Lead Systems & Performance Engineer

Aker Systems

Aker Systems was founded in 2017 by a team of experienced technology professionals who recognised an opportunity to provide highly secure enterprise data platforms to large organisations.  We build and operate ground-breaking, ultra-secure, high performance, cloud-based data infrastructure for the enterprise. Our proprietary technology solutions drive performance and reduce costs while helping our clients to improve the management and sharing of data across their organisations. In 2024, Aker Systems won the Breakthrough Culture Awards highlighting growth companies putting culture first. In 2020 Aker Systems was recognised as a ‘One to Watch’ on the Sunday Times Tech Track.  The Company was also recognised at the Thames Valley Tech Awards 2020; winning the Thames Valley Tech Company of the year, the Emerging Tech Company and High Growth Tech Business categories.  We encourage people of all different backgrounds and identities to apply.  We are committed to maintaining an inclusive, and supportive place for you to do your very best work. About the Role We are seeking a Lead Performance Automation Engineer to define and drive performance engineering strategy, tooling, and practices across large-scale, distributed, cloud-native platforms. This is a technical leadership role responsible for ensuring systems are: * Scalable * Reliable * Resilient under load * Optimised for performance and cost efficiency You will lead performance testing and engineering initiatives across multiple teams, embedding non-functional quality into every stage of the software lifecycle. Key Responsibilities 1. Performance Engineering Strategy & Leadership * Define and own the organisation-wide performance testing and engineering strategy. * Establish standards for: * Performance testing approaches * Workload modelling * Capacity planning * Introduce and scale performance engineering practices across multiple delivery teams. * Provide technical leadership and mentoring to QA and engineering teams on performance best practices. * Align performance goals with business SLAs, SLOs, and user experience expectations. 2. Performance Test Architecture & Automation * Design and implement scalable performance test frameworks and automation pipelines. * Lead adoption of tools such as: * Gatling, JMeter, k6, Locust or similar * Build reusable solutions for: * Load testing * Stress testing * Spike testing * Soak testing * Integrate performance testing into CI/CD pipelines for continuous validation. * Ensure performance tests are repeatable, reliable, and production-representative. 3. Workload Modelling & Test Design * Define realistic user workload models based on production data and usage patterns. * Design performance test scenarios reflecting: * Peak load * Concurrent users * Throughput and latency requirements * Apply risk-based prioritisation for performance testing. * Ensure coverage across: * APIs * Microservices * Data pipelines * Event-driven systems 4. Backend, API & Distributed System Performance * Lead performance validation for: * Microservices architectures * Event-driven systems (Kafka) * High-throughput APIs * Analyse latency, throughput, error rates, and bottlenecks across distributed systems. * Validate system behaviour under failure conditions and degraded environments. * Ensure horizontal scalability and resilience strategies are tested. 5. Cloud, Infrastructure & Scalability Testing * Validate performance across: * AWS cloud environments * Containerised platforms (Docker, Kubernetes) * Conduct capacity planning and infrastructure benchmarking. * Ensure systems scale efficiently using: * Auto-scaling * Load balancing * Distributed architectures * Evaluate performance of Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) deployments. 6. Observability, Analysis & Bottleneck Resolution * Use observability tools to analyse system performance, including: * Metrics (Prometheus, Datadog) * Logs (ELK) * Traces (distributed tracing tools) * Identify and diagnose: * CPU, memory, I/O bottlenecks * Network latency issues * Database performance constraints * Collaborate with engineering teams to optimise system performance and architecture. 7. Non-Functional Quality Governance * Define and enforce performance SLAs, SLOs, and acceptance criteria. * Establish quality gates for performance within CI/CD pipelines. * Ensure performance requirements are validated before production release. * Drive adoption of performance testing standards across teams. * Support audit, compliance, and regulatory expectations in performance-critical systems. 8. Production Performance & Continuous Improvement * Analyse real production performance data to refine testing strategies. * Lead performance-related incident investigations and RCA activities. * Establish feedback loops between production observability and test environments. * Drive improvements in: * System responsiveness * Stability under load * Operational resilience 9. Metrics, Reporting & Optimisation * Define and track performance KPIs, including: * Response times * Throughput * Error rates * Resource utilisation * Build performance dashboards and reporting frameworks. * Drive continuous optimisation initiatives based on performance data. * Align performance metrics with business outcomes and user experience. Technology Environment Performance Testing Tools * Gatling, k6, JMeter, Locust (or similar) Languages * Java, Kotlin, Python, or JavaScript Architecture * Microservices, Event-driven systems, Kafka Cloud & Infrastructure * AWS, Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform CI/CD * GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins Observability * Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, ELK, Distributed Tracing What We’re Looking For Essential * Proven experience as a Performance Test Lead / Performance Engineer / SDET * Strong experience defining performance testing strategies and frameworks * Hands-on expertise with modern performance testing tools * Deep understanding of: * Scalability and distributed system performance * Cloud-native architectures * Experience integrating performance testing into CI/CD pipelines * Strong skills in: * Performance analysis and bottleneck identification * Root cause analysis and system optimisation * Experience defining and tracking performance SLAs/SLOs and KPIs * Ability to lead and influence cross-team quality improvements Desirable * Experience in high-scale or regulated environments * Exposure to: * Chaos engineering * Resilience and fault injection testing * Experience with capacity planning and cost optimisation * Knowledge of security-performance interactions (e.g., encryption overhead) Personal Attributes * Strong systems thinking and analytical mindset * Ability to translate performance data into practical engineering improvements * Influential leader across engineering and product teams * Proactive and outcome-driven * Strong communication and stakeholder management skills Aker Systems Attributes At Aker we work as a team; we are collaborative, hardworking, open, and delivery obsessed. There is no blame culture here: try things, and take responsibility for the outcomes. You are always part of the wider Aker. We help our colleagues and take pride in successfully achieving difficult tasks. We run towards problems and help to solve them. Communicate always, do so accurately and in a timely fashion. In return, we offer a competitive salary, 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, company paid medical insurance and life assurance, pension scheme, annual training allowance, wellbeing allowance, virtual GP, Employee Assistance plan and more. Equal Opportunities Aker Systems fosters a diverse environment that encourages openness in its communications and is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, age, marital status, national origin, citizenship status, disability, veteran status or other personal characteristics. We embrace differences of opinion and diversity because they help challenge us and find new groundbreaking technical solutions.

