Xpert: Lead Performance Test Engineer

Role: Lead performance tester Type: Long-term contract Location: UK remote, with occasional client visits as required, travel covered Clearance required: Active SC, or SC + NPPV3 Summary We’re building a network of experienced Lead Performance Testers across the UK for upcoming opportunities during the year. This is not an immediate live vacancy, but a proactive market-mapping exercise to identify cleared professionals for future client demand. Roles could become active imminently or within 3 months. We are interested in speaking with senior performance testing specialists who can lead performance assurance activities, design effective test strategies, and help clients understand how systems behave under load across complex delivery environments. Candidates must already hold active SC clearance or SC clearance plus NPPV3. Clearance must be current, or within 3 months of expiry. Key responsibilities • Lead planning, design, & execution of performance testing activities across complex apps & platforms. • Develop performance test strategies covering load, stress, endurance, scalability, and volume testing. • Build and maintain reusable performance test scripts, frameworks, and supporting test assets. • Work closely with developers, architects, analysts, and infrastructure teams to define performance requirements and acceptance criteria. • Analyse system behaviour under load, identify bottlenecks, provide clear recommendations for improvement. • Support investigation across application, database, API, and infrastructure layers to understand performance issues and constraints. • Produce clear performance test reports, including results analysis, observations, risks, recommendations. • Contribute to release readiness decisions by assessing whether solutions meet expected performance and stability thresholds. • Support continuous improvement in performance engineering practices, including earlier engagement across the delivery lifecycle. • Provide estimates for performance testing effort/help shape realistic test plans and delivery timelines. Essential skills and experience • Strong experience in performance testing within enterprise, regulated, or large-scale delivery environments. • Experience planning and executing different types of performance testing, including load, stress, endurance, and scalability testing. • Hands-on experience with at least one recognised performance testing tool such as JMeter, LoadRunner, Gatling, k6, or equivalent. • Experience designing performance test scenarios for web applications, APIs, and service-based architectures. • Strong ability to analyse performance results, identify root causes, and explain findings clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders. • Good understanding of system architecture, application flows, databases, and integration points from a performance perspective. • Experience producing clear documentation, including test plans, scripts, execution reports, and improvement recommendations. • Comfortable working independently and collaboratively within cross-functional technical teams. • Strong communication skills and the ability to engage confidently with stakeholders across delivery, engineering, and operations. Desirable skills and experience • Experience with Azure DevOps, Jenkins, or similar delivery and reporting tools. • Experience integrating performance testing into CI/CD pipelines. • Understanding of cloud-based environments and performance considerations across AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. • Experience monitoring and analysing system behaviour using tools such as Dynatrace, AppDynamics, New Relic, Grafana, Prometheus, or equivalent. • Knowledge of SQL and database performance analysis. • Experience working across distributed systems, microservices, and API-heavy environments. • Understanding of non-functional requirements and service-level expectations within secure or business-critical systems. • Experience mentoring other testers or providing leadership within performance assurance activities. Security clearance requirement • Applicants must already hold: o Active SC clearance, or o Active SC clearance plus NPPV3 • Clearance must be live, or due to expire within the next 3 months. • This opportunity pipeline is not suitable for candidates who would need to obtain clearance from scratch. InspiredXpert is a specialist IT Talent Solutions company providing high-quality contract or perm talent across software development, cloud, AI, cybersecurity, and data-driven roles. We connect skilled professionals with innovative companies, offering exciting opportunities to work on impactful projects across the globe.