Senior Backend Engineer

About Toptal

Toptal is a global network of top talent in business, design, and technology that enables companies to scale their teams, on-demand. With $200+ million in annual revenue and team members based around the globe, Toptal is the world’s largest fully remote workforce.

We take the best elements of virtual teams and combine them with a support structure that encourages innovation, social interaction, and fun. We see no borders, move at a fast pace, and are never afraid to break the mold.

Job Summary: Senior Backend Engineer

Toptal is seeking a sharp Ruby developer to join our Public Website team. As a Senior Backend Engineer, you will be instrumental in building and maintaining the systems that define the world's experience with Toptal. This product-focused role involves delivering direct value to end-users, collaborating closely with business stakeholders to ship impactful features.

You will develop new capabilities, enhance our existing codebase, and contribute to the services powering toptal.com. Our primary stack leverages Ruby on Rails, but also incorporates GraphQL, Kafka, Node.js edge workers, and other supporting services as needed.

This is a fully remote position. Please note, Toptal does not offer visa sponsorship or assistance. All resumes and communication must be submitted in English.

Responsibilities

• Write elegant, efficient, and testable Ruby code that is easy to maintain and debug.
• Cover code with comprehensive tests and perform manual feature testing, while actively reviewing colleagues' work.
• Collaborate with Infrastructure Engineers on project infrastructure components.
• Continuously improve team processes, brainstorm ideas, and communicate project status and progress effectively.
• Mentor team members, provide constructive feedback, and commit to continuous professional improvement.
• Learn and adopt new concepts and technologies readily.
• Design, develop, document, analyze, create, test, or modify computer or cloud-based systems or programs.

What to Expect: Your First Weeks and Months

In the first week, expect to:

• Join the team, get introduced to Toptal’s practices and processes.
• Participate in company-wide training sessions.
• Set up your local environment and familiarize yourself with our tech stack.
• Create your first pull request.

In the first month, expect to:

• Familiarize yourself with the team’s business domain.
• Contribute actively to our product development.
• Develop a deeper understanding of our technologies, processes, and product pipeline.

In the first three months, expect to:

• Actively contribute to software planning, development, and maintenance.
• Suggest and implement improvements to Toptal’s processes and codebase, exercising discretion and independent judgment.

In the first six months, expect to:

• Lead technical initiatives within your team.
• Drive significant improvements to the codebase and development processes.

In the first year, expect to:

• Achieve a detailed understanding of Toptal’s technical stack, collaboration rituals, processes, and performance.
• Mentor new Toptal team members.

Qualifications and Job Requirements

• 5+ years of web development experience with Ruby/Rails.
• 5 years of experience with SQL databases.
• Strong knowledge of object-oriented programming, automated software testing, development, and testing essential methodologies.
• Knowledge of GraphQL and Kafka is preferred but not required.
• Ability to consider multiple quality dimensions: user impact, failure tolerance, code maintenance, implementation time, security breaches, and performance.
• Genuine interest in technology and eagerness to explore new approaches.
• Adept at tackling complex problems by evaluating multiple solutions and making informed decisions.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills are essential.
• Thrives on giving and receiving transparent, constructive feedback.
• Ability to excel in a fast-paced, rapidly growing company, managing diverse challenges, deadlines, and contacts.
• Must be a world-class individual contributor; this role does not primarily involve managing others.

Key skills/competency

• Ruby on Rails
• Backend Development
• SQL Databases
• Object-Oriented Programming
• Automated Testing
• GraphQL
• Kafka
• System Design
• Code Review
• Mentorship