Nebul

ABOUT US Product Owner / Architect – Datacenter Infrastructure NVIDIA | HPC | Datacenter Design | Hardware Procurement | EU Work Permit Required At Nebul, we’re building Europe’s sovereign cloud infrastructure—trusted, secure, and designed for the future of AI. We're hiring a Product Owner / Architect, Datacenter Infrastructure to define and drive the roadmap for our high-performance computing environments. This includes datacenter architecture, hardware procurement, power and cooling strategy, and vendor management with key partners like NVIDIA. If you know what it takes to design, negotiate, and operate advanced AI datacenters—and you thrive at the intersection of deep technical expertise and strategic execution—this role is for you. WHAT YOU’LL DO * Own the end-to-end datacenter infrastructure strategy, including compute, network, power, and physical layout * Define reference architectures optimized for AI/HPC workloads using NVIDIA GPUs and high-performance systems * Lead hardware procurement, including vendor evaluations, contract negotiations, and technical alignment * Work cross-functionally with engineering, operations, and leadership to ensure on-time infrastructure delivery * Oversee deployment planning, including power and cooling design, rack layouts, and network architecture * Collaborate with leading vendors like NVIDIA to assess technologies, secure competitive pricing, and ensure supply chain alignment WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR * 5+ years of experience in datacenter infrastructure, system architecture, or hardware procurement—ideally in HPC, hyperscale, or AI environments * In-depth knowledge of NVIDIA GPU platforms and high-performance compute infrastructure * Experience managing RFPs, BOMs, and vendor relationships for compute, storage, and network hardware * Familiarity with power, cooling, and lifecycle management in datacenter environments * Strategic mindset with strong communication skills and attention to detail NICE TO HAVE * Experience with AI/HPC-oriented datacenter design * Knowledge of OpenStack, Kubernetes, or automation tools * Hands-on experience working with colocation providers or enterprise IT teams * Understanding of infrastructure compliance and security in cloud or regulated settings WHY JOIN NEBUL? * Help build the foundation of Europe’s sovereign AI infrastructure * Work directly with NVIDIA and other world-class technology partners * Join a mission-driven team shaping the future of high-performance computing * Flexible hybrid work model near The Hague and Amsterdam * Competitive salary, equity options, and clear career growth paths MUST-HAVES * Based in the Netherlands (commutable to The Hague) * Valid EU work permit (no sponsorship available) * Fluent in English (Dutch not required) Ready to help build Europe’s AI infrastructure from the ground up? Apply now through Frank Poll and join Nebul in shaping the future of high-performance, sovereign cloud platforms.

