Staff Performance Engineer, ServiceNow Platform, Chicago

Company Description

It all started when engineer Fred Luddy wrote code that automated a tedious task for his coworker, Phyllis. She cried tears of joy. That moment inspired Fred to build a company that could do that for everyone—freeing people from busywork so they could focus on meaningful work. Today, ServiceNow is the AI control tower for business reinvention. Our ServiceNow AI platform brings together any AI, any data, and any workflow— helping 85% of the Fortune 500® work smarter, faster, and better. We're building an AI-native culture where technology and talent are unstoppable together. And we're just getting started.

Join us to put AI to work for people.

Job Description

About the Team

Join a high-impact team of platform engineers at the heart of our enterprise technology ecosystem. The ServiceNow Platform Expert Team, part of Digital Technology Operations, is a specialized group focused on scaling and optimizing the performance of mission-critical systems. We partner directly with product owners, developers, and stakeholders to push the boundaries of platform reliability, scalability, and innovation. This is a team where engineering excellence, architectural rigor, and problem-solving at scale drive everything we do.

The Impact You’ll Make

In this role, you will solve complex challenges related to platform performance, scalability, and reliability across mission-critical systems. You’ll be instrumental in designing solutions that ensure ServiceNow and other enterprise platforms operate efficiently under growing demand. By proactively identifying performance bottlenecks, enabling cross-functional alignment, and implementing architectural best practices, you'll help the organization deliver seamless digital experiences.

Success in this role will be measured by:

Improved system performance and uptime through proactive monitoring and optimization.
High-quality architectural solutions that enable scalability and resilience.
Timely delivery of cross-functional initiatives with minimal rework or technical debt.
Stakeholder satisfaction through effective collaboration and solution delivery.
Contribution to a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and knowledge sharing.

What You’ll Do

Set the Architecture Standard: Lead with deep architectural expertise — guiding teams to build scalable, resilient solutions that align with best practices and long-term strategy.
Drive Engineering Alignment: Collaborate across teams and functions to connect technical efforts with business goals, ensuring end-to-end cohesion in every system we build.
Raise the Quality Bar: Lead technical reviews and platform audits to uphold high standards for security, performance, and reliability across our stack.
Push Innovation Forward: Stay on the edge of emerging technologies and translate them into practical, forward-thinking solutions that future-proof our platform.
Optimize for Performance at Scale: Define and track platform KPIs, implement real-time monitoring, and lead efforts to fine-tune performance across services and systems.
Be a Strategic Partner: Provide consultative guidance to peer engineering teams on performance, capacity planning, and scalable infrastructure best practices.

Qualifications

What You Bring to the Role:

Experience in leveraging or critically thinking about how to integrate AI into work processes, decision making, or problem solving. This may include using AI-powered tools, automating workflows, analyzing AI-driven insights, or exploring AI’s potential impact on the function or industry.
8+ years in enterprise IT with direct, hands-on experience as a ServiceNow platform engineer or developer, including architecture, custom development, and platform integration.
Deep expertise in ServiceNow platform internals, performance tuning, and module level customization across ITSM, ITOM, or other enterprise workflows.
Development experience in client and server-side JavaScript, Java (or equivalent).
Working knowledge in one (or more) Relational Database technologies e.g. Oracle / MySQL / PostgreSQL.
Experience working with dynamic HTML components; e.g. AJAX, JavaScript, DOM, CSS, XML, HTML, XHTML.
Experience troubleshooting application performance, SQL performance.
Experience in one (or more) scripting languages: JavaScript, Python, Perl, Unix Shell, Windows Shell.
Experience reading and analyzing application/platform logs, Splunk experience is a plus.
Knowledge of Java JDKs and memory management, including heap dump analysis is a plus.
Experience administering: Linux/Unix OR Microsoft Windows Server is a plus.

For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $149,800 - $262,200, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.

Additional Information

Work Personas

We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.

Equal Opportunity Employer

ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements.

Accommodations

We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact [email protected] for assistance.

Export Control Regulations

For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities.