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Application Performance Engineer Jobs in California

Wise Skulls

Android Performance Engineer

Cupertino, CA · On-site

To be disclosed JD: We're looking for a Senior Android Performance Engineer to ensure our flagship Android application delivers a smooth, responsive, and resource-efficient user experience. You will ...

Hyundai Motor Company

NVH Engineer I

Irvine, CA · On-site

$78K/yr

Evaluate, Test and Develop the Total Vehicle performance / Noise and Vibration performance / Ride & Handling performance of North American Market Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis vehicles as a member of one ...

Hyundai Motor Company

NVH Engineer I

Irvine, CA · Hybrid

$78K/yr

Evaluate, Test and Develop the Total Vehicle performance / Noise and Vibration performance / Ride & Handling performance of North American Market Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis vehicles as a member of one ...

Qualcomm

SOC Systems Performance Engineer

San Diego, CA · On-site

$99K - $149K/yr

Engineer market-leading SoC products with best-in-class performance * Lead and conduct performance ... If you are an individual with a disability and need an accommodation during the application/hiring ...

Meta

AI/HPC System Performance Engineer

Menlo Park, CA · On-site

$154K - $217K/yr

... application layers • Experience designing and implementing performance monitoring systems ... Engineering, relevant technical field, or equivalent practical experience • 6+ years of ...

Qualcomm

GPU Performance Engineer

San Diego, CA · On-site

$87K - $116K/yr

... optimize the performance and power of GPU cores. Qualcomm Engineers collaborate with cross ... If you are an individual with a disability and need an accommodation during the application/hiring ...

Nvidia

AI Inference Performance Engineer

Santa Clara, CA · Hybrid

$164K/yr

This team sits at the intersection of GPU performance engineering and public accountability. What ... application. * Experience with scale-out inference orchestration (MPI, NCCL, K8S) on large GPU ...

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All JobsApplication Performance Engineer JobsApplication Performance Engineer Jobs in California

Application Performance Engineer information

See California salary details

$77.5K

$131.1K

$171.7K

How much do application performance engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 16, 2026, the average yearly pay for application performance engineer in California is $131,141.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $105,600.00 and $155,900.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

Are performance engineers in demand?

Performance engineers are in high demand as organizations seek to optimize application speed, scalability, and reliability. They often work with tools like load testing software and require skills in monitoring, scripting, and performance analysis, making their expertise valuable across many industries.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an Application Performance Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as an Application Performance Engineer, you need strong analytical skills, a solid understanding of software development and architecture, and typically a degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with performance monitoring tools (like AppDynamics, Dynatrace, or New Relic), load testing platforms (such as JMeter or LoadRunner), and scripting languages is essential. Exceptional problem-solving abilities, attention to detail, and effective communication are key soft skills for diagnosing and explaining complex performance issues. These skills ensure optimal application reliability and user experience by proactively identifying and resolving performance bottlenecks.

What are Application Performance Engineers?

Application Performance Engineers are IT professionals responsible for ensuring that software applications run smoothly, efficiently, and reliably. They monitor application performance, identify bottlenecks, and collaborate with development and operations teams to optimize system performance. Their work often includes analyzing system metrics, conducting performance tests, and recommending improvements to meet user expectations and business requirements.

What is the difference between Application Performance Engineer vs Software Developer?

AspectApplication Performance EngineerSoftware Developer
Primary FocusOptimizing application performance, monitoring, and troubleshootingDesigning, coding, and testing software applications
Skills & CertificationsPerformance testing, monitoring tools, scripting, certifications like AWS or AzureProgramming languages, software design, development frameworks
Work EnvironmentIT teams, DevOps, performance testing labsDevelopment teams, coding environments, project management

While both roles work closely within software projects, Application Performance Engineers focus on ensuring applications run efficiently and reliably, whereas Software Developers create the applications themselves. Understanding these differences helps in choosing the right career path or job focus.

What are some typical challenges Application Performance Engineers face when optimizing complex enterprise applications?

Application Performance Engineers often encounter challenges such as diagnosing performance bottlenecks in distributed systems, analyzing intricate traces and logs, and collaborating across development and operations teams to implement effective solutions. They must balance immediate fixes with long-term architectural improvements, all while ensuring minimal disruption to users. The role also involves staying current with evolving monitoring tools and adapting strategies to support both legacy and cloud-native environments.

What engineers make $500,000?

Senior application performance engineers with extensive experience, specialized skills in performance tuning, and certifications such as AWS or Google Cloud can earn $500,000 or more annually, especially in high-demand industries or senior leadership roles. Compensation often includes base salary, bonuses, and stock options, reflecting their expertise in optimizing software systems and infrastructure.

What does a performance engineer do?