Graphcore

Power and Performance Validation Engineer ABOUT US Graphcore is one of the world’s leading innovators in Artificial Intelligence compute. It is developing hardware, software and systems infrastructure that will unlock the next generation of AI breakthroughs and power the widespread adoption of AI solutions across every industry. As part of the SoftBank Group, Graphcore is a member of an elite family of companies responsible for some of the world’s most transformative technologies. Together, they share a bold vision: to enable Artificial Super Intelligence and ensure its benefits are accessible to everyone. Graphcore’s teams are drawn from diverse backgrounds and bring a broad range of skills and perspectives. A melting pot of AI research specialists, silicon designers, software engineers and systems architects, Graphcore enjoys a culture of continuous learning and constant innovation. JOB SUMMARY Reporting to senior leadership within Architecture and Validation, the Power and Performance Validation Lead will drive validation strategy and execution for advanced AI compute silicon and systems. The role is responsible for leading power, thermal and performance validation activities across pre-silicon and post-silicon environments to ensure products meet efficiency, reliability and scalability expectations. This role requires strong technical expertise and collaboration across multiple engineering disciplines to deliver robust validation methodologies, scalable automation frameworks and actionable performance insights. THE TEAM The Power and Performance Validation team sits within the Architecture and Validation organisation and is responsible for validating the performance, efficiency and thermal behaviour of Graphcore silicon and systems. The team supports the full product lifecycle, from early architectural modelling through to first silicon bring-up, characterization and production readiness. Engineers work closely with cross-functional teams globally to debug complex issues, optimize workloads and continuously improve validation infrastructure and methodologies. RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES * Define and lead validation strategies for power, thermal and performance characterization of AI compute silicon and platforms * Contribute to planning and execution of validation activities across multiple projects and milestones * Develop comprehensive validation plans covering functional, stress, workload and corner-case scenarios * Lead post-silicon bring-up and characterization activities for power and performance validation * Drive validation of CPU, memory, interconnect and high-speed I/O subsystems under complex workload conditions * Develop scalable automation frameworks, regression infrastructure and reporting tools using Python * Design and execute benchmark workloads, parameter sweeps and performance experiments to identify optimization opportunities * Collaborate with architecture, RTL, firmware, software and systems teams to debug and resolve complex technical issues * Define validation metrics, pass/fail criteria and reporting methodologies to ensure repeatable and high-quality analysis * Guide development of custom workload generators and micro-benchmarks where required * Analyse power, thermal and performance data to identify bottlenecks and recommend improvements * Contribute to continuous improvement of validation processes, tooling and engineering practices * Communicate technical findings, project status, risks and recommendations clearly to stakeholders and engineering leadership * Support knowledge sharing and contribute to continuous improvement across the validation organisation CANDIDATE PROFILE ESSENTIAL: * Strong experience in power and performance validation, silicon characterization or system performance engineering * Deep understanding of modern SoC architecture, including CPU, memory, interconnect and high-speed I/O technologies * Strong Linux systems knowledge and low-level performance analysis experience * Strong Python programming skills for automation, orchestration and data analysis * Experience with benchmarking and profiling tools such as stress-ng, fio, perf, iperf or equivalent technologies * Experience debugging complex hardware and software interactions * Ability to define structured validation methodologies, workload models and test strategies * Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret large datasets and identify system bottlenecks * Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills * Ability to work independently on complex technical tasks while collaborating effectively across teams DESIRABLE * Experience with AI accelerator, GPU or high-performance compute architectures * Experience with pre-silicon modelling or simulation environments * Knowledge of power management technologies and silicon characterization methodologies * Programming experience in C/C++ for low-level system or benchmark development * Familiarity with hardware instrumentation and telemetry systems * Experience working with high core-count or large-scale compute systems * Experience contributing to shared validation infrastructure and engineering best practices