Sales Engineering Manager Jobs in California
Sales Engineering Manager jobs in California are among the most actively sought technical leadership roles in the country, concentrated in enterprise software, semiconductors, cloud infrastructure, and industrial automation across a seniority range from first-time managers through senior directors. The heaviest hiring activity runs through San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, and Los Angeles, where major employers such as Cisco, Salesforce, and Broadcom have deep and lasting sales engineering organizations. The most in-demand specialties center on SaaS platform sales, cybersecurity solutions, and hardware systems integration. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Showing 5 of 34+ Sales Engineering Manager jobs
As a Regional Manager, Sales Engineering, you will lead a team of Sales Engineers and frontline leaders, driving technical execution, operational excellence, and team development across your region.
You'll act as a force multiplier by owning team performance, shaping execution standards, and partnering closely with Sales leadership to influence strategy, improve outcomes, and scale impact beyond individual deals.
At Datadog, we place value in our office culture - the relationships and collaboration it builds and the creativity it brings to the table. We operate as a hybrid workplace to ensure our Datadogs can create a work-life harmony that best fits them.
What You'll Do:
- Lead, coach, and develop a team of Sales Engineers, driving performance, engagement, and long-term career growth through regular feedback and structured development
- Partner confidently with senior Sales leadership on regional strategy, multi-quarter planning, annual capacity planning, and forecast alignment operating 2-3 quarters ahead to anticipate resourcing needs and business priorities
- Own in-field execution at a regional level by taking an executive presence role in strategic and high-impact opportunities and providing senior-level stakeholder alignment and technical credibility alongside your team
- Oversee consistent, high-quality delivery across technical sales cycles in the region, including evaluations, customer engagements, and deal progression
- Hire and onboard top talent across ICs and manager-level roles, building a high-performing team and accelerating ramp through structured onboarding and enablement
- Manage regional operations including resource allocation, utilization, KPI tracking, productivity, and skills development to ensure effective coverage across the territory
- c cross-functionally with Sales, Product, Marketing, Enablement, and Support at a senior level to align on regional strategy, GTM execution, and customer experience
- Drive operational excellence across the region by improving processes, maintaining data quality, scaling evaluation frameworks, and contributing to initiatives that improve team effectiveness and business impact
Who You Are:
- 3+ years of experience leading Sales Engineers and/or frontline leaders in a customer-facing technical organization with proven ability to manage team performance, develop team members, and scale high-performing teams
- 7+ years of experience in Sales Engineering, Solutions Engineering, or a technical customer-facing role
- Proven ability to partner with senior Sales leadership on regional strategy, long-range planning, and forecast alignment as a strategic peer
- Ability to operate at both strategic and operational levels, balancing multi-quarter planning with day to day team execution and priorities
- Strong cross-functional collaborator with the ability to influence across teams and at senior levels
- Background in public cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP), Kubernetes, APM/tracing, security, developer experience, observability
- Demonstrated capability of utilizing AI tooling and scaling it
- Growth mindset of embracing change and being curious
- Willingness to travel as needed to support customer engagements
Datadog values people from all walks of life. We understand not everyone will meet all the above qualifications on day one. That's okay. If you're passionate about technology and want to grow your skills, we encourage you to apply.
Benefits and Growth:
- Best-in-breed onboarding
- Generous global benefits
- Intra-departmental mentor and buddy program for in-house networking
- New hire stock equity (RSUs) and employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)
- Continuous professional development, product training, and career pathing
- An inclusive company culture, able to join our Community Guilds and Inclusion Talks
Benefits and Growth listed above may vary based on the country of your employment and the nature of your employment with Datadog.
About Datadog:
Datadog is the leading observability and security platform for the AI era, providing businesses with unified visibility across the technology stack to manage complexity at scale. It brings applications, infrastructure, data, models, and security into one place, using AI to detect and resolve issues before they impact customers. Trusted globally by Fortune 500 companies and high-growth AI leaders, Datadog enables businesses to move faster with clarity and confidence. Learn more about #DatadogLife on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Datadog Learning Center.
