Top Hat is hiring for a Senior Backend Software Engineer on our Aktiv Platform team. This is a great opportunity to drive force behind the technical excellence of our ecosystem. You will operate with a high degree of autonomy, leading the delivery of complex features and ensuring the stability of our high-traffic systems. This role is designed for an engineer who is not only a master of their craft in Java and Spring Boot but also a dedicated mentor and a proactive problem-solver. YOU WILL: - Independent Implementation: Lead the full software development lifecycle for complex features, including implementation, comprehensive testing, and debugging of robust code. - Technical Leadership: Drive the technical delivery of projects, influencing architectural decisions and ensuring solutions are scalable, maintainable, and aligned with long-term business goals. - Mentorship & Guidance: Actively mentor junior and intermediate engineers, providing constructive feedback through code reviews and documentation to support their professional growth. - Operational Excellence: Proactively identify operational risks and control deficiencies. Drive discussions regarding system redundancy, disaster recovery, and service availability. - Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Frontend Engineers, Product Managers, and Designers to build cohesive, user-centric solutions. - Process Innovation: Identify opportunities for automation and suggest UI improvements to enhance the overall user experience and internal delivery efficiency. YOU ARE: - Expert Java Foundation: Extensive experience with Java and a deep understanding of core programming principles and best practices. Proven expertise in Spring Boot for building scalable microservices and experience managing data with MongoDB. - Enterprise Experience: A track record of working on enterprise-level software systems that require high reliability and performance. - Architectural Vision: Ability to design and implement forward-thinking architectures that balance short-term value with long-term sustainability. - Quality Focused: Strong commitment to delivering testable, observable, and maintainable code. PREFERRED EXPERIENCE: - High-Traffic Systems: Experience designing and maintaining systems that handle high volumes of traffic and parallel connections. - Open Source Passion: A demonstrated passion for contributing to or leveraging open-source technologies. - UI/UX Awareness: A keen eye for user interface improvements and the ability to contribute to frontend-related technical discussions. - Infrastructure & Cloud: Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS/GCP) and containerization tools like Jenkins, Docker, or Kubernetes. Why team members love working at Top Hat: - A noble mission that creates meaningful, fulfilling work - A team that cares deeply for customers and for each other - Flexible, remote first work environment - Professional learning and development for all role levels - An awesome and welcoming Toronto HQ - Competitive health benefits that start on day one - A management team focused on performance, growth, engagement and connection - Our winning strategy and market potential - Innovative PTO policy with lots of time and space for self-care - Passionate customers that believe in us—and what we do - A chance to work with new tech like generative AI—and see the customer impact