Performance Load Test Engineer

Dice is the leading career destination for tech experts at every stage of their careers. Our client, Hirekeyz, is seeking the following. Apply via Dice today!
Role: Performance Load Test Engineer
Location: Onsite- Fairfax, VA 3 Days and in Washington, DC 2 Days per Week.
Duration: Long Term Contract
*Position Require a Secret Clearance*
JOB DESCRIPTION:
The
Performance Load Test Engineer
is responsible for designing, executing, and optimize performance testing strategies for missioncritical applications. The role requires SME level experience in load, stress, endurance, scalability, and capacity testing along with strong analytical skills to identify performance bottlenecks and recommend solutions. This role works closely with development, QA, DevOps, and architecture teams to ensure applications meet performance SLAs, reliability standards, and user experience expectations.
Primary Responsibilities:

• Develop comprehensive performance test strategies, including objectives, scope, scenarios, success criteria, and workload models.
• Collaborate with business analysts, architects, and engineering teams to understand performance requirements, usage patterns, and system architecture.
• Identify critical user journeys and translate them into realistic performance test scenarios.
• Design and build performance test scripts using tools such as: JMeter, LoadRunner, Gatling, k6, NeoLoad
• Design realistic load models based on production metrics and anticipated growth.
• Monitor system behavior during tests using APM and monitoring tools such as: Dynatrace, New Relic, AppDynamics, Grafana, Prometheus, CloudWatch
• Analyze performance results to identify bottlenecks in application code, database queries, network latency, infrastructure, or cloud resources
• Provide clear, actionable recommendations to resolve performance issues.
• Solid understanding of CI/CD processes and build tools.
• Support operations and sustainment activities.
• All other duties as assigned by management.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Bachelor s degree in Computer Science or related field
• 10+ years of experience in performance testing, load testing, or performance engineering.
• Handson experience with performance testing tools (JMeter, LoadRunner, Gatling, k6, NeoLoad).
• Strong scripting or programming skills (e.g., Perl, Python, Java, JavaScript, Bash).
• Experience with metrics collection and monitoring tools (APM solutions, logging platforms, dashboards).
• Strong SQL experience for database performance testing and query optimization.
• Solid understanding of application architecture (web, microservices, APIs)
• Experience working with AWS cloud environments
• Networking fundamentals and resource utilization (CPU, memory, I/O)
• Familiarity with CI/CD environments and integrating automated performance tests.
• Excellent analytical, diagnostic, and troubleshooting skills.

Certifications Preferred:

• International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB)
• Certified Tester Foundation v4

Security Clearance Requirements:

• Must have an active DoD Secret clearance.

Work Location:
3 days in Fairfax, VA, 2 days in Washington, D.C.