Equal Opportunity at Datadog:
Datadog is proud to offer equal employment opportunity to everyone regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, veteran status, and other characteristics protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. Here are our Candidate Legal Notices for your reference.
Datadog endeavors to make our Careers Page accessible to all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please complete this form. This form is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.
Privacy and AI Guidelines:
Any information you submit to Datadog as part of your application will be processed in accordance with Datadog's Applicant and Candidate Privacy Notice. For information on our AI policy, please visit Interviewing at Datadog AI Guidelines.
As a Regional Manager, Sales Engineering, you will lead a team of Sales Engineers and frontline leaders, driving technical execution, operational excellence, and team development across your region.
You'll act as a force multiplier by owning team performance, shaping execution standards, and partnering closely with Sales leadership to influence strategy, improve outcomes, and scale impact beyond individual deals.
At Datadog, we place value in our office culture - the relationships and collaboration it builds and the creativity it brings to the table. We operate as a hybrid workplace to ensure our Datadogs can create a work-life harmony that best fits them.
What You'll Do:
- Lead, coach, and develop a team of Sales Engineers, driving performance, engagement, and long-term career growth through regular feedback and structured development
- Partner confidently with senior Sales leadership on regional strategy, multi-quarter planning, annual capacity planning, and forecast alignment operating 2-3 quarters ahead to anticipate resourcing needs and business priorities
- Own in-field execution at a regional level by taking an executive presence role in strategic and high-impact opportunities and providing senior-level stakeholder alignment and technical credibility alongside your team
- Oversee consistent, high-quality delivery across technical sales cycles in the region, including evaluations, customer engagements, and deal progression
- Hire and onboard top talent across ICs and manager-level roles, building a high-performing team and accelerating ramp through structured onboarding and enablement
- Manage regional operations including resource allocation, utilization, KPI tracking, productivity, and skills development to ensure effective coverage across the territory
- c cross-functionally with Sales, Product, Marketing, Enablement, and Support at a senior level to align on regional strategy, GTM execution, and customer experience
- Drive operational excellence across the region by improving processes, maintaining data quality, scaling evaluation frameworks, and contributing to initiatives that improve team effectiveness and business impact
Who You Are:
- 3+ years of experience leading Sales Engineers and/or frontline leaders in a customer-facing technical organization with proven ability to manage team performance, develop team members, and scale high-performing teams
- 7+ years of experience in Sales Engineering, Solutions Engineering, or a technical customer-facing role
- Proven ability to partner with senior Sales leadership on regional strategy, long-range planning, and forecast alignment as a strategic peer
- Ability to operate at both strategic and operational levels, balancing multi-quarter planning with day to day team execution and priorities
- Strong cross-functional collaborator with the ability to influence across teams and at senior levels
- Background in public cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP), Kubernetes, APM/tracing, security, developer experience, observability
- Demonstrated capability of utilizing AI tooling and scaling it
- Growth mindset of embracing change and being curious
- Willingness to travel as needed to support customer engagements
Datadog values people from all walks of life. We understand not everyone will meet all the above qualifications on day one. That's okay. If you're passionate about technology and want to grow your skills, we encourage you to apply.
Benefits and Growth:
- Best-in-breed onboarding
- Generous global benefits
- Intra-departmental mentor and buddy program for in-house networking
- New hire stock equity (RSUs) and employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)
- Continuous professional development, product training, and career pathing
- An inclusive company culture, able to join our Community Guilds and Inclusion Talks
Benefits and Growth listed above may vary based on the country of your employment and the nature of your employment with Datadog.
About Datadog:
Datadog is the leading observability and security platform for the AI era, providing businesses with unified visibility across the technology stack to manage complexity at scale. It brings applications, infrastructure, data, models, and security into one place, using AI to detect and resolve issues before they impact customers. Trusted globally by Fortune 500 companies and high-growth AI leaders, Datadog enables businesses to move faster with clarity and confidence. Learn more about #DatadogLife on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Datadog Learning Center.
