Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) – Automated Web Application Performance Testing

Objectives(s)

1. Automated web application performance testing enables early detection of performance bottlenecks allowing teams to proactively address issues before they impact end users.
2. Running Automated web application performance tests continuously and at scale it saves time and resources accelerating release cycles and improving overall application quality.
3. Conduct comprehensive performance testing of the API layer-including Dataverse and OData endpoints used by Power Apps-as well as backend performance validation for Dataverse and SQL databases.

Roles/Responsibilities:

Work Description:

1. Performance Baseline Reports (During Development & Unit Testing)

These reports establish expected response times throughput and resource utilization under normal conditions. They serve as a benchmark for future comparisons and help developers identify regressions early.

1. Load and Stress Test Results (During System Testing)

These deliverables simulate varying levels of user traffic to evaluate how the application performs under peak load and beyond capacity. They help uncover scalability issues memory leaks or infrastructure limitations.

1. Bottleneck Analysis and Recommendations (During Integration & Pre-Production)

Detailed diagnostics pinpoint slow database queries inefficient code paths or misconfigured servers. This analysis includes actionable insights for tuning application and infrastructure components.

1. Continuous Performance Monitoring Dashboards (During Deployment & Maintenance)

Integrated with CI/CD pipelines these dashboards provide real-time visibility into performance trends across builds and environments. They support ongoing optimization and ensure SLAs are consistently met post-deployment.

Mandatory Skills:

1. Proficiency in Performance Testing Tools (5 Years of Experience): Mastery of these tools enables the candidate to simulate realistic user loads configure test scenarios and generate actionable performance metrics. This ensures the application can handle expected traffic and scale effectively.

Key Skills:

• Apache JMeter
• StressStimulus
• Azure Test Cloud
• BlazeMeter

1. Strong Programming and Scripting Abilities (8 Years of Experience): Custom scripting is often required to simulate complex user behavior manage dynamic data and integrate tests into CI/CD pipelines. These skills also support test automation and reduce manual effort.

Key Skills:

• C# Python JavaScript
• Shell scripting
• Regular expressions
• Data parameterization and correlation

1. Deep Understanding of Web Architecture and Protocols (8 Years of Experience): A solid grasp of how web applications function helps in designing accurate test scenarios and diagnosing performance issues at the network server or application layer.

Key Skills:

• HTTP/HTTPS
• RESTful APIs
• WebSockets
• Browser rendering and caching behavior
• DNS CDN and load balancing

1. Experience with CI/CD and DevOps Integration (5 Years of Experience): Integrating performance tests into the CI/CD pipeline ensures continuous validation of performance with every code change reducing the risk of regressions and enabling faster safer releases.

Key Skills:

• Jenkins GitHub Actions GitLab CI Azure DevOps
• Docker and Kubernetes
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
• Test automation frameworks

1. Analytical Thinking and Monitoring Tool Proficiency (5 Years of Experience): Performance testing is only valuable if the results are interpreted correctly. Analytical skills and familiarity with monitoring tools help identify bottlenecks correlate metrics and provide actionable insights for optimization.

Key Skills:

• Grafana Prometheus
• New Relic Dynatrace AppDynamics
• Log analysis (e.g. ELK stack)
• Root cause analysis

Desirable Skills: N/A