Sales Engineer (Pre-Sales)

Adaptive; Boston, New York (MA, NY); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Equity opportunity

Health, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) match

Growth opportunities

Job summary

Adaptive is seeking a Sales Engineer in Boston/New York to own the technical thread of complex deals, running discovery, designing solutions, and delivering compelling demos for finance buyers.

You will build PoCs, map customer workflows, and translate requirements into SOWs while supporting RFPs and security reviews. This role combines storytelling with data, and frequent collaboration with AEs and product teams.

Qualifications

• 4+ years in pre-sales solutions engineering, sales engineering, or similar.
• Exceptional demo-building and storytelling with data.
• Comfort with data, systems, and API docs.
• Ability to discuss AI capabilities and limits credibly.
• Executive presence with finance/operations audiences.
• Strong written output for SOWs and responses.
• Construction or ERP experience is a plus, willing to learn domain.

Responsibilities

• Partner with AEs to own the technical thread of the deal: discovery, solution design, demos, PoCs, and objections handling
• Run discovery to map prospect systems, workflows, and reporting needs
• Build tailored demo environments seeded with realistic data
• Deliver demos to executives and operational audiences (CFOs to project accountants)
• Scope technical requirements and integrations, translate into SOWs and deal docs
• Support RFPs, security reviews, and technical evaluations
• Feed learnings back to product and marketing

Skills

Pre-sales solutions engineering

Demo craft

Data & integrations

AI tools literacy

Executive communication

Technical documentation

ERP/Construction domain

Job description

About the role

Adaptive is the AI-native financial automation platform for the construction industry. As a Sales Engineer, you own the technical side of the sales cycle. You partner with Account Executives on every serious opportunity: running discovery, designing the solution, building and delivering demos, and handling technical objections from finance buyers who have seen a lot of software and believe very little of it.

What you'll do

• Partner with AEs to own the technical thread of the deal: discovery, solution design, demos, proof-of-concept environments, and objection handling

• Run discovery that gets underneath the surface ask, mapping the prospect's systems, workflows, and reporting needs

• Build tailored demo environments seeded with realistic data so buyers see their own operation, not a sandbox

• Deliver demos to executive and operational audiences, from CFOs to project accountants

• Scope technical requirements and integrations, and translate them into SOWs and deal documentation

• Support RFPs, security reviews, and technical evaluation processes

• Feed field learnings back to product and marketing

What you bring

• 4+ years in pre-sales solutions engineering, sales engineering, or a similar technical customer-facing role at a B2B SaaS company

• Strong demo craft: you can build an environment, tell a story with data, and adjust live when the room shifts

• Comfort with data and systems: expert Excel, ability to read API docs, understanding of how integrations work

• Working fluency with AI tools and the ability to speak credibly about AI capabilities and limits to a skeptical buyer

• Executive presence and clear communication with finance and operations audiences

• Strong written output: SOWs, technical responses, follow-up documentation

• Construction or ERP experience is a plus, not a requirement. We will teach the domain to the right person

What we offer

• Competitive salary plus meaningful equity

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance

• 401(k) match and flexible PTO policy

• A seat at the table in a rapidly scaling vertical AI startup

• Unlimited opportunities for professional growth and leadership

In-office mandate

• This role requires you to work Monday - Thursday in either our New York or Boston offices.