diff --git a/defaults/main.yml b/defaults/main.yml
index 1d35d34b..df8461ea 100644
--- a/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/defaults/main.yml
@@ -79,3 +79,6 @@ rabbitmq_collect_statistics_interval: 5000
 
 # RabbitMQ Management rates mode
 rabbitmq_management_rates_mode: basic
+
+# Precompile RabbitMQ with HiPE
+rabbitmq_hipe_compile: False
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/hipe-compile-option-c100e8676a806950.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/hipe-compile-option-c100e8676a806950.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..879aed9c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/hipe-compile-option-c100e8676a806950.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+features:
+  - The ``rabbitmq_server`` role now supports configuring HiPE compilation
+    of the RabbitMQ server Erlang code. This configuration option may improve
+    server performance for some workloads and hardware. Deployers can
+    override the ``rabbitmq_hipe_compile`` variable, setting a value of
+    ``True`` if they wish to enable this feature.
diff --git a/templates/rabbitmq.config.j2 b/templates/rabbitmq.config.j2
index 9c25656e..0f7c98f0 100644
--- a/templates/rabbitmq.config.j2
+++ b/templates/rabbitmq.config.j2
@@ -10,8 +10,9 @@
                    {% endif -%}
                    {versions, ['tlsv1.2', 'tlsv1.1']},
                    {verify,verify_none},
-                   {fail_if_no_peer_cert,false}]},
-    {% if rabbitmq_cluster_partition_handling != 'ignore' %}{cluster_partition_handling, {{ rabbitmq_cluster_partition_handling }}}{% endif %}
+                   {fail_if_no_peer_cert,false}]}
+    {% if rabbitmq_cluster_partition_handling != 'ignore' %},{cluster_partition_handling, {{ rabbitmq_cluster_partition_handling }}}{% endif %}
+    {% if rabbitmq_hipe_compile | bool %},{hipe_compile, true}{% endif %}
   ]},
   {rabbitmq_management, [{rates_mode, {{ rabbitmq_management_rates_mode }} }] }
 ].
diff --git a/tests/test-vars.yml b/tests/test-vars.yml
index 71f77766..ca8ea22b 100644
--- a/tests/test-vars.yml
+++ b/tests/test-vars.yml
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ rabbitmq_cookie_token: secrete
 rabbitmq_ssl_cert: /etc/rabbitmq/rabbitmq.pem
 rabbitmq_ssl_key: /etc/rabbitmq/rabbitmq.key
 
+rabbitmq_hipe_compile: True
+
 rabbitmq_old_package:
   debian:
     rabbitmq_package_url: "https://www.rabbitmq.com/releases/rabbitmq-server/v3.6.1/rabbitmq-server_3.6.1-1_all.deb"
diff --git a/vars/debian.yml b/vars/debian.yml
index 742bf3af..c5090a2d 100644
--- a/vars/debian.yml
+++ b/vars/debian.yml
@@ -20,5 +20,6 @@ _rabbitmq_package_sha256: "9de570ca9e3d30bdc26a79c683503e158d35e5cacafb36e4e9b01
 _rabbitmq_package_path: "/opt/rabbitmq-server.deb"
 
 rabbitmq_dependencies:
+  - erlang-base-hipe
   - erlang-nox
   - socat