Software Architect (Technical Lead, Performance Engineering)

**Introduction** IBM Data Platform is building the leading hybrid AI and Data product for enterprises. We are delivering cutting edge agentic and data capabilities so that clients can change the way they work. We are on the verge of a paradigm shift in enterprise productivity and IBM Data Platform is defining what that future will look like. Are you ready to lead in this new era of technology and solve some of the world's most challenging problems? If so, lets talk. **Your role and responsibilities** IBM is seeking a results-oriented Technical Lead to guide our benchmarking engineering initiatives. This is a critical role that ensures our software solutions meet the highest standards of performance, scalability, and reliability. You will build a lean, high-performing engineering team to power these efforts, and collaborate closely with our existing, world-class watsonx performance engineering teams. You will be responsible for defining scopes of work, architecting and optimizing software deployments, evaluating test plans and results, and crafting insights that further IBM's strategic objectives. Your expertise in solution architecture and performance engineering will be vital in identifying the most relevant industry benchmarks and designing effective testing methodologies. * Identify or define the most applicable industry benchmarks or performance tests for our products that align to our strategic differentiation. * Architect and tune software deployments on hyperscaler infrastructure. * Design benchmarking testing plans. * Provide technical leadership and guidance on performance testing strategies, methodologies, and tools for a team of benchmarking engineers. * Analyze performance test results and collaborate with product management to craft strategy. * Collaborate with performance engineering and development teams to drive optimizations within Data Platform products. * Ensure that testing is executed rigorously and delivers high-quality, actionable results. **Required technical and professional expertise** * Experience in technical benchmarking, performance engineering, solution architecture, or a similar technical role. * Solid understanding of performance testing concepts, methodologies, and tools (e.g., JMeter, LoadRunner, etc.). * Experience with system architecture, including cloud-native technologies, distributed systems, and databases (including Ansible/Terraform for IaC). * Proven ability to analyze complex technical data and communicate findings to both technical and non-technical audiences (including Grafana/Prometheus for charting). * Proven ability to contribute to existing benchmarks or build test scripts from scratch Strong project management and organizational skills. **Preferred technical and professional experience** * Experience in a technical leadership role. * Experience in leading engineering teams . * Hands-on experience with industry-standard benchmarks for agents and data systems. * Knowledge of IBM's software portfolio, particularly in data and AI. IBM is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, caste, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, veteran status, or other characteristics. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.