Toptal: Senior Software Engineer for AI-Powered Banking Platform

Overview

The Senior Software Engineer position at Toptal involves designing and scaling production-grade AI-powered financial products. This role is critical in backend platform development, AI integration, and the creation of distributed systems, making it a hands-on engineering opportunity. Candidates who excel in this position will work closely with top leadership, including the VP of Engineering, CTO, and CEO, playing a vital role in the operational aspects of AI-powered applications.

Company Background

Toptal is a fast-growing, Series A-backed AI company focused on delivering agentic AI solutions to banks and credit unions. Their platform supports over 100 financial institutions, reaching more than 10 million end users. The company emphasizes innovative solutions in the fintech space, making this a great opportunity for those interested in working within this emerging industry.

Job Responsibilities

In this role, the Senior Software Engineer will have varied responsibilities that include:

• Designing, developing, and maintaining scalable backend services powering AI-driven financial products.
• Owning technical decisions related to system architecture, APIs, data models, performance, security, and reliability.
• Building backend applications using TypeScript and Python, while also contributing to frontend functionality with JavaScript.
• Integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) and agentic AI capabilities into production software.
• Designing and implementing distributed, cloud-native systems with an emphasis on observability and operational excellence.
• Defining engineering best practices surrounding code quality, testing, deployment, and incident response.
• Collaborating with product, design, data, and engineering teams to deliver customer-facing features.
• Utilizing modern AI development tools to enhance engineering productivity and software quality.

Required Skills and Experience

To qualify for the role, candidates must exhibit the following:

• A minimum of 5 years of professional software engineering experience focusing on building production-grade applications.
• Strong proficiency in TypeScript and/or Python and experience designing scalable backend systems, APIs, and distributed architectures.
• Comprehensive knowledge of cloud platforms such as AWS or GCP.
• Proven experience integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) into production applications and familiarity with prompt engineering.
• An understanding of software architecture with emphasis on scalability, performance optimization, reliability, and security.
• Experience working in fast-paced product environments with significant technical ownership.
• A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field.

Preferred Skills

While not mandatory, the following skills could enhance a candidate's application:

• Experience in Conversational AI, Agentic AI, NLP, or dialogue systems.
• Background in fintech or within regulated industries.
• Startup experience, particularly building products from early stages through to scale.
• Familiarity with observability, CI/CD, Kubernetes, and Docker methodologies.
• Knowledge of AI developer tools such as Cursor or Claude Code.

Engagement Highlights

Working as a Senior Software Engineer at Toptal comes with unique opportunities, including:

• The chance to build production AI systems impacting millions of banking customers.
• Collaborating directly with executive engineering leadership on high-impact technical initiatives.
• A hands-on role that allows for ownership across architecture, implementation, and delivery.
• The opportunity to blend backend engineering expertise with practical LLM and agentic AI development.
• Joining a profitable, AI-first company and being part of a team that is focused on creating the next generation of intelligent financial services.

Salary Information

While specific salary details are not provided in the job listing, candidates seeking a role of this responsibility in a high-demand area can typically expect competitive compensation that aligns with industry standards, particularly in the growing field of AI-powered solutions.

Conclusion

In summary, the Senior Software Engineer position at Toptal represents an outstanding opportunity for experienced software engineers looking to impact the fintech sector significantly. With a focus on AI integration, backend development, and collaboration with leadership, this role is tailored for individuals eager to contribute to innovative solutions in the financial industry. Candidates interested in this role should prepare to showcase their expertise in TypeScript and Python, as well as their experience with AI technologies, to stand out in the application process.

This job offer was originally published on weworkremotely.com