Solutions engineers design and implement software solutions that meet the customers’ needs. Their role is to conduct surveys and research alongside sales representatives to identify opportunities for improvement in software or hardware products. Hence, they are considered the bridge between clients and the development team.
Since they will communicate with customers and the technical team, solutions engineers must have excellent communication skills. That’s why it is crucial to demonstrate this trait in your resume. You must be able to translate customers’ needs into technical requirements.
Solutions engineers must also create presentations and proposals based on their research. You must have data visualization skills to illustrate your discoveries. This role is also oriented towards the sales team, so you are expected to be a participant in outreach initiatives and establish long-term relationships with clients. This includes providing follow-ups after they’ve tried the product.
To become a solutions engineer, you don’t need a bachelor’s degree, but adding one to your resume can definitely help you obtain more job opportunities. In this guide, we’ll help you optimize your resume by giving you relevant tips and templates.
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A solutions engineer is responsible for providing technical solutions for software or hardware development based on customer research. They use those discoveries to implement new strategies that enhance the product experience. Solutions engineers must also perform testing on those products to ensure they are working according to customers’ needs.
They must have a combination of sales and programming, so you should reflect that in your resume. A solutions engineer must also establish long-term relationships with clients and follow up with them upon product installation. Their goal is to generate more sales and user engagement in the future.
You should have a technical background to become a solutions engineer. Therefore, it is important to mention in your resume the programming languages you are familiar with, your technical skills, and your educational background in technology.
A solutions consultant is a technical professional with advanced expertise in a particular product. They are also called sales engineers. Hence, their role is to sell highly technical products to potential customers. These customers are looking for products with a particular set of technical requirements, so you must be extremely familiar with its functionality to be able to sell them. Your resume should reflect your ability to speak precisely and concisely, so you must try to avoid salesy and vague language.
You should have some sales background to escalate to this position. Your potential employer might be looking for a tech professional with business acumen and sales skills. Therefore, it is crucial to mention your experience with sales on your resume.
As a solutions consultant, your goal is to generate sales and improve the products’ quality. Therefore, your job can directly impact the sales volume and product enhancement. You can mention some of these accomplishments in your resume by using metrics. This will illustrate better your competencies.
As a hiring manager who has recruited solutions engineers at companies like Cisco, Amazon, and Microsoft, I've seen hundreds of resumes for this role. The best ones showcase a candidate's technical expertise, problem-solving skills, and ability to collaborate with clients and cross-functional teams. To help you create a standout resume, I've compiled a list of tips that highlight what top companies look for when hiring solutions engineers.
Employers want to see that you have the technical skills needed to succeed as a solutions engineer. Make sure to:
Avoid simply listing generic skills without context, like this:
A resume summary, also known as a professional summary or career summary, is an optional section that appears at the top of your resume. While it's not a mandatory component, a well-crafted summary can help you stand out from other applicants and provide context for your career goals and qualifications. Remember, your resume itself is already a summary of your experience, so avoid repeating information that's already covered in other sections.
When writing a summary for a Solutions Engineer role, focus on highlighting your most relevant technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and experience working with clients. Tailor your summary to the specific requirements of the job description and showcase how you can contribute to the company's success.
Your work experience section is the most important part of your resume as a solutions engineer. It's where you'll showcase your technical expertise, problem-solving skills, and impact in previous roles. Recruiters and hiring managers will look closely at this section to assess if you have the right background for the job.
Here are some key tips to write a strong work experience section:
The education section of your resume as a solutions engineer should be concise yet impactful. It's an opportunity to showcase your relevant academic background and any specialized training or certifications you've acquired. Let's break down the key elements to include and how to structure this section effectively.
Your solutions engineer resume should reflect excellent communication skills and your accountability in previous projects’ success. That’s why you can include strong action verbs to impress future employers. Action verbs are usually placed at the beginning of a phrase. You can use multiple bullet points in your work history to describe your experience and include related action verbs.
Remember that it is important to use a wide variety of them because repetition will negatively impact your resume’s readability. However, we understand it can be challenging not to repeat them. That’s why we’ve gathered the following action verbs that you can use on your solutions engineer resume.
For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs.
In your skills section, you must demonstrate your proficiency with software engineering principles and your passion for sales. Even though it is still a highly technical role, your end purpose will be to drive sales for the company, so having business acumen and sales skills is definitely a plus.
Remember, that this career is very related to the product industry, so it’s important to tailor your resume to what your potential employer is looking for. Each project has different needs in terms of programming languages, tools, and approaches. Therefore, it is always a good idea to check some job posts for skills inspiration. Below, you will find some relevant skills for solutions engineers we’ve gathered based on our research.
You can include the above skills in a dedicated Skills section on your resume, or weave them in your experience. Here's how you might create your dedicated skills section:
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Solutions Engineer job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more 'important' it is.
Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.
