Web Performance Lead Specialist

Job Title: Web Performance Lead Specialist Location: Cary, North Carolina Experience: 12+ Years Employment Type: Contract Interview Type: In-Person or Webcam Job Description We are looking for an experienced Web Performance Lead Specialist who can optimize, monitor, and improve the performance and scalability of large-scale web applications. The ideal candidate has deep expertise in front-end performance engineering, web system architecture, monitoring tools, performance profiling, and resolving complex bottlenecks. This role will collaborate closely with architecture, development, infrastructure, security, and DevOps teams to enhance digital experience quality, application reliability, and user satisfaction. You will be responsible for leading performance audits, defining performance standards, creating optimization strategies, and ensuring high-performing web delivery across platforms and environments. Key Responsibilities Lead end-to-end performance engineering initiatives for web applications, services, and user interfaces. Analyze, diagnose, and resolve performance issues including latency, caching, rendering, asset optimization, and backend response times. Define performance benchmarks, metrics, and best practices for web delivery and page load optimization. Conduct performance testing (load, stress, scalability, volume, endurance) and implement automation where applicable. Review architecture and code to identify performance deviations and propose optimization strategies. Collaborate with product, development, UX, and infrastructure teams to ensure performance-aware design and development. Implement and optimize caching strategies (CDN, server-side, browser caching, edge caching Monitor web performance and availability using industry-standard tools and develop dashboards and reporting. Conduct regular performance audits, document findings, and drive continuous improvement initiatives. Research emerging web performance technologies and recommend adoption for enterprise-scale solutions. Lead root cause analysis and incident resolution for production performance issues. Required Skills and Qualifications Minimum 12 years of hands-on experience in web performance engineering and optimization. Strong understanding of modern web technologies including HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, React/Angular/Vue, Node.js, REST APIs, microservices, and responsive design. Experience with performance analysis tools such as Lighthouse, WebPageTest, Chrome DevTools, GTmetrix, New Relic, AppDynamics, Dynatrace, Datadog, and Splunk. Expertise in performance testing tools including JMeter, LoadRunner, K6, or similar. Deep knowledge of web performance metrics such as Core Web Vitals, TTFB, FCP, LCP, CLS, TTI, TBT, latency, throughput, and caching strategy. Strong background working with CDNs such as Akamai, Cloudflare, Fastly, or AWS CloudFront. Experience optimizing images, fonts, third-party scripts, network utilization, and rendering pipelines. Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines and DevOps tools (Jenkins, GitLab, Azure DevOps, Docker, Kubernetes Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP Ability to lead performance strategy and collaborate with cross-functional technical teams. Excellent problem-solving, analytical, communication, and documentation skills. Preferred Qualifications Experience with distributed systems and high-traffic environments. Knowledge of edge computing, serverless architecture, and micro-frontends. Certification in cloud or performance engineering.