What Is a Performance Engineer? Duties, Skills and Tips

Performance testing engineers are the primary users of performance testing tools during the QA testing of software. A performance engineer is a highly skilled individual who is very well-versed in the process of scripting, designing, running, and analyzing performance tests on an application. But to put in one line “What does Performance Engineer do?” their most basic task is to identify and understand a problem, occurring in the application under testing. 

Core Duties of a Performance Engineer

There are several duties that a performance engineer must know to fulfill. For instance, they must be very well-versed in different performance testing types, their applications, their requirements, etc. In addition to that, a performance engineer must know how to analyze performance data, design and execute tests, evaluate performance testing tools performance, monitor system performance, assess current operations, and more. cfvvvvv\

We can club the core duties of a performance engineer into four different categories. They are:

A. System Analysis and Evaluation

This category cumulatively comprises the analysis of the system requirement and evaluation of its performance data during and after the test is performed. As a performance testing engineer, one is first required to talk to the stakeholders and identify the requirements of the project. Then they need to collect existing data on the system software by collaborating with other teams like the team of developers, and more. Once all the necessary data is collected, the performance engineer then evaluates and comes up with a performance testing strategy to align with the stakeholder’s goals and objectives. 

B. Performance Testing Strategies

Once the goals and objectives are comprehended, the performance engineer then needs to come up with relevant tests, test metrics, cases, scenarios, and strategies. Selecting the right test criteria here is very important. Try looking at various metrics like response time, throughput, error rate, network latency, scalability, etc., and prepare a performance testing strategy that suits the project. Once that is done, make sure you decide upon the tools that are required to carry on the tests. Test the tools and ensure that they are error-free. Put the set test cases into your automation tools and run the tests as per your set strategy.

C. Identification of Bottlenecks

The performance engineer has a lot of responsibilities while the tests are being run. A high-quality performance engineer is supposed to document the whole process and identify bottlenecks during the testing procedure. Various types of bottlenecks can surface during performance testing like issues in the software bandwidth, poor CPU utilization, memory utilization; Network latency, slow response rate, etc. The performance engineer in charge must document the test process, and their observation about these bottlenecks and later analyze these issues to offer solutions. These documents are going to be extremely useful for later stages as they will be utilized by the developers to fix the potential flaws of the software. 

D. Scalability Assessment

One of the most important responsibilities of performance engineers performing a test on software or applications includes scalability assessment. Scalability assessment is a crucial part of the performance testing. It helps understand how the software can adapt to high user requests at a given point in time. The performance engineer must allow the software to pass through various test cases and scenarios to ensure that the software is robust in every possible scenario.

Education Requirement For Performance Engineer Job

To land a job as a performance engineer, the candidate must have a few skills and educational qualifications. They are:

• Educational Background: Employers ideally prefer candidates with a degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Technical graduate, Computer Engineering, Software engineering, Accounting, etc. Candidates with both Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in the mentioned subjects are preferred more during the interview process.
• Certifications Required: Additionally, if the candidate has some extra certifications or licenses in CPA, ITIL, NPI, DOD, IAT, etc. they will automatically be preferred by employers/clients.
• Skills required: Hardware, Software, Code Reviews, Java, Software Engineering Processes, etc.

Performance Engineer Salary and Benefits

In India the average salary of a performance engineer usually ranges from 3.4 lakhs to 21 lakhs, provided the performance engineer has an experience of 2-8 years. But for a performance engineer from India working for a US client can make from 45 USD to 85 USD per hour depending on their experience and knowledge. However, the average salary for performance engineers in the United States has been recorded as USD 107,920 per year. 

Other than that some institutions offer a bunch of benefits to the performance engineers. These benefits include health insurance, paid time off, a 401(k), and even a yearly bonus of up to USD 8000.

Essential Performance Engineer Skills

Certain skills are must-haves for performance engineers. For instance, a performance engineer must have the most basic interest in dealing with technology and technology development. Apart from that they must have a good updated knowledge about the latest technological advancements and updates in the fields. Though a performance engineer usually has to work with computers and software, their communication skills must be excellent too! Other than that a performance engineer must be analytical, proficient in testing tools, updated with programming languages, etc.

Here are the essential skills that the performance engineers require:

Proficiency in Performance Testing Tools

As a performance engineer, you will need to delve into a lot of different industries ranging from e-commerce, finance, gaming, healthcare, etc. Having a good amount of knowledge in all these industries and staying updated with their technological advances will help you get better at using the performance testing tools. Being proficient in general performance testing tools like Apache JMeter, NeoLoad, LoadNinja, etc. is a necessity for any performance tester/testing engineer. Other than that there are industry-specific tools that a performance engineer must learn to adapt to to work with a variety of clients.