A performance engineer is responsible for analyzing, testing, and optimizing the performance of software applications and systems. They use tools like load testing and monitoring to identify bottlenecks, improve response times, and ensure system reliability under various conditions. Their work often involves scripting, performance metrics analysis, and collaboration with development teams to enhance overall application efficiency.

What engineers make $300,000 a year?

Senior application performance engineers with extensive experience, specialized skills in performance tuning, and certifications can earn $300,000 or more annually, especially in high-demand industries or senior leadership roles. Compensation often depends on location, company size, and individual expertise, with some earning through bonuses and stock options.
What are popular job titles related to Application Performance Engineer jobs in CA? For Application Performance Engineer jobs in CA, the most frequently searched job titles are:
Application Performance Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Application Performance Engineer job openings in California as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 86% Full Time, 11% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $131,141 per year, or $63 per hour.
Senior System Software Engineer - GPU Performance

Senior System Software Engineer - GPU Performance

Nvidia

Santa Clara, CA

$164K/yr

Full-time

Posted 27 days ago

Job description

NVIDIA is leading the way in groundbreaking developments in Artificial Intelligence, High Performance Computing and Visualization. The GPU, our invention, serves as the visual cortex of modern computers and is at the heart of our products and services. Our work opens up new universes to explore, enables amazing creativity and discovery, and powers what were once science fiction inventions from artificial intelligence to autonomous cars.

We are the GPU Communications Libraries and Networking team at NVIDIA. We deliver libraries like NCCL, NVSHMEM, UCX for Deep Learning and HPC. We are looking for a motivated Performance engineer to influence the roadmap of our communication libraries. The DL and HPC applications of today have a huge compute demand and run on scales which go up to tens of thousands of GPUs. The GPUs are connected with high-speed interconnects (eg. NVLink, PCIe) within a node and with high-speed networking (eg. Infiniband, Ethernet) across the nodes. Communication performance between the GPUs has a direct impact on the end-to-end application performance; and the stakes are even higher at huge scales! This is an outstanding opportunity for someone with HPC and performance background to advance the state of the art in this space. Are you ready for to contribute to the development of innovative technologies and help realize NVIDIA's vision?

What you will be doing:

  • Conduct in-depth performance characterization and analysis on large multi-GPU and multi-node clusters.

  • Study the interaction of our libraries with all HW (GPU, CPU, Networking) and SW components in the stack

  • Evaluate proof-of-concepts, conduct trade-off analysis when multiple solutions are available

  • Triage and root-cause performance issues reported by our customers

  • Collect a lot of performance data; build tools and infrastructure to visualize and analyze the information

  • Collaborate with a very dynamic team across multiple time zones

What we need to see:

  • M.S. (or equivalent experience) or PhD in Computer Science, or related field with relevant performance engineering and HPC experience

  • 3+ yrs of experience with parallel programming and at least one communication runtime (MPI, NCCL, UCX, NVSHMEM)

  • Experience conducting performance benchmarking and triage on large scale HPC clusters

  • Good understanding of computer system architecture, HW-SW interactions and operating systems principles (aka systems software fundamentals)

  • Implement micro-benchmarks in C/C++, read and modify the code base when required

  • Ability to debug performance issues across the entire HW/SW stack. Proficient in a scripting language, preferably Python

  • Familiar with containers, cloud provisioning and scheduling tools (Kubernetes, SLURM, Ansible, Docker)

  • Adaptability and passion to learn new areas and tools. Flexibility to work and communicate effectively across different teams and timezones

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

  • Practical experience with Infiniband/Ethernet networks in areas like RDMA, topologies, congestion control

  • Experience debugging network issues in large scale deployments

  • Familiarity with CUDA programming and/or GPUs

  • Experience with Deep Learning Frameworks such PyTorch, TensorFlow

Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and the pay of employees in similar positions. The base salary range is 152,000 USD - 241,500 USD for Level 3, and 184,000 USD - 287,500 USD for Level 4.

You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.

Applications for this job will be accepted at least until June 16, 2026.

This posting is for an existing vacancy.

NVIDIA uses AI tools in its recruiting processes.

NVIDIA is committed to fostering an inclusive work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As we highly value diversity in our current and future employees, we do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law.
Nvidia logo

About Nvidia

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

NVIDIA has been transforming computer graphics, PC gaming, and accelerated computing for more than 25 years. It's a unique legacy of innovation that's fueled by great technology--and amazing people. Today, we're tapping into the unlimited potential of AI to define the next era of computing. An era in which our GPU acts as the brains of computers, robots, and self-driving cars that can understand the world. Doing what's never been done before takes vision, innovation, and the world's best talent.

Industry

Computer and electronic product manufacturing

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Santa Clara, CA, US

Year founded

1993

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