Lead Performance QA Engineer responsible for designing and implementing performance testing strategies, mentoring teams, and ensuring high-quality service integrations in a gaming environment.
ABOUT YOU
We’re seeking a Lead Performance Tester to define, execute, and institutionalize performance testing across this landscape.
This is a hands-on, technically deep individual contributor leadership role. You’ll architect and drive performance testing strategies, craft sophisticated test harnesses, and author the Performance Testing Runbook that sets the gold standard for all future testing efforts.
If you thrive in environments where every number tells a story — latency, throughput, resource contention, and scaling curves — this is your stage.
ABOUT US
Xsolla is a global commerce company with robust tools and services to help developers solve the inherent challenges of the video game industry. From indie to AAA, companies partner with Xsolla to help them fund, distribute, market, and monetize their games. Grounded in the belief in the future of video games, Xsolla is resolute in the mission to bring opportunities together, and continually make new resources available to creators. Headquartered and incorporated in Los Angeles, California, Xsolla operates as the merchant of record and has helped over 1,500+ game developers to reach more players and grow their businesses around the world. With more paths to profits and ways to win, developers have all the things needed to enjoy the game.
For more information, visit xsolla.com.
Requirements
- Architect and lead enterprise-grade performance testing frameworks across multiple distributed systems, APIs, SDKs, and service integrations.
- Design, execute, and interpret performance, load, soak, and stress tests that simulate real-world concurrency and traffic behaviors.
- Build reusable performance harnesses using modern tools such as JMeter, k6, Gatling, Locust, or LoadRunner Enterprise, and integrate them into CI/CD pipelines.
- Author and maintain the Performance Testing Runbook — a detailed operational guide covering environment setup, load profiles, KPIs, and performance sign-off criteria.
- Instrument systems for observability, leveraging APM and monitoring tools (Datadog, New Relic, Grafana, Prometheus, ELK, Open Telemetry) to trace and correlate test results with backend telemetry.
- Perform deep-dive bottleneck analysis at every layer of the stack — network, API, cache, database, and compute — identifying contention, saturation points, and tuning opportunities.
- Work directly with backend, DevOps, and SRE teams to benchmark system capacity, analyze regressions, and validate optimization hypotheses.
- Integrate performance metrics into CI/CD, enforcing data-driven go/no-go gates and providing clear visual reports on trend lines and performance drift.
- Mentor and influence QA, automation, and infrastructure engineers in the art and science of performance engineering.
Qualifications & Skills
- 8+ years of hands-on experience in performance, load, and scalability testing for large-scale or enterprise-grade systems.
- Advanced proficiency with multiple performance testing tools, including:
- JMeter, k6, Gatling, LoadRunner Enterprise, Locust, NeoLoad, or BlazeMeter.
- Expertise in test scripting and automation using Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, or Groovy.
- Deep understanding of distributed architectures — microservices, APIs, message queues, and async processing.
- Proficiency with profiling and analysis tools (YourKit, JProfiler, VisualVM, Chrome DevTools, perf, flame graphs).
- Proven ability to correlate and interpret metrics from APM platforms (Datadog, New Relic, Dynatrace, AppDynamics) and system monitors (Grafana, Prometheus, CloudWatch).
- Solid grasp of network and infrastructure fundamentals: TCP/IP, HTTP/2, CDN behavior, caching, load balancing, and service mesh patterns.
- Experience defining SLAs, SLOs, and performance baselines, and embedding them into pipelines as measurable quality gates.
- Strong analytical mindset — able to turn high-volume telemetry data into clear narratives, actionable insights, and capacity forecasts.
- Git proficiency and familiarity with CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or CircleCI).
- Preferred / Bonus Experience
- Familiarity with containerized and cloud-native performance testing (Kubernetes, Docker, AWS Fargate, GCP GKE).
- Experience with chaos engineering or resilience testing frameworks (Gremlin, Litmus, ChaosMesh).
- Understanding of database performance tuning and query profiling (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB).
