Sr. Engineer II, Sensor - Sensor Performance Engineering (Hybrid)
Austin, Redmond + 1 more
About the role
As a global leader in cybersecurity, CrowdStrike protects the people, processes and technologies that drive modern organizations. Since 2011, our mission hasn’t changed — we’re here to stop breaches, and we’ve redefined modern security with the world’s most advanced AI-native platform. We work on large scale distributed systems, processing almost 3 trillion events per day and this traffic is growing daily. Our customers span all industries, and they count on CrowdStrike to keep their businesses running, their communities safe and their lives moving forward. We're proud to work for a mission-driven company leveraging AI to transform the way we work. CrowdStrikers drive their careers through flexibility and autonomy while also being expected to contribute to a culture of responsible AI adoption, experimentation, and innovation. We use an AI-first mindset as a force multiplier to proactively and continuously accelerate execution, build expertise, uncover insights, and solve complex problems. We’re always looking to add talented CrowdStrikers to
the team who have limitless passion, a relentless focus on innovation and a fanatical commitment to our customers, our community and each other. Ready to join a mission that matters? The future of cybersecurity starts with you.
About
the Role: The Sensor Performance Engineering team is seeking a Senior 2 Engineer to serve as a deep technical authority on Windows sensor performance. This is a hands-on role for an engineer who bridges kernel-mode internals, ETW/WPA trace analysis, and enterprise customer escalations. You will own the most complex performance investigations, shape
the team's diagnostic tooling, and serve as an architectural voice for how the Falcon sensor interacts with Windows subsystems at the lowest levels. CrowdStrike protects the world's most critical enterprises. The Sensor Performance Engineering team ensures the Falcon sensor does that without impacting the performance of the systems it protects. This role sits at the intersection of kernel engineering, performance science and customer impact — where the problems are genuinely hard, the stakes are high, and the work directly shapes the experience of some of the largest deployments in the world. Location: This role is hybrid, requiring 2x days per week on-site at one of the posted locations.
What You'll Do: Own deep-dive performance analysis of the Falcon sensor on Windows, from initial triage through root cause to shipped fix — including application compatibility and AV/EDR process interaction issues. Drive development and improvement of ETW-based diagnostic instrumentation, extending WPP providers, adding new event IDs, versioning existing events — to give
the team visibility into previously opaque code paths. Perform WPA/ETL analysis for customer support cases and internal benchmarking, including ETWReader-based bottleneck identification and per-component CPU attribution across sensor subsystems. Review and author PRs targeting Windows sensor performance improvements: load image callbacks, registry filter drivers, and process/thread notification routines. Identify sensor observability gaps and push for tooling to close them. What You’ll Need: 10+ years of hands-on Windows kernel-mode development or deep Windows systems engineering Expert-level proficiency with Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA), xperf, ETW/WPP tracing, and ETL file analysis — including stack attribution, CPU sampling, and per-component time accounting Strong working knowledge of Windows kernel APIs relevant to endpoint security: registry filter manager callbacks, process/thread notification callbacks, load image callbacks, access token and impersonation APIs Experience navigating complex multi-process interactions: file I/O storms, SCM/RPC-driven registry operations, process enumeration overhead, and their cascading effects on application performance Proven experience utilizing AI technologies to enhance decision-making, streamline workflows and processes, improve efficiency and drive business outcomes.
Bonus Points: Background in enterprise performance benchmarking/analysis: SQL Server under load, VDI/AVD multisession, AnyConnect/VPN stack interactions, Cluster Shared Volume I/O Track record of generating architectural ideas and advocating for them constructively within mulit-team environments. #LI-CW1
Benefits of Working at CrowdStrike: Market leader in
compensation and equity awards Comprehensive physical and mental wellness programs Competitive vacation and holidays for recharge Paid parental and adoption leaves Professional development opportunities for all employees regardless of level or role Employee Networks, geographic neighborhood groups, and volunteer opportunities to build connections Vibrant office culture with world class amenities Great Place to Work Certified™ across the globe CrowdStrike is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering a culture of belonging where everyone is valued for who they are and empowered to succeed. We support veterans and individuals with disabilities through our affirmative action program. CrowdStrike is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment. The Company does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, creed, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy or pregnancy-related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or family status, veteran status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical disability (including HIV and AIDS), mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, membership or activity in a local human rights commission, status with regard to public assistance, or any other characteristic protected by law. We base all employment decisions--including recruitment, selection, training,
compensation,
benefits, discipline, promotions, transfers, lay-offs, return from lay-off, terminations and social/recreational programs--on valid job
requirements. If you need assistance accessing or reviewing the information on this website or need help submitting an application for employment or requesting an accommodation, please contact us at [email protected] for further assistance. Find out more about your rights as an applicant. CrowdStrike participates in the E-Verify program. Notice of E-Verify Participation Right to Work CrowdStrike, Inc. is committed to fair and equitable
compensation practices. Placement within the pay range is dependent on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, relevant work experience, skills, certifications, job level, supervisory status, and location. The base salary range for this position for all U.S. candidates is $160,000 - $250,000 per year, with eligibility for bonuses, equity grants and a comprehensive
benefits package that includes health insurance, 401k and paid time off. For detailed information about the U.S.
benefits package, please click here. CrowdStrike was founded in 2011 to fix a fundamental problem: The sophisticated attacks that were forcing the world’s leading businesses into the headlines could not be solved with existing malware-based defenses. Founder George Kurtz realized that a brand new approach was needed — one that combines the most advanced endpoint protection with expert intelligence to pinpoint the adversaries perpetrating the attacks, not just the malware. There’s much more to the story of how Falcon has redefined endpoint protection but there’s only one thing to remember about CrowdStrike: We stop breaches.