Equal Opportunity at Datadog:
Datadog is proud to offer equal employment opportunity to everyone regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, veteran status, and other characteristics protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. Here are our Candidate Legal Notices for your reference.
Datadog endeavors to make our Careers Page accessible to all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please complete this form. This form is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.
Privacy and AI Guidelines:
Any information you submit to Datadog as part of your application will be processed in accordance with Datadog's Applicant and Candidate Privacy Notice. For information on our AI policy, please visit Interviewing at Datadog AI Guidelines.
See All 34 Sales Engineering Manager Jobs in California
Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find JobsSales Engineering Manager Jobs by City in California
Where California roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Sales Engineering Manager Job Market in California
A snapshot from current California openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
- Lockheed Martin11
- Fivetran2
- Snowflake2
- Texas Instruments2
- ESET1
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
- Manufacturing
- Medical Devices
- Electronics & Hardware
What California Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in sales engineering manager jobs across California.
- Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, or a related technical field required
- Five or more years of sales engineering experience with at least two in a leadership role
- Proven ability to manage and develop a team of sales engineers or solutions consultants
- Deep technical fluency in the company's core product domain such as cloud, hardware, or SaaS
- Experience collaborating with enterprise account executives and closing complex technical deals
- Strong executive presentation skills with comfort engaging C-suite and technical stakeholders
Sales Engineering Manager Jobs in California: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a sales engineering manager in California?
The most direct path is several years as an individual-contributor sales engineer followed by a team lead or senior sales engineer role that includes mentoring responsibilities. California employers typically require a bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, or a closely related discipline and a demonstrated record of closing technical deals. No state-issued license is required, but certifications in a relevant product domain, such as cloud architecture or cybersecurity, strengthen candidacy significantly in California's competitive market.
How much do sales engineering managers make in California?
Sales engineering managers in California earn a median of about $134,910 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $64,430 for the lowest 10% to over $300,580 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire sales engineering managers in California?
Employers hiring sales engineering managers in California right now include Lockheed Martin, Fivetran, and Snowflake, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. California's concentration of enterprise software headquarters and semiconductor firms means openings here often come with broader regional or national team scope than comparable roles in other states.
Which California cities have the most sales engineering manager jobs?
Irvine, Palmdale, and San Jose lead California for sales engineering manager openings. The Bay Area dominates due to its density of enterprise software, cloud, and semiconductor headquarters, while Los Angeles draws demand from media technology and aerospace systems integrators, and San Diego's strong defense-tech and biotech sectors generate consistent openings for solutions-oriented engineering leadership.
Are there remote sales engineering manager jobs in California?
Yes, and more than most fields. About 56% of sales engineering manager openings tied to California are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting how much of the role involves video-based product demonstrations and virtual deal cycles with enterprise buyers. The parts of the role most commonly performed remotely are pipeline reviews, team coaching calls, and customer discovery sessions, while in-person presence is typically reserved for strategic account visits and sales kickoffs.
How can I get hired as a sales engineering manager in California with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry point is moving into a team lead designation within a sales engineering organization rather than applying directly to manager titles. Large California-based employers such as Cisco, Oracle, and Palo Alto Networks regularly advance senior sales engineers into lead roles that carry informal management responsibility before a formal promotion. Building a portfolio of complex enterprise wins, completing a relevant product certification, and signaling interest in coaching junior engineers to your current management team is the most effective California-specific approach.
Where can I find and apply to sales engineering manager jobs in California?
You can find and apply to sales engineering manager jobs in California on Migrate Mate, which lists current California openings across industries and metro areas. Search the available roles, identify the ones that match your background and preferred location, and apply directly to each one that fits.
See All 34 Sales Engineering Manager Jobs in California
Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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