---
title: 'Senior Backend Software Engineer at Top Hat'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-backend-software-engineer-top-hat-canada-90gj9rbfx7ft'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-06'
---

# Senior Backend Software Engineer at Top Hat

- **Company:** Top Hat
- **Location:** Canada
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-07-23
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-06
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/top-hat/24a445dc-857b-40ac-a8fc-b42c4949b0bc

## Job description

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

## About Top Hat

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Top Hat provides an all-in-one active learning platform for higher education that combines interactive teaching tools, an AI-powered study assistant, and affordable digital course materials.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Late-stage venture-backed)
- **Headquarters**: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- **Founded**: 2009
- **Founders**: Mike Silagadze (co-founder, former CEO)

## Core Business
- Primary industry/industries: Education Technology (EdTech), specifically higher education software and digital publishing.
- Target customers: B2B – Colleges and universities in North America, with end users being professors (educators) and students.
- Mission or purpose statement: "Make learning personal for every student." The company is also driven by a vision to "spark better teaching and learning for a brighter world" and is committed to making higher education more engaging, affordable, and equitable.

## Products & Services
- **[Top Hat Platform]**: A comprehensive, interactive SaaS platform for course delivery. It includes tools for real-time polling, quizzes, discussions, and attendance tracking, designed to replace traditional lecture tools like clickers. It works in online, in-person, and hybrid modalities.
- **[AI-Powered Study Tools]**: An AI-powered assistant that provides 24/7 personalized study support to students, helping to identify learning gaps and improve comprehension.
- **[Top Hat Digital Textbooks & Content]**: A growing catalog of high-quality, interactive digital learning experiences and custom content delivery. This helps address the issue of textbook affordability and allows professors to customize materials.
- **[Assessments & Grading]**: Built-in tools for creating and administering secure tests and assessments, with data-driven insights to track student success.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed. The company was valued at approximately $300 million following a Series D round in 2021, though the current valuation is unconfirmed.
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding – Over $100 million (including a $55 million Series D led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities in 2021).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, Union Square Ventures, Version One Ventures, and other prominent venture capital firms.
- **Growth Signals**: Over 3 million students and 20,000 educators at 750 of the top 1,000 colleges and universities in North America use Top Hat. The company is rapidly integrating generative AI into its platform to enhance the learning experience.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Deep Integration in Higher Ed**: Top Hat is embedded into the curriculum of hundreds of major universities, creating a high switching cost for institutions.
- **All-in-One Platform**: Unlike point solutions (e.g., separate polling apps, textbook publishers, or LMS tools), Top Hat offers a unified ecosystem that replaces multiple legacy tools.
- **Data-Driven Insights**: The platform captures real-time engagement data, giving educators actionable insights into student comprehension that traditional tools cannot provide.
- **Strong Brand and Customer Loyalty**: 91% of instructors say Top Hat drives great student outcomes, and 81% of students believe it is worth the price, indicating high satisfaction.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI-First Innovation**: The company is heavily investing in generative AI to personalize learning, automate administrative tasks for professors, and provide 24/7 student support.
- **Content Expansion**: Growing its catalog of affordable, interactive digital textbooks to replace expensive traditional textbooks.
- **Operational Excellence**: Under new COO Larry Indovina, the company is focused on driving operational excellence and a high-performance culture to support its next growth phase.
- **Scale and Market Penetration**: Continuing to expand its footprint across North American higher education institutions.

## Why Work Here
- **Meaningful Mission**: Employees are driven by the transformative power of higher education and the role Top Hat plays in making it more accessible and equitable.
- **Culture and Values**: The company emphasizes "Five Cs": Curiosity, Community, Customer Obsession, and Commitment. It fosters an environment of empathy, innovation, and accountability.
- **Remote & Hybrid Work**: Top Hat offers flexible work arrangements, including remote roles and a hybrid workspace from its Toronto HQ. Many roles are open to candidates across Canada and the United States.
- **Professional Growth**: The company invests in professional learning and development for all role levels and offers the chance to work with cutting-edge technology like generative AI.
- **Inclusive Environment**: Top Hat is committed to diversity and inclusion, with partnerships like the Black Professionals in Technology Network (BPTN) and improved hiring processes to broaden the talent funnel.
- **Competitive Benefits**: Benefits include competitive health coverage starting on day one, an innovative PTO policy, and an open, welcoming office environment in Toronto.

## Sources
1. [Top Hat Careers Page](https://tophat.com/company/work-with-us/)
2. [Top Hat Official Website](https://tophat.com/)
3. [Built In: Top Hat Company Profile](https://builtin.com/company/top-hat)
4. [Top Hat Leadership Team](https://tophat.com/company/meet-the-team/)
5. [Top Hat Job Board](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/top-hat)

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