642 | 220 |
| Chicago, IL | $129,100 | 205 |
| Boston, MA | $143,520 | 165 |
| Houston, TX | $132,000 | 153 |
| Atlanta, GA | $141,294 | 135 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $130,499 | 134 |
| Detroit, MI | $127,950 | 124 |
| Raleigh, NC | $132,205 | 77 |
| Washington, DC | $145,000 | 64 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $140,275 | 53 |
| San Diego, CA | $152,173 | 50 |
| Miami, FL | $136,028 | 46 |
| Charlotte, NC | $121,493 | 37 |
| Denver, CO | $150,000 | 35 |
| Orlando, FL | $136,761 | 30 |
| Portland, OR | $156,749 | 29 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $136,874 | 25 |
| Boulder, CO | $140,109 | 21 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $111,030 | 21 |
| Trenton, NJ | $143,333 | 21 |
| Tampa, FL | $130,968 | 20 |
| Durham, NC | $145,122 | 17 |
| Cincinnati, OH | $110,500 | 16 |
| Columbus, OH | $123,802 | 15 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $95,847 | 15 |
| Riverside, CA | $142,786 | 15 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $141,173 | 14 |
| San Antonio, TX | $99,299 | 14 |
| Stockton, CA | $130,000 | 14 |
| Sacramento, CA | $147,750 | 13 |
| Nashville, TN | $129,225 | 12 |
| Worcester, MA | $116,000 | 11 |
| Ann Arbor, MI | $127,410 | 10 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $127,617 | 10 |
Metro areas with at least 10 filings for this occupation.
What a Sales Engineer does
Sell business goods or services, the selling of which requires a technical background equivalent to a baccalaureate degree in engineering.
Typical tasks
- Develop, present, or respond to proposals for specific customer requirements, including request for proposal responses and industry-specific solutions.
- Collaborate with sales teams to understand customer requirements, to promote the sale of company products, and to provide sales support.
- Create sales or service contracts for products or services.
- Visit prospective buyers at commercial, industrial, or other establishments to show samples or catalogs, and to inform them about product pricing, availability, and advantages.
- Keep informed on industry news and trends, products, services, competitors, relevant information about legacy, existing, and emerging technologies, and the latest product-line developments.
- Identify resale opportunities and support them to achieve sales plans.
Preparation
Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
O*NET occupation: Sales Engineers (41-9031.00). This section includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
H-1B pay vs. all U.S. workers
Across all U.S. workers in this occupation (Sales Engineers), the median annual wage was $124,900 in May 2025, with 51,790 people employed. The median H-1B base salary in FY2025–FY2026 is $146,888, 18% higher.
| H-1B filings | All U.S. workers (BLS, May 2025) | |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $100,000 | $73,870 |
| 25th percentile | $120,810 | $92,890 |
| Median | $146,888 | $124,900 |
| 75th percentile | $175,000 | $161,230 |
| 90th percentile | $200,000 | $195,270 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). BLS wages cover all wage and salary workers and include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are the base salary offered on certified LCAs. The two sources cover different periods. BLS reports wages of $239,200 or more as a single top value.
Salary details
Salary range
| Percentile | Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th | $100,000 |
| 25th | $120,810 |
| 50th (median) | $146,888 |
| 75th | $175,000 |
| 90th | $200,000 |
Salary by year
Median salary
Filings per year
Show as table
| Fiscal year | Median | P25 | P75 | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $117,007 | $93,704 | $140,000 | 2,199 |
| FY2021 | $124,591 | $101,050 | $150,240 | 2,184 |
| FY2022 | $133,570 | $107,557 | $160,000 | 2,419 |
| FY2023 | $135,000 | $108,181 | $162,000 | 1,912 |
| FY2024 | $140,000 | $111,116 | $167,951 | 1,888 |
| FY2025 | $144,851 | $116,517 | $172,336 | 2,411 |
| FY2026 | $149,350 | $125,000 | $180,000 | 1,923 |
Questions
How much does an H-1B Sales Engineer make?
The median base salary in certified H-1B filings for Sales Engineer jobs is $146,888 (4,334 filings, FY2025–FY2026). Half of the filings are between $120,810 and $175,000.
What does an entry-level Sales Engineer earn on an H-1B?
Level I (entry-level) filings have a median of $95,000. Level I accounts for 12% of Sales Engineer filings.
Which city pays H-1B Sales Engineers the most?
Among metro areas with at least 100 filings, San Jose, CA has the highest median base salary for Sales Engineer jobs: $169,770 (863 filings).
Which employers file the most H-1B applications for Sales Engineers?
Google (419), Cisco Systems (152) and NVIDIA (142) filed the most Sales Engineer LCAs in FY2025–FY2026.
Do H-1B Sales Engineers earn more than other U.S. workers in the same job?
The H-1B median base salary ($146,888) is 18% higher than the median wage of all U.S. workers in this occupation ($124,900, BLS May 2025). The sources measure pay differently, so treat this as a rough comparison.