Software Performance Engineer

About Us:
We are the leader in human-centric cybersecurity. Half a million customers, including 87 of the Fortune 100, rely on Proofpoint to protect their organizations. We’re driven by a mission to stay ahead of bad actors and safeguard the digital world. Join us in our pursuit to defend data and protect people.

How We Work:
At Proofpoint, you’ll be part of a global team that breaks barriers to redefine cybersecurity, guided by our BRAVE core values: Bold in how we dream and innovate, Responsive to feedback, challenges, and opportunities, Accountable for results and best-in-class outcomes, Visionary in future-focused problem-solving, Exceptional in execution and impact.

Proofpoint is a leading cybersecurity company protecting organizations’ greatest assets and biggest risks: vulnerabilities in people. With an integrated suite of cloud-based solutions, Proofpoint helps companies around the world stop targeted threats, safeguard their data, and make their users more resilient against cyber-attacks. Leading organizations of all sizes, including more than half of the Fortune 1000, rely on Proofpoint for people-centric security and compliance solutions mitigating their most critical risks across email, the cloud, social media, and the web. We are singularly devoted to helping our customers protect their greatest assets and biggest security risk: their people. That’s why we’re a leader in next-generation cybersecurity. Protection Starts with People.

Why You’ll Love Working Here

You’ll play a critical role in helping our teams understand how applications behave under real-world load — and ensure they run faster, more efficiently, and more reliably than ever before. Your insights will directly shape product design, architecture decisions, and customer experience.

You will:

• Collaborate with passionate engineers who value curiosity, ownership, and precision.

• Influence enterprise-grade performance outcomes that impact thousands of customers worldwide.

• Join a culture that celebrates engineering excellence, continuous learning, and data-driven innovation.

Qualifications 

• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field  
  OR  
  Bachelor’s degree with 3+ years of experience in performance engineering or a similar role  

• Proficiency in at least one coding language (e.g., Perl) and Bash scripting for automation and benchmarking.

• Strong foundation in Linux operating systems, and debugging.

• Hands-on experience with KVM and VMware ESXi server configuration and performance tuning.

• Working knowledge of Jenkins or other CI/CD tools for automating test pipelines and reporting benchmark results.

• Understanding of networking fundamentals and container technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).

• Familiarity with Grafana, Prometheus, and performance profiling utilities (perf, iostat, vmstat, sar).

• Proven ability to design, execute, and interpret system-level benchmarks for enterprise-scale applications.

• Demonstrated ownership, initiative, and ability to set direction in complex environments.

• Excellent communication skills and strong attention to detail.

Key Responsibilities 

As a System Performance Engineer, you will:

• Develop and maintain custom benchmark tools and automation frameworks for bare-metal and virtualized (KVM, ESXi) environments.

• Execute load, stress, and scalability tests, identifying bottlenecks in CPU, memory, storage, and networking.

• Integrate performance benchmarks into CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins) to ensure consistent performance validation and regression tracking.

• Analyze Linux diagnostic tools and application logs to trace and resolve performance issues.

• Configure and tune KVM and ESXi servers for maximum throughput and stability.

• Build and maintain Grafana / Prometheus dashboards to visualize metrics and trends.

• Partner with developers, DevOps, and infrastructure teams to drive measurable improvements across the stack.

• Demonstrate curiosity and openness to exploring AI-driven tools or data analytics techniques for performance testing and analysis.

Why Proofpoint

As a customer focused and driven-to-win organization with leading edge products, there are many exciting reasons to join the Proofpoint team. We believe in hiring the best the brightest and cultivating a culture of collaboration and appreciation. As we continue to grow and expand globally, we understand that hiring the right people and developing great teams is key to our success! We are a multi-national company with locations in many countries, with each location contributing to Proofpoint’s amazing culture!  #LI-AN1

Why Proofpoint? At Proofpoint, we believe that an exceptional career experience includes a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Here are just a few reasons you’ll love working with us:

• Competitive compensation

• Comprehensive benefits

• Learning & Development: We are committed to the growth and development of our team members, offering a range of programs including leadership and professional development workshops, stretch project assignments, and mentoring opportunities to help employees reach their full potential.

• Flexible work environment: [Remote options, hybrid schedules, flexible hours, etc.].

• Annual wellness and community outreach days

• Always on recognition for your contributions

• Global collaboration and networking opportunities

Our Culture:

Our culture is rooted in values that inspire belonging, empower purpose and drive success-every day, for everyone. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. If you need accommodation during the application or interview process, please reach out to [email protected]. How to Apply Interested? Submit your application here https://www.proofpoint.com/us/company/careers. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Consistent with Proofpoint values and applicable law, we provide the following information to promote pay transparency and equity. Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets as set out below. Pay within these ranges varies and depends on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The actual offer will be based on the individual candidate. The range provided may represent a candidate range and may not reflect the full range for an individual tenured employee. This role may be eligible for variable compensation and/or equity. We offer a competitive benefits package, including flexible time off, a comprehensive well-being program with two paid Wellbeing Days and two paid Volunteer Days per year, plus a three-week Work from Anywhere option.

Base Pay Ranges:

SF Bay Area, New York City Metro Area:

California (excludes SF Bay Area), Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Washington DC Metro, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Washington, Virginia, and Alaska:

All other cities and states excluding those listed above: