ZipRecruiter

Log In

1

Performance Test Engineer Jobs in Washington, DC

CYNET SYSTEMS

Sr. Performance Test Engineer

Reston, VA · On-site

$69 - $74/hr

... performance engineering, or quality engineering for enterprise applications. * Hands-on experience with workload modeling, performance test design, resiliency test scenarios, and failover validation.

CYNET SYSTEMS

Sr. Performance Test Engineer

Reston, VA · On-site

$69 - $74/hr

... performance engineering, or quality engineering for enterprise applications. * Hands-on experience with workload modeling, performance test design, resiliency test scenarios, and failover validation.

CYNET SYSTEMS

Sr. Performance Test Engineer

Reston, VA · On-site

$69.24 - $74.24/hr

... performance engineering, or quality engineering for enterprise applications. Hands-on experience with workload modeling, performance test design, resiliency test scenarios, and failover validation.

USM

Urgent Need Performance Test Engineer

Vienna, VA · On-site

Performance Test Engineer Location: Vienna, VA (Locals Or Nearby) Duration: 6 +months Responsibilities * Work with Developers and Vendor teams to understand project requirements and create real-world ...

Apex Systems

QA Performance Engineer

Merrifield, VA · On-site

Merrifield, Virginia (Hybrid) Role Overview As a Performance Test Engineer, you will be responsible for executing end-to-end performance testing efforts. This role requires hands-on performance ...

next page

Showing results 1-20

All JobsPerformance Test Engineer JobsPerformance Test Engineer Jobs in Washington, DC

Performance Test Engineer information

See Washington, DC salary details

$11

$52

$78

How much do performance test engineer jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 23, 2026, the average hourly pay for performance test engineer in Washington, DC is $52.76, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $39.47 and $66.97 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a performance test engineer?

A performance test engineer conducts testing during the entire lifecycle process of software development to ensure an efficient and satisfactory outcome. As a performance test engineer, your primary responsibilities include providing extensive troubleshooting and offering recommendations to fix technical issues. Your duties involve running tests on capacity, endurance, scenarios, stress, and performance, and designing a test system to simulate traffic loads. You monitor application operations, analyze memory usage, generate graphs, identify potential problems, and prepare detailed status reports.

What does a performance test engineer do?

A Performance Test Engineer is responsible for evaluating the speed, responsiveness, and stability of software applications under various workloads. They design and execute test plans to identify bottlenecks, ensure systems perform well under expected and peak traffic, and recommend improvements. Their work helps ensure that applications deliver a smooth and reliable experience to end users, even in high-demand situations. Performance Test Engineers often use specialized tools to simulate large numbers of users and analyze system behavior.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a performance test engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Performance Test Engineer, you need expertise in software testing methodologies, performance analysis, and scripting languages, often supported by a degree in computer science or related fields. Familiarity with tools such as JMeter, LoadRunner, or Gatling, and experience with monitoring systems and cloud platforms are commonly required. Strong analytical thinking, attention to detail, and effective communication skills set top performers apart in this role. These competencies are crucial for accurately identifying performance bottlenecks, ensuring system reliability, and collaborating across development teams.

What are some common challenges faced by performance test engineers when working on large-scale applications?

Performance Test Engineers working on large-scale applications often encounter challenges such as accurately simulating real-world user loads, identifying performance bottlenecks in complex systems, and ensuring tests reflect production environments. Coordinating with development and operations teams to set up realistic test data and environments can also be demanding. Additionally, interpreting and communicating test results to stakeholders requires strong analytical and communication skills to drive meaningful improvements.

What is the difference between Performance Test Engineer vs QA Tester?

AspectPerformance Test EngineerQA Tester
Primary FocusEvaluating system performance, load, and scalabilityVerifying overall software quality and functionality
Skills & CertificationsPerformance testing tools (JMeter, LoadRunner), scripting, performance analysisManual and automated testing, bug tracking, test case design
Work EnvironmentPerformance labs, testing environments, scriptingDevelopment, testing, and user environments
Industry UsageIT, software development, telecomIT, software, manufacturing, healthcare

While both roles are essential in software quality assurance, the Performance Test Engineer specializes in assessing system performance under load, whereas the QA Tester focuses on overall functionality and defect detection. Understanding these differences helps employers and professionals align skills with job requirements.

More about Performance Test Engineer jobs
Performance Test Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Performance Test Engineer job openings in Washington, DC as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 86% Full Time, 10% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 84% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 14% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $109,731 per year, or $52.8 per hour.

Performance Test Engineer -- W2 ONLY

nTech Solutions

Reston, VA • On-site

Other

Posted 12 days ago

Job description

BEFORE APPLYING FOR THE JOB. KINDLY READ THE COMPLETE JOB DESCRIPTION PROPERLY(EVEN THE TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT ALSO), NO 1099, C2C , H1 TRANSFER

Title: Performance Test Engineer

Location: Hybrid Schedule at Reston, VA

Terms of Employment

W2 Contract, 6 Months

This is a Hybrid Schedule at Reston, VA

Interview Process: In-person interview

Overview

We are seeking an experienced Performance & Resiliency Test Engineer to design, execute, and analyze performance and resiliency testing for enterprise applications. This role will focus on workload modeling, performance test design, failover validation, bottleneck analysis, and recovery analysis to ensure the scalability, stability, and reliability of large-scale systems, including cloud-native applications, APIs, microservices, and data warehouse/data lake platforms.

Required Skills & Experience

Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology or Computer Science

In lieu of a Bachelor's degree, an additional 4 years of relevant work experience is required in addition to the required work experience.

5 years experience in performance testing, resiliency testing, performance engineering, or quality engineering for enterprise applications, including hands-on experience with workload modeling, performance test design, resiliency test scenarios, failover validation, test execution, monitoring, bottleneck analysis, recovery analysis, and results reporting.

Experience with NeoLoad or similar performance testing tools, CI/CD performance test automation, cloud platforms such as AWS, database performance validation, and large-scale data warehouse or data lake environments is preferred.

Ability to communicate technical requirements to all levels of expertise.

Proficient in establishing and maintaining good working relationships.

Knowledge and understanding of performance testing lifecycle, SDLC, Agile delivery, and non-functional requirements validation.

Proficient with integrating performance testing into complex enterprise systems, cloud-native applications, APIs, microservices, data warehouse platforms, and data lake pipelines

Knowledge of scripting, programming, or query languages used in performance testing and analysis, such as JavaScript, Java, Groovy, Python, SQL, or shell scripting.

Excellent communication skills both written and verbal.

Knowledge of cloud technologies with emphasis on AWS-native applications, cloud scalability, auto-scaling behavior, monitoring, observability, resiliency testing, failover validation, recovery analysis, and capacity validation.

Knowledge of database and data platform technologies, including SQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, data warehouse platforms, data lake environments, ETL/ELT pipelines, and large-scale data ingestion performance., Advanced

Knowledge of performance engineering best practices, resiliency testing practices, cloud performance patterns, agile methodologies, observability, CI/CD pipelines, automated performance test gates, and continuous performance testing practices., Advanced

Knowledge of test automation practices, test data management, workload modeling, API testing, service virtualization, CI/CD performance test automation, and integration of performance tests into automated delivery pipelines.

Strong experience with NeoLoad or comparable performance testing tools, cloud monitoring tools, deployment/continuous integration/continuous testing/continuous delivery processes, CI/CD performance test automation, and performance reporting dashboards.

Knowledge of Code quality and promotion practices.

Apply