Performance Engineer

Cognizant; Salt Lake City (UT); Remote; USD 64,000 - 103,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology company is looking for a Performance Engineer to enhance application performance through optimization strategies. You will engage with cross-functional teams to solve performance bottlenecks at various system levels. Ideal candidates will have 6-8 years of experience, proficiency in APM tools, and familiarity with cloud-hosted applications. The position offers a competitive salary and a supportive work environment.

Benefits

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off

401(k) plan and contributions

Long-term/Short-term Disability

Paid Parental Leave

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Qualifications

• 6 to 8 years of experience in performance engineering.
• Expertise in resolving performance bottlenecks.
• Hands-on experience with APM tools.

Responsibilities

• Conduct performance engineering activities.
• Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks.
• Design and execute load tests.

Skills

Performance engineering

Code profiling

Database query optimization

Kubernetes pod tuning

APM tools

Cloud performance testing

CI/CD pipeline experience

Tools

AppDynamics

Dynatrace

Datadog

Grafana

Kibana

Splunk

NeoLoad

LoadRunner

JMeter

Jenkins

GitLab

Job description

About the role

As a Performance Engineer, you will make an impact by driving performance optimization across complex application ecosystems. You will be a valued member of the Engineering and Infrastructure team and work collaboratively with cross-functional stakeholders including developers, DevOps, and cloud architects.

In this role, you will

• Conduct in-depth performance engineering activities such as code profiling, database query tuning, and microservices pod scaling.
• Identify, analyze, and resolve performance bottlenecks across all layers including UI, application, database, network, and message queues.
• Perform root cause analysis at the code level and recommend corrective actions to optimize application performance.
• Design and execute load, endurance, and scalability tests using NeoLoad, LoadRunner, or JMeter.
• Integrate performance testing into CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab) to enable automated and continuous performance validation.
• Execute load scenarios for specified work models and monitor system and application behavior to identify potential bottlenecks.
• Develop utilities and tools to enhance performance testing frameworks and automate repetitive tasks.
• Enhance existing frameworks to improve efficiency and coverage of performance testing.

Work model

We strive to provide flexibility wherever possible. Based on this role’s business requirements, this is a remote position open to qualified applicants in the United States. Regardless of your working arrangement, we are here to support a healthy work-life balance through our various wellbeing programs.

The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you’re engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations.

What you need to have to be considered

• Proven 6 to 8 years of experience in performance engineering including code profiling, database query optimization, and Kubernetes pod tuning.
• Expertise in identifying and resolving performance bottlenecks across UI, application, database, network, and messaging layers.
• Strong hands-on experience with APM tools such as AppDynamics, Dynatrace, Datadog, Grafana, Kibana, and Splunk.
• Experience in performance testing cloud-hosted applications (AWS preferred).
• Experience in running tests from CI/CD pipelines such as Jenkins or GitLab.
• Experience in designing and executing performance tests using NeoLoad, LoadRunner, or JMeter.

These will help you stand out

• Experience in the healthcare domain.
• Development experience in creating utilities/tools and enhancing performance testing frameworks.
• Exposure to AI/ML/LLM technologies.

Salary and Other Compensation

Applications will be accepted until October 10, 2025.

The annual salary for this position is between $64,734 to $102,500 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans.

Benefits

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
• 401(k) plan and contributions
• Long-term/Short-term Disability
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

We\'re excited to meet people who share our mission and can make an impact in a variety of ways. Don\'t hesitate to apply, even if you only meet the minimum requirements listed. Think about your transferable experiences and unique skills that make you stand out as someone who can bring new and exciting things to this role.

Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.