Hiring
min read

Recruiting Solutions Engineers for Accel Portfolio Companies (2026)

September 18, 2026

Quick answer

220 solutions engineers roles are open right now across Accel's portfolio — out of 15,326 open roles at 290 of the 777 companies we track. 34% of the portfolio is at Series B–D, the stage where these searches close fastest. Plan on a median of 90 days from open requisition to signed offer.

How many solutions engineers is Accel's portfolio hiring?

Accel is the lead investor in 777 companies in our database. 290 of them are hiring right now, with 15,326 open roles between them — 220 of those solutions engineers positions.

The portfolio skews later than most people assume: 268 companies at Series B, C or D, against 138 at Series A and 110 at Seed. That matters for compensation, because the band moves with stage.

StagePortfolio companies
Series B–D268
Series A138
Seed110
Total tracked777

Where this role sits in the portfolio's hiring

Technical roleOpen positions
Software Engineer1,144
Product Manager310
Engineer179
Engineering Manager148
Solutions Engineer107
Data Scientist102

Titles are normalised across applicant tracking systems, so seniority variants tally together —
"Senior Software Engineer, Backend" and "Software Engineer II" both count as software engineer. The
list is scoped to technical and product roles.

The ratio matters more than the absolute count. A portfolio hiring 220 solutions engineers against
15,326 open roles overall is telling you how specialised its hiring has become, and
specialised hiring is where an in-house team runs out of pipeline first.

What do solutions engineers cost at venture-backed companies?

We do not publish a band for solutions engineers at this sample size — fewer than five signed placements in 24 months is not a benchmark, it is an anecdote.

Stage moves the band more than title does. A company that has raised a Series C is competing with
other Series C companies for the same shortlist, and it is usually the equity component — not base —
that decides the offer.

Why solutions engineers searches stall

The brief, almost always. Three stakeholders describe the role differently, the shortlist reflects
the average of those three descriptions, and nobody is enthusiastic. Stage, salary band and
reporting line are fixable in a week. A role that has not been agreed is not.

Across our placements, the median search runs 90 days from open requisition to signed offer.
If a search has produced no client-stage candidate inside the first month, the honest move is to
re-scope rather than keep sourcing against a brief that is not landing.

FAQ

How many solutions engineers roles are open across Accel's portfolio?
220 right now, of 15,326 open roles across 290 hiring companies.

What stage are most of these companies?
268 of 777 are at Series B, C or D; 138 at Series A and 110 at Seed.

What should we budget for solutions engineers?
We hold too few signed placements at this title to publish a defensible band.

How long does a solutions engineers search take?
A median of 90 days from open requisition to signed offer, based on our own signed placements.

Should we use a contingent or retained search?
Contingent suits a role with a wide candidate pool and an urgent start. Retained suits a scoped,
senior or hard-to-source role where you need the firm to turn work away to focus on yours.



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