Key skills
TCP/IP networkingNetwork packet analysisEnterprise network architectureDistributed systemsMiddleware platformsApplication architecturesObservability toolsNetBrainDatadogLiveNXLiveWireNetwork performance monitoringFinancial services domainLeadershipCommunication
About this role
Western Alliance Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Alliance Bancorporation, serving clients nationwide. They are seeking a Principal Engineer II – Performance Engineering to lead complex performance investigations and resolve issues across distributed systems and network infrastructure.
Responsibilities:
- Lead end-to-end performance investigations across applications, middleware, infrastructure, and networks
- Capture and analyze TCP/IP packet data to diagnose latency, packet loss, retransmissions, and throughput issues
- Apply advanced TCP/IP knowledge to identify root causes of performance degradation and instability
- Distinguish between network, application, and infrastructure-related performance issues
- Utilize enterprise observability and network analysis tools, including NetBrain, Datadog, and LiveNX/LiveWire
- Correlate packet data, metrics, logs, and traces to provide comprehensive end-to-end performance insights
- Collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to coordinate investigations and drive remediation efforts
- Assess business impact and prioritize issues based on risk and urgency
- Document technical findings and present results to technical and leadership stakeholders
- Define and promote performance engineering best practices across the organization
- Mentor engineers and contribute to improving overall performance engineering maturity
Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, Engineering, or equivalent experience
- 15+ years of experience in performance engineering, systems engineering, or network engineering
- Expert-level understanding of TCP/IP networking fundamentals
- Hands-on experience capturing and analyzing network packets
- Strong knowledge of enterprise network and system architectures
- Experience with observability and network analysis tools such as NetBrain, Datadog, and LiveNX/LiveWire
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Experience in financial services or other regulated environments
- Experience with distributed systems, middleware platforms, and application architectures
- Experience with observability, APM, or network performance monitoring tools
- Prior experience in a Principal Engineer or equivalent senior technical leadership role