Programming and Scripting Skills

To pursue a career in the software industry, you must know programming and scripting. The knowledge of programming is very important for a performance engineer as it enables him or her to have a look at the programming of software and identify unforeseen loopholes, bottlenecks, or flaws. On the other hand, the knowledge of scripting is necessary as the performance engineer needs to script various test cases, scenarios, and instructions for the way that the test will be performed. So, having in-depth knowledge of programming and scripting languages like Java, Python, C++, Ruby, etc. is a must for a performance engineer.

Analytical Skills

A good performance engineer must have an excellent analytical skill. As a performance engineer, you are supposed to analyze the developmental process of software as well as the final product that it becomes. To ensure that the software built is of the highest quality, you must have the ability to analyze and identify the areas of improvement. You must also have the knowledge, understanding, and skill to identify bottlenecks, find out the reason behind them, and come up with a solution for it. So to achieve this level of efficiency you must acquire a good level of analytical skills.

Problem-Solving Abilities

Another of the most important qualities employers look for in a performance engineer is to have a problem-solving attitude. Several challenges come up during the software development process. The role of a performance engineer is to take these challenges and find out soundproof solutions. A performance engineer must know how to discover new methods and ways to improve the performance of software by solving bottlenecks that come up on the way. Therefore, it is considered as one of the most important aspects of being a performance engineer. 

Communication and Collaboration Skills

One of the roles that a performance engineer needs to play while involved in a project is the role of collaborator. He or she is supposed to collaborate and communicate with a lot of different teams, like the team of developers, coders, project managers, or even the stakeholders. An efficient performance engineer must have the confidence and sharp communication skills to be a part of the software development project.

Project management

The software development process is a long one, so a performance engineer must know how to deal with every stage of it. Therefore, it is another necessary skill that a performance engineer must have where he or she knows how to manage projects. 

Industry-Specific Performance Engineering

Once you have acquired all the necessary skills to become a performance engineer, there are various industries that you can put your skills to use. These industries are:

A. Software Development

The most appropriate industry to try your skills at is none other than the software development industry. The software development industry is always expanding and moving forward. Therefore, it is easier to find clients in the field who want to work with performance engineers during the development of their software, applications, or web services. Usually, as a performance engineer in the software development industry, you will be expected to know:

1. Code Optimization Techniques

It includes knowledge of various processes of code optimization like eliminating unwanted code lines and rearranging the statements of the code. A performance engineer needs to be able to identify dead codes, common sub-expressions, areas of strength reductions, and more. 

2. Load Testing for Applications

Load testing is a crucial part of performance testing. As a performance engineer, you must know about performing load tests on applications. Load tests usually help determine the functioning of software or an application under various peak load scenarios. 

B. IT Infrastructure

The next industry that you can try is the IT infrastructure. The IT industry where companies are manufacturing software, hardware, semiconductor equipment, or the ones that offer internet and related services are ideal for performance engineers. Make sure you know:

1. Network Performance Engineering

Network performance engineering refers to the review and analysis of the collective network statistics. It includes both qualitative and quantitative processes that analyze the network bandwidth, metrics, services, etc. As a performance engineer, you must know how to conduct such tests to be able to get a job in the IT sector. 

2. Server Optimization Strategies

Server optimization is where the web server, the operating system, the database, and all of these aspects of software are optimized to upgrade the CPU, RAM, and Storage as per the requirements. A good performance engineer in the field of the IT sector must know how to deal with these tests and software requirements. 

C. Web Performance Engineering

Web performance engineering deals with understanding the speed of a website to match end-user expectations. It deals with analyzing the performance of a website including its SEO aspects. It is another field that has recently become very popular for performance engineers in the last 15 years.

1. Frontend and Backend Optimization

It includes the technical SEO aspects of a website such as speed, accessibility, sitemap optimizations, and more as backend activities. Frontend optimization revolves around large contentful paint, image optimization, response time optimization, and so on. 

2. Content Delivery Network (CDN) Implementation

As a web performance engineer, you must also know about Content Delivery Network (CDN) Implementation. It is done to ensure the high availability and performance of a website. 

Tips For Becoming a Performance Engineer

Here are a few more tips to become an efficient Performance Engineer in the software industry:

• Never lose sight of your goal: Always stick to the business objectives and the stakeholder expectations. Do not try to add things into the software development process that you feel are important, until and unless that is aligned with the goals of the enterprise.
• Always be up-to-date: Follow other performance engineers and stay connected with them on various platforms. Always stay up to date with the latest technological advancements.
• Collect certifications: It is always advised to gain certificates for every new skill that you acquire. Certifications help your employers choose the best candidates for their projects.