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Senior Performance Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Senior Performance Engineer

Redwood City, CA · On-site

$127.90K - $175.70K/yr

We are looking for a Senior Performance Engineer to join the team who can lead performance investigations which push the limits of our technology. Responsibilities As a member of Performance ...

Senior Performance Engineer

Redwood City, CA

$127.90K - $175.70K/yr

We are looking for a Senior Performance Engineer to join theteam who can lead performance investigations which push the limits of our technology. Responsibilities As a member ofPerformance ...

As the Senior Pre-Silicon Performance Validation Engineer, you will be responsible for validating and verifying the performance of complex silicon designs during the pre-silicon phase, ensuring that ...

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Senior Performance Engineer information

See California salary details

$58.7K

$124.9K

$181.1K

How much do senior performance engineer jobs pay per year?

As of May 29, 2026, the average yearly pay for senior performance engineer in California is $124,900.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $103,100.00 and $141,600.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a Senior Performance Engineer job?

A Senior Performance Engineer is responsible for optimizing the performance, scalability, and reliability of software applications and systems. They analyze performance metrics, conduct load and stress testing, identify bottlenecks, and work with development teams to implement improvements. This role requires expertise in profiling tools, performance tuning, and system architecture to ensure optimal user experience. Additionally, they may establish best practices for performance testing and contribute to overall system design decisions.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Senior Performance Engineer position, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Senior Performance Engineer, expertise in performance analysis, capacity planning, and system optimization—often backed by a degree in computer science or a related field—is crucial. Familiarity with tools such as LoadRunner, JMeter, APM solutions, profiling tools, and relevant certifications like CPPE or PMP are highly beneficial. Strong problem-solving, collaboration, and clear communication skills are vital for identifying bottlenecks and working closely with cross-functional teams. These combine to ensure robust system performance, user satisfaction, and reliable application scalability in demanding technical environments.

What are the most common responsibilities of a Senior Performance Engineer on a day-to-day basis?

A Senior Performance Engineer typically oversees performance testing cycles, analyzes system metrics, and collaborates with development and operations teams to diagnose and resolve performance issues. Daily tasks often include designing and executing test plans, monitoring application behavior under load, and recommending improvements for scalability and efficiency. They also participate in code reviews and architectural discussions to identify potential bottlenecks early in the development cycle. Consistent communication with both technical and non-technical stakeholders is key, ensuring that performance goals align with business objectives.
What are the most commonly searched types of Performance Engineer jobs in California? The most popular types of Performance Engineer jobs in California are:
What are popular job titles related to Senior Performance Engineer jobs in California? For Senior Performance Engineer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Senior Performance Engineer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Senior Performance Engineer jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Senior Performance Engineer jobs? Cities in California with the most Senior Performance Engineer job openings:
Infographic showing various Senior Performance Engineer job openings in California as of May 2026, with employment types broken down into 2% As Needed, 74% Full Time, 22% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 97% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 2% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $124,900 per year, or $60 per hour.

Senior Performance Engineer

Quanta Search

Redwood City, CA • On-site

$127.90K - $175.70K/yr

Full-time

PTO

Posted 19 days ago


Job description

Our client's team is solving one of the most difficult open problems in the software database industry today: scaling SQL. They have their own distributed relational database, built from the ground up with a shared nothing architecture, distributed query execution, and automatic data distribution.
As their customer base grows, both in number and in size of deployment, so too has the performance demands on the product and staff. The clusters are getting bigger, databases are growing larger, and workloads are growing more complex. We are looking for a Senior Performance Engineer to join the team who can lead performance investigations which push the limits of our technology.
Responsibilities
As a member of Performance Engineering Team:
  • You will own defining test strategies and designing and implementing measurement and analysis tools needed in our performance studies.
  • You will work collaboratively with other engineering teams to help profile performance and scalability, identify areas for improvement, and influencing changes to the database.
  • You will work on a variety of workloads ranging from traditional OLTP and decision support performance benchmarks, to more complex, evolving hybrid transaction and analytical processing workloads.
  • You will work closely with sales engineering and support teams to do deep-dive and root cause analysis of key customer performance issues.
  • You will work in conjunction with marketing and sales to investigate the competitive performance of our product resulting in potential technical blog posts for either internal or external publication.

Qualifications
Do you have passion for performance engineering? Do you like to push the limits of the performance of a database product? Do you have the mindset of a scientist? Do you like to discover knowledge through controlled experimentation?
  • Knowledge of Linux operating system with familiarity with bash shell programing skills.
  • Knowledge of database systems and familiarity with the SQL query language.
  • Programming skills using C, Python and/or Java.
  • Knowledge of database performance benchmarks, measurement and analysis.
  • Familiarity with applications and their interaction with databases is a major plus

What's in it for you?
Impact the world of technology by pushing the boundaries of technology and business models. Be part of a game-changing organization that encourages outside-the-box thinking, empowerment, and is truly shaping the future of the software industry. You'll be collaborating with high-caliber colleagues around the world, offering unparalleled learning and growth opportunities. We provide a very competitive compensation package, 25 days paid annual leave (plus holidays), stock options, a massive degree of flexibility and freedom, and more.
Here are some of the reasons why you'll enjoy being a part of the team:
  • Our team is small, so you will own significant projects and contribute in a big way to the product.
  • We have a lot of interesting problems to work on, in a variety of areas.
  • Our customers love us. We help them do things they could never do with their legacy SQL databases.
  • We are passionate about making our software work better and faster

Thank you for illuminating hiring with Quanta Search!
www.quantasearch.com