Principal Enterprise & Database Competitive Performance Engineer

AMD; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

AMD is seeking an end-to-end performance engineer to own enterprise and database workloads, focusing on CPU behavior, memory hierarchy, and software tuning. You will be the primary workload authority for AMD EPYC versus Intel Xeon and evaluate Arm platforms for enterprise use cases.

You will diagnose results, separate CPU limits from storage/network/runtime effects, and build reproducible methods for benchmarking across AMD platforms and partner environments.

Qualifications

• Hands-on performance engineering experience at scale with enterprise servers.
• Experience with relational/distributed databases and JVM performance.
• Strong Linux and system-administration skills; scripting and repeatable env setup.
• Proficiency with profiling tools and hardware counters; NUMA analysis.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain an enterprise workload taxonomy across databases, Java, analytics, virtualization, and more.
• Develop rigorous methods for throughput, latency, scale-out, and consolidation.
• Analyze AMD vs Intel performance focusing on core config, frequency, power, memory, and platform setup.
• Evaluate tuning of compiler, JVM, databases, kernels to reflect realistic deployments.
• Use profiling to explain stalls, memory behavior, locks, and bottlenecks.
• Create deep-dive reports and executive content on lead/risk areas and mitigations.
• Support post-launch analysis to improve forecasts.

Skills

Performance engineering

Databases

Linux scripting

Profiling tools

NUMA analysis

System administration

Benchmark fairness

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Electrical Engin

Tools

Oracle

SQL Server

PostgreSQL

MySQL

SAP

Java application servers

Analytics platforms

Virtualization stacks

Job description

ADVANCE YOUR CAREER. ADVANCE THE WORLD.

At AMD, we believe technology has the power to solve the world's most important challenges. From advancing healthcare and scientific discovery to powering AI and the technologies people rely on every day, innovation at AMD is shaping the future. Whether you're designing next-gen processors, enabling AI breakthroughs, or bringing leading edge products to market, every role at AMD contributes to something bigger - technology that moves the world forward. Join us and, together, we'll advance your career.

THE TEAM:

The Competitive Advanced Performance (CAP) team is a new, visible capability focused on predicting, validating and explaining competitive server CPU performance before products reach the market. Joining now means helping define the methods, tools and operating model from the ground up.

THE ROLE:

AMD is seeking an end-to-end performance engineer to own the enterprise and database workloads where CPU behavior, memory hierarchy, software tuning, consolidation and platform economics determine competitive outcomes. You will be the team's primary workload authority for AMD EPYC versus Intel Xeon and will also evaluate Arm platforms as they enter enterprise use cases. The role combines deployment, tuning, profiling, root-cause analysis, reproducibility and clear technical communication.

THE PERSON:

You do more than operate benchmarks. You can tune a full software stack, diagnose why a result changed, separate CPU limits from storage, network, runtime and configuration effects, and build a method that another lab can reproduce. You understand that the most useful result is not simply who won, but which mechanisms drove the outcome and

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Define and maintain an enterprise workload taxonomy spanning relational databases, Java, analytics, virtualization, consolidation and other priority server applications.
• Develop rigorous methods for throughput, latency, tail latency, scale-up and scale-out behavior, consolidation and service-level objectives.
• Analyze AMD versus Intel performance with attention to core configuration, frequency and power behavior, acceleration features, memory capacity and bandwidth, and platform setup.
• Evaluate compiler, JVM, database, kernel and library tuning so comparisons reflect realistic deployment choices rather than accidental configuration gaps.
• Use profiling and counters to explain CPU stalls, memory behavior, locks and contention, NUMA placement, storage or network dependencies and software bottlenecks.
• Measure performance-per-watt, consolidation and platform or rack TCO drivers where licensing and density matter.
• Translate bottleneck evidence into future architecture and performance assumptions with the architecture and forecasting teams.
• Maintain configuration manifests, runbooks and methodology control so results can withstand peer, partner and customer scrutiny.
• Create deep-dive technical reports and concise executive content showing AMD lead areas, risk areas, root causes and possible mitigations.
• Support fast post-launch analysis and use measured results to improve future forecasts.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE:

• Extensive hands-on performance engineering experience with enterprise or server applications at scale.
• Experience with relational or distributed databases, Java or JVM performance, analytics engines, virtualization or hypervisors.
• Demonstrated ability to tune full software stacks and distinguish CPU limitations from storage, network, runtime and configuration artifacts.
• Strong Linux and system-administration skills, including scripting and repeatable environment setup.
• Experience with profiling tools, hardware performance counters, NUMA analysis and system-level tuning.
• Strong understanding of throughput, latency, scaling, saturation, consolidation and service-level metrics.
• Clear technical writing and presentation skills, with high standards for benchmark fairness, documentation and reproducibility.
• Hands-on experience with both Intel Xeon and AMD EPYC enterprise platforms.
• Experience with Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SAP, Java application servers, analytics platforms or major virtualization stacks.
• Knowledge of software licensing and TCO dynamics that interact with CPU performance and consolidation.
• Experience with industry benchmark suites or customer, OEM or ISV performance labs.
• Cross-ISA enterprise workload experience on Arm.

WHY THIS OPPORTUNITY STANDS OUT:

• Own business-critical workloads where deep diagnosis directly affects product, optimization and customer decisions.
• Connect microarchitectural behavior to real enterprise outcomes such as consolidation, latency and software cost.
• Build methods and proof points that can be validated across AMD and partner environments.
• Expand your influence across architecture, software, product management, field engineering, and ecosystem partners.

ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS:

Bachelor's or Master's in Electrical Engin