- Knowledge of API gateway performance behavior (Kong, NGINX, AWS API Gateway).
- Prior experience authoring or maintaining enterprise performance frameworks or internal testing platforms.
- Contributions to open-source or internal performance engineering playbooks, documentation, or frameworks.
- What Success Looks Like
- A Performance Testing Runbook that becomes the canonical guide for all future load and scalability testing at Xsolla.
- Continuous, automated performance baselines integrated into the build/release pipelines.
- Systemic visibility into performance regressions and bottlenecks across services.
- A quantifiable performance improvement culture, where every release is measured and optimized, not guessed.
- Clear, data-backed recommendations that drive architectural improvements and product reliability.
Nice to Have
- Familiarity with containerized and cloud-native performance testing (Kubernetes, Docker, AWS Fargate, GCP GKE).
- Experience with chaos engineering or resilience testing frameworks (Gremlin, Litmus, ChaosMesh).
- Understanding of database performance tuning and query profiling (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB).
- Knowledge of API gateway performance behavior (Kong, NGINX, AWS API Gateway).
- Prior experience authoring or maintaining enterprise performance frameworks or internal testing platforms.
- Contributions to open-source or internal performance engineering playbooks, documentation, or frameworks.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:
Xsolla is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by law.
We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in accordance with the Fair Chance Act.
Criminal History Consideration:
For the Lead Performance QA Engineer, we will conduct a background check that may include the following:
Criminal history check
Employment verification
Education verification
Relevance to Job Responsibilities:
The background check is relevant to this position because of the following role responsibilities:
Accessing confidential company data
Ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements
Rights Under the Fair Chance Act:
Applicants are encouraged to inquire about their rights under the Fair Chance Act. If you have questions regarding our hiring practices, please contact [email protected].
By submitting the following job application form, you consent to Xsolla processing your data for career-related inquiries and potential employment opportunities. We process your data in accordance with this Xsolla Privacy Notice for Job Applicants. Please direct any inquiries regarding your data privacy to [email protected].
Top Skills
Appdynamics
Blazemeter
Chrome Devtools
Datadog
Dynatrace
Gatling
Grafana
Groovy
JavaScript
Jmeter
Jprofiler
K6
Loadrunner Enterprise
Locust
Neoload
New Relic
Prometheus
Python
Typescript
Visualvm
Yourkit
Similar Jobs
Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • HR Tech • Information Technology • Productivity • Software • Automation
Responsible for generating new business sales revenue through SaaS, managing relationships with C-suite leaders, and advising clients on IT roadmaps.
Top Skills:
AICloud-Based TechnologySaaS
Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • Security • Software • Cybersecurity
Manage a team of Developer Advocates, guide their work, define team strategy, ensure high-quality output, and foster collaboration across departments.
Top Skills:
BashContainersGoIaas Cloud ServicesNode.jsPython
Big Data • Cloud • Software • Database
Lead Product Manager for API Experiences at MongoDB. Drive product strategy and vision, enhance API tools, and advocate for programmatic customers.
Top Skills:
APIsCloudFormationDevsecopsMongoDBTerraform
What you need to know about the Montreal Tech Scene
With roots dating back to 1642, Montreal is often recognized for its French-inspired architecture and cobblestone streets lined with traditional shops and cafés. But what truly sets the city apart is how it blends its rich tradition with a modern edge, reflected in its evolving skyline and fast-growing tech industry. According to economic promotion agency Montréal International, the city ranks among the top in North America to invest in artificial intelligence, making it le spot idéal for job seekers who want the best of both worlds.
Key Facts About Montreal Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 255,000+ (2024, Tourisme Montréal)
- Major Tech Employers: SAP, Google, Microsoft, Cisco
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, cloud computing, web development
- Funding Landscape: $1.47 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (BetaKit)
- Notable Investors: CIBC Innovation Banking, BDC Capital, Investissement Québec, Fonds de solidarité FTQ
- Research Centers and Universities: McGill University, Université de Montréal, Concordia University, Mila Quebec, ÉTS Montréal
