The disclosed embodiments relate to a system that optimizes execution of a DNN based on operational performance parameters. During operation, the system collects the operational performance parameters from the DNN during operation of the DNN, wherein the operational performance parameters include parameters associated with operating conditions for the DNN, parameters associated with resource utilization during operation of the DNN, and parameters associated with accuracy of results produced by the DNN. Next, the system uses the operational performance parameters to update the DNN model to improve performance and efficiency during execution of the DNN.