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A Senior Performance Engineer typically earns around $110,382 annually. This figure can fluctuate based on factors such as location, industry, and experience level. For instance, senior engineers in technology hubs like San Francisco or New York often command higher salaries due to the cost of living and demand for expertise in performance testing and optimization.
When examining salaries across the United States, states like California, Washington, and Virginia consistently rank as the highest paying for Senior Performance Engineers. Understanding these geographical dynamics can greatly inform your career decisions.
In addition to salary, Senior Performance Engineers can find diverse opportunities in various sectors, including finance, healthcare, and technology. With the right skills, such as performance tuning and load testing, you can enhance your career prospects and earning potential. Consider investing in certifications or specialized training to stand out in this competitive field.
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The highest-paying states for senior performance engineers are California, Oregon, and Washington. The lowest average senior performance engineer salary states are Kentucky, Iowa, and Tennessee.
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $141,731 | $68.14 |
| 2 | Oregon | $130,405 | $62.69 |
| 3 | Utah | $114,959 | $55.27 |
| 4 | Washington | $116,514 | $56.02 |
| 5 | Wyoming | $109,239 | $52.52 |
| 6 | Arizona | $110,827 | $53.28 |
| 7 | Texas | $108,580 | $52.20 |
| 8 | Nevada | $110,118 | $52.94 |
| 9 | Rhode Island | $104,749 | $50.36 |
| 10 | Massachusetts | $106,412 | $51.16 |
| 11 | Vermont | $103,517 | $49.77 |
| 12 | Idaho | $105,788 | $50.86 |
| 13 | New Jersey | $109,225 | $52.51 |
| 14 | South Dakota | $104,004 | $50.00 |
| 15 | Delaware | $103,254 | $49.64 |
| 16 | Montana | $103,474 | $49.75 |
| 17 | New York | $105,189 | $50.57 |
| 18 | Nebraska | $101,383 | $48.74 |
| 19 | Minnesota | $102,078 | $49.08 |
| 20 | Virginia | $100,904 | $48.51 |
| 21 | Illinois | $101,955 | $49.02 |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | $100,115 | $48.13 |
| 23 | Michigan | $99,623 | $47.90 |
| 24 | Louisiana | $103,513 | $49.77 |
| 25 | Hawaii | $108,377 | $52.10 |
| 26 | Alaska | $103,960 | $49.98 |
| 27 | North Carolina | $98,951 | $47.57 |
| 28 | North Dakota | $98,708 | $47.46 |
| 29 | South Carolina | $101,859 | $48.97 |
| 30 | New Hampshire | $98,515 | $47.36 |
| 31 | Mississippi | $100,509 | $48.32 |
| 32 | Alabama | $96,575 | $46.43 |
| 33 | Maryland | $97,932 | $47.08 |
| 34 | West Virginia | $97,698 | $46.97 |
| 35 | Missouri | $100,369 | $48.25 |
| 36 | Arkansas | $96,299 | $46.30 |
| 37 | Ohio | $97,011 | $46.64 |
| 38 | Colorado | $95,617 | $45.97 |
| 39 | Connecticut | $98,591 | $47.40 |
| 40 | District of Columbia | $94,559 | $45.46 |
| 41 | Florida | $94,640 | $45.50 |
| 42 | Georgia | $94,115 | $45.25 |
| 43 | Wisconsin | $93,311 | $44.86 |
| 44 | New Mexico | $92,860 | $44.64 |
| 45 | Kansas | $93,041 | $44.73 |
| 46 | Kentucky | $92,234 | $44.34 |
| 47 | Tennessee | $91,868 | $44.17 |
| 48 | Iowa | $91,981 | $44.22 |
| 49 | Indiana | $88,283 | $42.44 |
| 50 | Maine | $89,833 | $43.19 |
| 51 | Oklahoma | $87,576 | $42.10 |
The highest-paying cities for senior performance engineers are San Mateo, CA, Seattle, WA, and Phoenix, AZ.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Mateo, CA | $150,634 | $72.42 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $117,297 | $56.39 |
| 3 | Phoenix, AZ | $111,210 | $53.47 |
| 4 | Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ | $109,145 | $52.47 |
| 5 | Austin, TX | $109,055 | $52.43 |
| 6 | Quincy, MA | $106,506 | $51.20 |
| 7 | New York, NY | $105,272 | $50.61 |
| 8 | Woonsocket, RI | $104,743 | $50.36 |
| 9 | Wilmington, DE | $103,351 | $49.69 |
| 10 | Chicago, IL | $102,067 | $49.07 |
| 11 | McLean, VA | $101,119 | $48.61 |
| 12 | Pittsburgh, PA | $99,294 | $47.74 |
| 13 | Merrimack, NH | $98,600 | $47.40 |
| 14 | Charlotte, NC | $98,510 | $47.36 |
| 15 | Columbus, OH | $96,988 | $46.63 |
| 16 | Littleton, CO | $95,685 | $46.00 |
| 17 | Orlando, FL | $94,697 | $45.53 |
| 18 | Washington, DC | $94,638 | $45.50 |
| 19 | Atlanta, GA | $94,112 | $45.25 |
| 20 | Indianapolis, IN | $88,252 | $42.43 |
A senior performance engineer's salary ranges from $83,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $146,000 at the 90th percentile.

| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $146,000 | $12,167 | $70 |
| 75th Percentile | $128,000 | $10,667 | $62 |
| Average | $110,382 | $9,199 | $53 |
| 25th Percentile | $95,000 | $7,917 | $46 |
| 10th Percentile | $83,000 | $6,917 | $40 |
The highest paying types of senior performance engineers are senior software engineer, senior quality assurance engineer, and performance engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality Analyst | $71,957 | $5,996 | $34.59 | 110,980 |
| Tester | $65,202 | $5,433 | $31.35 | 52,595 |
| Quality Assurance | $51,313 | $4,276 | $24.67 | 69,366 |
| Quality Assurance Analyst | $73,532 | $6,128 | $35.35 | 108,078 |
| Quality Assurance Lead | $94,758 | $7,897 | $45.56 | 82,242 |
| Quality Assurance Coordinator | $57,130 | $4,761 | $27.47 | 79,427 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for senior performance engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Michael Rudisill
Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University
Top companies hiring senior performance engineers now:
Senior performance engineer salaries at Netflix and Google are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average senior performance engineer salary at companies like ICE Mortgage Technology and Anaplan are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netflix | $162,827 | $78.28 |
| 2 | $161,474 | $77.63 | |
| 3 | ICE Mortgage Technology | $159,123 | $76.50 |
| 4 | Anaplan | $158,259 | $76.09 |
| 5 | Safeway | $155,271 | $74.65 |
| 6 | Apple | $154,678 | $74.36 |
| 7 | MongoDB | $150,791 | $72.50 |
| 8 | NVIDIA | $150,738 | $72.47 |
| 9 | Veeva Systems | $150,733 | $72.47 |
| 10 | Cruise Automation | $148,660 | $71.47 |
| 11 | Box | $145,000 | $69.71 |
| 12 | Move | $144,853 | $69.64 |
| 13 | BlackLine | $144,613 | $69.53 |
| 14 | Classy | $144,376 | $69.41 |
| 15 | SoFi | $143,190 | $68.84 |
| 16 | Barnes & Noble | $138,674 | $66.67 |
| 17 | Über | $138,463 | $66.57 |
| 18 | Intuit | $137,698 | $66.20 |
| 19 | American Tower | $137,108 | $65.92 |
| 20 | Amazon | $136,073 | $65.42 |
The average senior performance engineer salary varies across industries:
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology | $116,983 | $56.24 |
| 2 | Internet | $116,610 | $56.06 |
| 3 | Insurance | $110,218 | $52.99 |
| 4 | Education | $109,744 | $52.76 |
| 5 | Finance | $108,455 | $52.14 |
| 6 | Professional | $108,396 | $52.11 |
| 7 | Automotive | $102,166 | $49.12 |
| 8 | Government | $85,234 | $40.98 |
The average senior performance engineer salary has risen by $18,069 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average senior performance engineer earned $92,313 annually, but today, they earn $110,382 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for senior performance engineers over the last decade.
Compare senior performance engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Compare senior performance engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $110,000 | $53.07 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $107,000 | $51.32 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $104,000 | $50.16 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | $102,000 | $49.18 | +2.3% |
| 2021 | $100,000 | $48.07 | +1.5% |
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anduril Industries | Senior Flight Performance Engineer | Costa Mesa, CA | 06/29/2025 | $142,000 |
| Lucid Motors | Senior Calibration Engineer-Drivability and Performance | Newark, CA | 06/29/2025 | $154,000 |
| Solv Energy, LLC | SR. Performance Engineer (Remote) | San Diego, CA | 06/29/2025 | $116,935 |
| Apple | SR. Machine Learning Performance Engineer | Cupertino, CA | 06/25/2025 | $207,800 |
| Caterpillar | Senior Performance Simulation Application Engineer | East Peoria, IL | 06/19/2025 | $110,520 |
| Rei | Senior Performance Engineer | Sumner, WA | 06/18/2025 | $152,443 |
| Rocket Lab | Senior Propulsion Transients & Performance Engineer I | Long Beach, CA | 06/18/2025 | $107,000 |
| DHL (Deutsche Post | SR Performance Engineer OE | Westerville, OH | 06/11/2025 | $70,000 |
| Hammel, Green and Abrahamson | SR Building Performance Engineer | Santa Monica, CA | 06/10/2025 | $107,500 |
| Hewlett Packard Enterprise | Senior Performance Devops/Performance Devops Senior | San Jose, CA | 06/09/2025 | $117,500 |
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