What a Solution Engineer does at a SaaS Startup (5 Skills Needed to Succeed)

[@ash-ford]

I just get hired as a Solutions Engineer and tomorrow will be my first day at work. This gave me ideas on where to start and improve on my current skills. Thank you Nik! more power and great content.

[@NikFullerdotcom]

Big congrats! Go crush it!

[@billyg.7032]

Thanks for sharing this knowledge. Until now, this is the best video about SE that I have found on KZbin. Very well explained and described. Thanks a lot!

[@NikFullerdotcom]

Glad you enjoyed. Appreciate the kind words!

[@staphendill7807]

Thanks “ all the way in Bermuda “ appreciated the breakdown

[@denverfishsauce9977]

Hey Nik! Thanks for making a great introductory video. It's the first one I've watched on sales / solutions engineering. I'm currently a Ruby on Rails developer with 8 years experience but want to be more customer facing. A bit of travel would be ideal too. I would love to hear your thoughts on how to transition to being an SE.

[@NikFullerdotcom]

Find a company with a technical product. They crave engineers who can be client facing.

[@NaveenAJ1]

Informative. Thanks, Nik!

[@NikFullerdotcom]

Thanks for watching! Any requests on what I can cover next?

[@alan78787]

Great video, other than collaborating with account managers, It’s also important to collaborate with other SE’s in your org. sometimes clients would be interested in multiple SaaS apps and you’ll need to work with different SE’s to succeed. ex. ERP HCM & SCM Solution Engineers

[@NikFullerdotcom]

Great point! Internal collaboration is key.

[@toegap202]

Hey this was a great summary video!! Does anyone know of a site/course that is geared towards Solutions Engineer?

[@janayanguiano4665]

Awesome points! Thank you for this video very helpful!

[@NikFullerdotcom]

Glad it was helpful!

[@udoumchh3985]

Awesome! Very useful tips to me

[@NikFullerdotcom]

Glad to hear!

[@aishalugg1143]

Thank you , super helpful!

[@NikFullerdotcom]

Happy to hear!

[@thomaslohan3372]

This was helpful! What could the process of going from Business Development to SE look like?

[@NikFullerdotcom]

That’s a good question. The comp would be different. Commission to salary. This is how I would go about it: really understand the value prop of the product you are selling; spend your spare time learning how the product works; offer to run demos yourself when SEs are busy; once you’ve built a reputation of knowing the tool then make the request to switch. A bit of a proving you can do the job before making the ask. I’ve not seen this often but it’s absolutely doable. Focus on learning the product. That’s your big hurdle.

[@DotaProable]

Great points, Nik! I am trying to land an SE job for a construction tech company. I am a little worried that I might not check your third point as I do not have practical experience with their products as they are relatively new (4 years since they are founded). But I do believe my current role - Revit Dev Engineer - can prepare me to capture their software as fast as I can. Any pointers for me?

[@NikFullerdotcom]

If you know the tool and like to talk to people, make the ask. Maybe a move into PSO first but should have no problem making the jump if you’re willing to learn.

[@sarthaknagrani9836]

can you provide me some training resources or any material which can help me prepare for interviews as a IT solution engineer?

[@kaori_one2868]

Hello Nick I'm a software QA Engineer looking to transfer into a SE Role. Should I become an SDR first or do you think I can apply for SE roles based on my QA Engineering experience? I don't have a sales background but I can demo

[@NikFullerdotcom]

Thanks for the question! I would actually look at the implementation consultant route for your background to then move on sales engineering. Better fit for your technical skills than being a cold calling SDR.

[@kaori_one2868]

@@NikFullerdotcom Thank you 👌🏽

[@marianobeccaria]

What is an implementation consultant?

[@NikFullerdotcom]

The person who teaches the client how to use the software once they buy it

[@mojjammil]

I’m a software engineer. Does it make sense to make a move to solution engineer role?

[@NikFullerdotcom]

If you enjoy being customer facing then I think you're technical background would really make you stand out in this space. SaaS companies desperately need technical folks who can sell.

[@cindygao9921]

Hey Nik. I'm a software engineer with 4 years of experience looking to transfer into a solution engineering position. Really interested in your experiences, wondering if we could set up a time to chat?

[@NikFullerdotcom]

Certainly! Add me on LinkedIn and we can coordinate.

[@cindygao9921]

@@NikFullerdotcom done. Please check your linkedin when you get the chance :)

[@ks191]

GREAT!

[@its-summer-time]

awesome. Thank you. I'm prepping for a solutions engineer interview (an online assessment), do you know what I should be expecting?

[@NikFullerdotcom]

How did it go? I'm sure you crushed it!

[@its-summer-time]

@@NikFullerdotcom got an offer with Datadog! Thanks for replying:)

[@NikFullerdotcom]

@@its-summer-time You rock! Congrats and best of luck! Connect with me on LinkedIn. Would love to hear what you decide.

[@jujuvil7013]

what are the technical skills needed? for this.. great video !!!!

[@NikFullerdotcom]

Thank you! I’ll give a consulting answer to your question - it depends. Some roles are more functional with a little tech background while others you may need to be developer level technical. Wide range depending on product and industry.

[@jujuvil7013]

@@NikFullerdotcom thank you so much . Always make videos like this .

[@NikFullerdotcom]

@@jujuvil7013 thanks! Let me know what else you want to learn. Looking for new ideas.

[@jujuvil7013]

@@NikFullerdotcom i have online assessment today for SE role. so I'm Preparing for it.

[@NikFullerdotcom]

@@jujuvil7013 you’ll crush it!

[@lilzach06]

Zach Thomas

[@lions_dan4020]

good evening sir I would love to have a conversation with to get more knowledge about this I would be very grateful if u can pls reach out to me thank you have a good night