System Performance Engineer
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 5, 2026. First seen by Alion on Oct 3, 2026.
Position Overview
We are looking for a System Performance Engineer to support performance testing, analysis, and optimization of network subsystems across Lenovo server platforms. This hands-on engineering role focuses on evaluating high-speed network interfaces, fabrics, and platform I/O throughput to ensure maximum network efficiency and minimal latency.
The engineer will work with system architects, networking vendors, and cross-functional engineering teams to evaluate network performance, identify bandwidth bottlenecks, and validate networking subsystems throughout the product development lifecycle.
Key Responsibilities
Perform hands-on setup, configuration, and validation of high-speed network adapters (NICs, SmartNICs, DPUs), switches, and cabling on Lenovo server platforms.
Run network performance benchmarks and synthetic workloads (e.g., iperf3, netperf, fio over network storage, MPI ping-pong) and analyze throughput, packet rates, and latency profiles.
Support network performance characterization across PCIe switches, RoCEv2, InfiniBand, Ethernet fabric, and host memory I/O interfaces.
Investigate network-level performance issues, frame drops, jitter, and link training degradation, assisting with root-cause analysis and packet-level debugging (e.g., tcpdump, Wireshark).
Evaluate how host hardware topology (NUMA nodes, PCIe tree design), UEFI settings, OS kernel tunings, and network stack configurations affect data path efficiency.
Collaborate with system architecture, networking firmware, hardware, thermal, and OS teams to optimize network-related platform configurations.
Support performance validation for next-generation network technologies, high-speed optics, and advanced offload engines.
Develop and maintain automated network test procedures, technical documentation, and benchmarking best practices.
Work alongside senior network architects to address customer-reported network degradation and scale-out cluster performance issues.
Qualifications
Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
Solid understanding of computer architecture fundamentals, focusing on I/O pathways, PCIe generations, and host memory access (NUMA).
Strong foundational knowledge of networking protocols (TCP/IP, UDP, Ethernet), frame structures, and network layers.
Familiarity with Linux networking stack administration, interface configuration, and command-line diagnostics (e.g., iproute2, ethtool, sysctl).
Interest in hands-on hardware testing, cable testing, and packet-level debugging.
Ability to analyze performance metrics (Gbps, Mpps, RTT, packet loss) and troubleshoot system-level network issues.
Good communication and teamwork skills.
Experience with server hardware, high-speed networking adapters, automation scripting (Python/Bash), or network benchmarking tools is a plus.