Senior Performance Engineer

Who We Are:

At VML, we are a beacon of innovation and growth in an ever-evolving world. Our heritage is built upon a century of combined expertise, where creativity meets technology, and diverse perspectives ignite inspiration. With the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, we have forged a new path as a growth partner that is part creative agency, part consultancy, and part technology powerhouse.

Our global family now encompasses over 30,000 employees across 150+ offices in 64 markets, each contributing to a culture that values connection, belonging, and the power of differences. Our expertise spans the entire customer journey, offering deep insights in communications, commerce, consultancy, CRM, CX, data, production, and technology. We deliver end-to-end solutions that result in revolutionary work.

Senior Performance Engineer needed to join our team on a permanent basis, here at VML Enterprise Solutions.

The opportunity:

The individual should possess strong analytical and problem-solving skills and have an eye for detail. We require a highly-motivated individual with well-developed interpersonal skills. You will be the Technical Performance Analyst in a specialist performance team working across VML Enterprise Solution’s broad client base. 

What you’ll be doing:

You will be involved in the defining and creating performance scripts, executing the performance testing and then analysing, in detail, the results, and identifying problematic features and making recommendations to the wider team to resolve these. 

This is a key role, responsible for the delivery and support of many high-profile eCommerce systems. The challenges you will face include different architectures, application components and their interaction.

What we want from you:

• Knowledge & experience in performance testing of eCommerce applications.
• Solid experience Performance test load generation using JMeter.
• Previous knowledge of working within an Agile environment.
• Excellent knowledge of Application Monitoring Tools such as DynaTrace, AppDynamics or NewRelic.
• Hands on experience performance problem determination and root cause analysis.
• Good knowledge and proven experience working on Linux and cloud (AWS or Google) environments.
• Experience tuning highly scalable applications, including reviewing configurations around cache sizes and heap sizes.
• Experience interpreting and analysing real user monitoring statistics (RUM).
• Experienced in load forecasting for peak times and assessing likely resilience of systems as well as making recommendations on how to improve based on business needs.
• Experienced in pinpointing performance issues in live systems.
• Very good backend testing skills – conversant in databases (DB2, Oracle), SQL knowledge, use of DB Visualiser or other tools.
• Competent in logging identified issues and tracking them through to resolution.
• Highly organized and owns their own deadlines, willing to go above and beyond what was promised to deliver quality service.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a proven ability to collaborate with all stakeholders.
• Wanting to learn and grow, the role will be constantly changing allowing exposure to different technologies and tools.

If you know some of this, even better:

• Ecommerce platform expertise and experience performance testing and analysis on IBM WebSphere Commerce, SAP Hybris or Magento and SOLR, Fredhopper or other search services.
• Experience setting up performance monitoring using Grafana, APMS or other tooling.
• Experience implementing performance testing in a continuous delivery environment.
• Scripting (perl, awk, python etc.)
• Exposure to Java or PHP
• Experience with Apache Tomcat, JBoss
• Experience with other load generation tools eg LoadRunner, CloudTest or NeoLoad
• Experience in front end page load analysis and profiling and optimisation using Webpagetest, Pagespeed, Speedcurve, sitespeed.io or other tools.

What we can offer you:

Alongside the opportunity to work with some of the most exciting brands around the world, we’ll also prioritise your career development and help you grow your skills. We’ll empower you to make a difference, allow you to be yourself, and respect who you are.

We offer a great benefits package including hybrid working that works for everyone, social events, training opportunities, medical and dental insurance, life assurance, meal cards and much more.

Our personality and behaviours: We believe that we are what we do, not just what we say. Our shared values and behaviours show how to bring the VML Enterprise Solution's culture to life through the actions we all take every day:

• Connect Meaningfully
• Inspire Creatively
• Include Purposefully
• Approach Positively

Our brilliant, talented people are what makes VML Enterprise Solutions what we are. That’s why we look for people who go beyond and always push our thinking to be better than yesterday.

AT VML Enterprise Solutions

Our Enterprise Solutions division houses strategic consultants, creative and technical architects and skilled developers and operators that together help some of the world’s leading organisations to deliver outstanding digital experiences across all major routes to market worldwide: marketplaces, online retailers, D2C, B2B and social platforms. With over 4,200 experts in 55 operational centres across 34 countries, our capabilities span the entire buying journey from customer acquisition, through engagement, to conversion and loyalty, driving multi-channel growth for world-leading brands.

We work with some of the most exciting brands such as The Coca-Cola Company, EY, Bosch, Unilever, Ford, DFS, Mercedes-Benz, Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé, Sainsbury’s, Selfridges, Shell and Tiffany & Co. We’ve built over 500 platforms for brands and retailers and generate in excess of $29bn annually for our clients and work with over 50 strategic partners including Adobe, SAP, Salesforce, HCL, Shopify, Sitecore, BigCommerce, commerce tools and Acquia. Our reputation is based on our people, and we believe we have some of the best in the business.

As our business grows internationally, we’re looking for new people to join us on our journey to inspire and take a key role in shaping some of the best commerce solutions, services, and websites in the world. Working as a team, no problem is insurmountable; we share in our client’s successes and believe that anyone can show creative bravery no matter what their role is in the team.

In our Lisbon or Porto office, you’ll join a team of other specialists who are always ready to help each other. The team is part of our Enterprise Solutions network and works in coordination with our Local and EMEA client leads.

#LI-EMEA #LI-HYBRID #LI-AS1

At VML, we are committed to fostering an all-inclusive work environment that is both rewarding and career-forward. Our Inclusion, Equity & Belonging initiatives, alongside the VML Foundation, reflect our dedication to giving back and making a positive impact in our communities and beyond. Our people are the heartbeat of our organization—creators, doers, innovators, makers, and thinkers—who drive not just marketing, but meaningful experiences that resonate in every action and interaction.

VML is a WPP Agency. For more information, please visit our website, and follow VML on our social channels via Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

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