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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Senior CPU Performance Engineer - **Company:** Arm Limited - **Location:** Cambridge, UK - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** £73,500.0 - £99,500.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Data Analysis, ARM Architecture, C++ (Programming Language), Profiling, Computer Programming, Microarchitecture, Software Debugging, Emulators, Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Hardware Design, Python (Programming Language), CPU Design, System Programming, Scripting, Caching - **Published:** September 20, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.totaljobs.com/job/senior-performance-engineer/arm-job108009697 ## About the Role * Strong understanding of CPU microarchitecture fundamentals (pipelines, caches, speculation, memory hierarchy) * Experience in performance analysis (profiling, benchmarking, debugging) * Familiarity with PMU-based profiling tools or equivalent performance counters * Basic programming or scripting skills (Python, C/C++, or similar) * Strong analytical and problem-solving skills Preferred Experience * Exposure to CPU performance analysis or benchmarking * Familiarity with low-level programming (C / Assembly) * Basic understanding of RTL or hardware design concepts * Exposure to FPGA or emulation platforms * Experience working on real devices (mobile, embedded, or client systems) * Awareness of system-level performance interactions (OS, scheduling, memory) * Familiarity with Arm architecture, * Interested in understanding how real-world workloads interact with CPU architecture * Comfortable working with noisy, incomplete, or ambiguous data * Eager to learn from and collaborate with experienced engineers * Clear communicator, able to present analysis with appropriate guidance ## Description You will work on silicon platforms and real devices, analysing performance across complex and often non-deterministic environments. The role requires a solid foundation in CPU fundamentals, along with a strong interest in understanding how system-level behaviour maps to underlying microarchitecture. Working alongside experienced architects and performance engineers, you will contribute to investigations, build supporting evidence, and help guide CPU design decisions. This is not a CPU design or microarchitecture role. Instead, you will influence CPU architecture by identifying bottlenecks, validating hypotheses (where possible) using pre-silicon platforms (e.g. FPGA, emulation, performance models), and driving data-backed recommendations to CPU teams. Key Responsibilities Device Performance Analysis * Analyse performance on real devices using real-world workloads * Support investigation of system-level performance issues, identifying CPU-related factors * Operate effectively in low-observability environments (e.g. no waveforms, partial counters, noisy systems) CPU-Focused Analysis * Use PMU counters and profiling tools to understand CPU behaviour * Contribute to identifying performance bottlenecks (e.g. memory, front-end/back-end, execution) * Build understanding of how microarchitectural features impact real-world performance Pre-Silicon Support * Assist with experiments on emulation or FPGA platforms to validate hypotheses * Reproduce silicon-observed behaviours in controlled environments to isolate CPU effects * Where applicable, compare silicon vs model vs emulation to build confidence in findings Influencing CPU Architecture * Contribute analysis and data to support discussions with CPU architecture teams * Highlight gaps between real-world workloads and existing design assumptions * Document findings and communicate insights clearly to stakeholders Methodology & Tooling * Use and progressively improve performance analysis workflows and tools * Contribute to automation and data analysis where relevant ## Related Videos - [HTTP headers that make your website go faster](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1676-http-headers-that-make-your-website-go-faster) - [Profiling Symfony & PHP apps with Blackfire](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/265-profiling-symfony-php-apps-with-blackfire) - [Thinking Differently - How to Make Money from Cyber Attacks & Cheats](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/745-thinking-differently-how-to-make-money-from-cyber-attacks-cheats) - [Unleashing the Full Potential of the Arm Architecture – Write Once, Deploy Anywhere](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/940-unleashing-the-full-potential-of-the-arm-architecture-write-once-deploy-anywhere) - [Event based cache invalidation in GraphQL](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/433-event-based-cache-invalidation-in-graphql) - [Passive ARM Assembly Skills for Debugging, Optimization (and Hacking)](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1083-passive-arm-assembly-skills-for-debugging-optimization-and-hacking) ## Related Articles - [Data Engineer Salary UK](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/253-data-engineer-salary-uk) - [Dev Digest 120 - Apple and peers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/455-dev-digest-120-apple-and-peers) - [The 12 Best Jobs for Software Engineers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/401-the-12-best-jobs-for-software-engineers) - [Software Engineer Salary London](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/252-software-engineer-salary-london) - [Is Software Engineering Hard?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/448-is-software-engineering-hard) - [Software Engineer Career: Things You Should Know](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/143-software-engineer-career-things-you-should-know)