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Performance Engineering Manager Jobs in California

About the Role We are seeking an Engineering Manager, Performance Engineering to lead teams focused on improving the speed, scalability, and reliability of our web and mobile platforms. This role ...

About the Role We are seeking an Engineering Manager, Performance Engineering to lead teams focused on improving the speed, scalability, and reliability of our web and mobile platforms. This role ...

You will be responsible for performance management, professional development, and maintaining a ... engineering practices. You are a driver, not an executor. • Client & Product Focus- Maintain a ...

... Defect Management Tools, • Hands-on experience with Performance engineering and monitoring tools such as AppDynamics, CloudWatch etc • Hands-on experience within API REST/SOAP testing and ...

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Performance Engineering Manager information

See California salary details

$39.5K

$98.2K

$151.5K

How much do performance engineering manager jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 10, 2026, the average yearly pay for performance engineering manager in California is $98,224.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $64,600.00 and $124,400.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Performance Engineering Manager, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Performance Engineering Manager, you need a solid background in software engineering, performance testing, and systems optimization, often supported by a degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with tools such as JMeter, LoadRunner, APM solutions, and cloud platforms is typically required, along with knowledge of performance monitoring and automation frameworks. Strong leadership, analytical thinking, and effective communication are critical soft skills for guiding teams and collaborating across departments. These skills ensure the delivery of high-performing software solutions, drive continuous improvement, and help meet business scalability and reliability goals.

How does a Performance Engineering Manager typically collaborate with development and operations teams to ensure optimal system performance?

A Performance Engineering Manager works closely with both development and operations teams to establish performance benchmarks, identify potential bottlenecks early in the software development lifecycle, and implement performance testing protocols. This role often involves facilitating regular meetings to review performance metrics, coordinating load and stress testing efforts, and providing actionable feedback for code optimization. By fostering open communication and aligning goals across teams, the Performance Engineering Manager ensures that performance considerations are integrated into every stage of product development and deployment.

What is the difference between Performance Engineering Manager vs Software Development Manager?

AspectPerformance Engineering ManagerSoftware Development Manager
Primary FocusOptimizing system performance, scalability, and reliabilityOverseeing software development processes and team management
Required SkillsPerformance testing, monitoring tools, system architectureSoftware design, project management, coding
Work EnvironmentCollaboration with QA, DevOps, and infrastructure teamsLeading development teams, coordinating projects
Industry UsageTech companies, cloud services, enterprise softwareSoftware firms, tech startups, enterprise applications

The Performance Engineering Manager focuses on ensuring software and systems perform efficiently and reliably, often working closely with infrastructure and QA teams. In contrast, the Software Development Manager oversees the entire software development lifecycle, managing developers and project timelines. Both roles require technical expertise but differ in their core responsibilities and focus areas.

What are Performance Engineering Managers?

Performance Engineering Managers are professionals responsible for overseeing teams that ensure software applications and systems operate efficiently and reliably under expected workloads. They focus on optimizing performance, scalability, and stability by identifying bottlenecks, setting performance standards, and implementing best practices. These managers collaborate closely with development, QA, and operations teams to deliver high-performing products, often leveraging tools for monitoring and analysis. Their role also includes mentoring engineers, managing project timelines, and communicating performance goals to stakeholders.
What are the most commonly searched types of Performance Engineering jobs in California? The most popular types of Performance Engineering jobs in California are:
What are popular job titles related to Performance Engineering Manager jobs in California? For Performance Engineering Manager jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Performance Engineering Manager jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Performance Engineering Manager jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Performance Engineering Manager jobs? Cities in California with the most Performance Engineering Manager job openings:
Infographic showing various Performance Engineering Manager job openings in California as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 91% Full Time, 6% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 92% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 6% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $98,224 per year, or $47.2 per hour.

Engineering Manager, Performance

ALO

San Ramon, CA • On-site

$188K - $235K/yr

Other

PTO

Posted 18 days ago


Job description

About the Role

We are seeking an Engineering Manager, Performance Engineering to lead teams focused on improving the speed, scalability, and reliability of our web and mobile platforms. This role partners closely with application, platform, and data teams to ensure performance is built into system design, development workflows, and production operations.

You will set performance strategy, guide execution across the stack, and help teams turn performance insights into measurable improvements. This role values technical depth, thoughtful leadership, and cross-team collaboration.

Key Responsibilities

  • Define and evolve the performance engineering strategy, establishing multi-quarter roadmaps aligned with business and customer experience goals.
  • Lead end-to-end performance architecture across applications, services, infrastructure, and cloud platforms, ensuring performance is considered at every layer.
  • Establish performance standards, KPIs, and benchmarking methodologies, including latency, throughput, error rates, and user experience metrics such as Core Web Vitals.
  • Guide performance engineering practices for web and mobile, including load, stress, endurance, and real-user performance testing.
  • Drive frontend and backend performance improvements, supporting optimization across APIs, services, databases, caching, networking, and application code.
  • Design and evolve performance tooling, including profiling, tracing, telemetry, and benchmarking frameworks that provide actionable insights.
  • Embed performance into development workflows, integrating measurement and regression detection into CI/CD pipelines.
  • Partner with platform, application, and data teams, ensuring performance considerations are incorporated early in architecture and design decisions.
  • Analyze and resolve complex performance issues, using structured experimentation, data analysis, and systems-level debugging.
  • Lead and develop performance engineering teams, providing technical guidance, mentorship, and an inclusive, collaborative environment focused on continuous improvement.

Required Qualifications

  • 7+ Years of professional experience in software engineering with more focus on performance engineering, system optimization, or reliability
  • 3+ Years experience in a technical leadership or engineering management role
  • Strong understanding of distributed systems and performance characteristics
  • Proficiency in at least one general-purpose programming language (e.g., Go, Python, TypeScript)
  • Experience with performance testing, benchmarking, and monitoring tools
  • Ability to analyze performance data, design experiments, and translate findings into delivered improvements
  • Strong communication skills and experience collaborating across frontend, backend, and platform teams

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience operating large-scale, consumer-facing or eCommerce systems
  • Familiarity with frontend performance monitoring and Core Web Vitals
  • Experience integrating observability, tracing, and metrics into production systems
  • Background in cloud-native architectures and distributed infrastructure
  • Experience building developer-facing performance tools or frameworks
  • Familiarity with open-source performance or benchmarking ecosystems

The base salary range for this position is $188,000-$235,000 per year which represents the current range for the base salary for this exempt position. Please note that actual salaries will vary based on factors including but not limited to location, experience, and performance. As such, on occasion and when applicable, there is the possibility that the final, agreed-upon base salary may be outside of the upper end of the range. Please also note the range listed is just one component of the company's total rewards package for exempt employees. Other rewards may include performance bonuses, long term incentives, a PTO policy, and many other progressive benefits.