Roadmap to Solutions Engineering
This post is for a lot of folks like me. As someone who did not like coding as much, looking at the job market and H1B visa situation, I had to force myself to learn coding and master DSA. This required hours and hours of coding until I finally succeeded. But that success was a part of a new struggle. Because, while I did code, it took me way more hours than others to get the same amount of work done. I also realized that I may not be able to get the career growth which I wanted. It was at this time that I discovered alternatives. And for me the best alternative was Solutions Engineering which helped me get the best out of my career !
What is Solutions Engineering ?
Solutions Engineer at someone who knows a product inside and out and is the first point of technical contact for the merchants to integrate that product. Solutions Engineering specializes in learning that product and understanding merchant use-cases and knowing how the product they work with is going to solve for those use-cases.
For example : at PayPal, we have a bunch of products like Braintree, Venmo, PayPal, Hyperwallet. My job is to understand merchant requirements and see how PayPal products can be a good fit. It also involves understanding merchant payments processing and what tech stack they use and how PayPal can be integrated.
The Solutions Engineer typically does technical discovery, creates a solution design document, swimlanes creates proof of concepts and ensures merchant agreement to the technical questions Once done, the solution engineer typically hands over the integration engineer to take it to go-live.
Skill Required for Solutions Engineering :
Ability to communicate technical concepts easily
Present to people of different leves from C-suite to engineers to merchants.
Create technical demos
Proficiency in coding (but not advanced DSA) and SQL
Flavors or Types of Solutions Engineering
Solutions Engineering is a role with different flavors with varying levels of technical or soft skills required. I have given the role a rating from 1 to 10 with 1 being least technical and 10 being highly technical. Note this does vary from company to company. So, please do read the job description carefully!
Sales Engineer : Technical - 5, Soft Skills - 8
Solutions Engineer : Technical - 6 to 7 , Soft Skills - 9
Integrations Engineer : Technical - 8 to 9 , Soft Skills - 4
Solutions Architect - Technical - 7 , Soft Skills - 8
Companies that offer Solutions Engineering Roles
The best way to think about which company offers Solutions Engineering roles is to think about any company that offers complex technical products. These are majorly in domain of ERP, Cloud, Data, Payments to name a few. Any enterprise company that requires to have skilled technical people to helps its merchants integrate these products requires Solutions Engineers.
Sharing a few companies that offer such roles.
Payments :
PayPal - offers solutions engineering, integrations engineering for payments. And so do its competitors, Stripe, Square, World Pay, Fiserv , Visa , Mastercard. They all offer same role with different names like Solutions Architect
Data :
Amazon - solution architect at AWS. Same role is available across cloud companies. Think Google, Microsoft , Oracle , Databricks to name a few. The name is primarily Solutions Architect
But can also be Cloud Architect.
ERP and SaaS
Salesforce is a prime example. It offers Solutions Engineering and pre-sales. Other companies within the same space are SAP , Workday , Adobe, Hubspot, Zendesk
How to prepare for them ?
To prepare for such roles, the best way is to integrate the products or get certifications. A few ideas below :
Paypal : Integrate PayPal products in a sandbox environment. PayPal itself provides sandbox environment to use.
Stripe : Implement and Integrate Stripe APIs
Google : Get Google Certifications for Data Engineer or Cloud Professionals
AWS : Clear AWS Solutions Architect Certifications. AWS itself offers more than 100 certifications for you to learn different products.
Microsoft : Similar to AWS, get Azure certifications.
Salesforce : Again, Salesforce certifications for the win
Transition from Solutions to Product
Because Solutions Engineering requires technical expertise on a product, you interface with PMs a lot. This is especially helpful to transition into a product. I myself got a role as a PM at PayPal.
Here are some tips on how to do it :
Interface with Product and provide feedback from merchants
Take the lead to launch alpha products to market
Talk to PMs and keep an eye on openings.
Think about the product and what are some features that would help benefit the merchants even more.
Take on responsibilities like writing product requirement document or feature enhancement.
Apply to internal roles when available and talk to the hiring manager.
Prepare for the conversation by sharing details and if possible a PoC about the product they are hiring for. Show them you know about it and impress them with your knowledge.
Month 1: Foundation and Exploration
Goal: Understand what Solutions Engineering is and why it fits your profile.
Study the responsibilities of a Solutions Engineer across companies (PayPal, Stripe, Salesforce, AWS, etc.).
Learn how Solutions Engineering differs from Software Engineering and Sales Engineering.
Read product integration docs for PayPal, Braintree, and Stripe.
Join online communities or forums for Solutions Engineers.
Improve communication and presentation fundamentals through short online courses.
Month 2: Technical Setup and Core Skills
Goal: Build basic technical fluency relevant to integration and APIs.
Learn REST APIs, JSON, authentication, and webhooks.
Refresh Python or JavaScript for integration scripting.
Practice SQL queries and understand basic data models.
Build and test a simple API integration using sandbox environments (PayPal or Stripe).
Document each step to form a project portfolio entry.
Month 3: Product Integration Projects
Goal: Apply knowledge through sandbox implementation projects.
Implement Braintree Drop-in UI using Flask.
Add PayPal, Venmo, and Google Pay integrations using their sandbox documentation.
Experiment with Hosted Fields and understand DCC processing.
Write short readme files explaining each integration setup.
Present one integration project to a friend or peer as a mock demo.
Month 4: Communication and Pre-Sales Skills
Goal: Develop business and client-facing confidence.
Learn how to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
Practice creating a Solution Design Document and swimlane diagram for one of your integration projects.
Record a 5-minute demo video showcasing your PoC.
Study common SE interview case studies and demo questions.
Take a short course on storytelling for tech presentations.
Month 5: Certification and Advanced Skills
Goal: Build credibility through certifications and specialization.
Get AWS Solutions Architect – Associate or Google Cloud Professional certification.
Complete Salesforce Administrator or Platform App Builder certification if you prefer SaaS/ERP focus.
Learn GraphQL basics and test simple queries using GitHub GraphQL Explorer.
Study architecture patterns, logging, and monitoring used in integrations.
Shadow SE or SA roles (through networking or mentorship if possible).
Month 6: Transition and Portfolio
Goal: Package your experience and target real opportunities.
Compile all projects, design docs, and certifications into a public GitHub or Notion portfolio.
Network with SE professionals on LinkedIn. Ask for mock interviews.
Identify companies that fit your technical interests (Payments, Cloud, SaaS).
Prepare for interviews by refining your pitch and demo presentation.
Apply for SE or Integration Engineer roles.
Explore internal transitions if already in a tech company