Lead Performance Engineer

<div class="content-intro"><p><strong>About WPP</strong></p> <p>WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit <u><a href="http://wpp.com/" data-outlook-id="9689dc0a-1e79-4d8e-b697-081cde8be8f0">WPP.com</a></u>.</p></div><h3></h3> <p><strong>The Opportunity:</strong></p> <p>We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Lead Performance Engineer to join our growing team in Portugal. This is a pivotal, permanent role that combines deep, hands-on technical expertise with strategic leadership, client engagement, and mentorship. Reporting to the Principal Performance Engineer, you will be a key figure responsible for safeguarding and enhancing the performance, scalability, and reliability of our clients' critical digital platforms.<br><br>We are looking for a multi-faceted professional who brings a blend of deep technical knowledge, strong leadership qualities, and a strategic, consultative mindset. You have extensive, hands-on experience in performance engineering, with a demonstrable history of improving performance for complex, large-scale, highly transactional applications. You are someone who not only solves technical problems but also builds relationships, guides teams, and drives business value.</p> <p><strong>What you’ll be doing:</strong></p> <p><strong>Leadership, Strategy & Client Engagement:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Act as a performance engineering consultant for key clients, building strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, providing expert guidance, and confidently leading technical discussions to non-technical audiences.</li> <li>Champion the value of performance engineering across the business, demonstrating its impact on user experience, conversion, and client ROI.</li> <li>Mentor and guide junior to mid-level engineers, fostering a culture of performance excellence and continuous learning.</li> <li>Contribute to and implement wider performance engineering strategies, evolving practices, and tooling (e.g., K6, Playwright, APM tools).</li> <li>Demonstrate strong AI literacy, with practical experience using generative AI (e.g., LLMs, code-gen tools) as a productivity multiplier for tasks such as script/data generation and analysis. Drive innovation in Performance Monitoring and Testing using AI