Engineering Manager - Application Platform & Infrastructure

We are seeking a forward-thinking Engineering Manager to lead our talented backend platform and infrastructure team. You will drive innovation in application framework & technologies, manage a team of engineers and ensure the delivery of high-quality, developer-centric tooling and internal libraries. As an Engineering Manager, you will guide your team to success, foster collaboration, and cultivate a culture of continuous improvement in the ecosystem.

You will:

• Lead, motivate, and guide a team of engineers, fostering an environment focused on collaboration, creativity, and growth in the development of cutting-edge user interfaces.

• Spearhead the modernization & maturation of the internal platform engineering capabilities, driving the adoption of modern development frameworks, performance optimization techniques, and infrastructure standards

• Illicit feedback from developers to validate and clarify ensuring alignment with developers needs and feasibility.

• Collaborate with engineering managers in product domain teams to advocate and prioritize capabilities that enhance developer experience while maintaining the integrity and performance of existing internal systems & tooling.

• Use emotional intelligence to navigate complex situations, resolve conflicts, and create a psychologically safe and high-performing engineering environment.

• Provide coaching and mentorship to team members, supporting their growth in technologies, and career advancement.

• Deliver regular and constructive feedback to your team regarding their performance and technical contributions.

• Evaluate and optimize development workflows and operational practices to enhance overall efficiency and ensure timely delivery of user-centric features.

• Participate in on-call practices as a point of escalation from the team.

• Assume scrum master responsibilities and guide the team in following agile processes effectively, with a focus on internal deliverables and sprint planning.

You bring:

• A proven track record with a minimum of 7 years in application development, working with modern application frameworks, and/or writing internal tools, SDKs and infrastructure automation.

• Demonstrated experience leading and managing teams, with a strong ability to manage relationships and drive collaboration across design, product, and engineering teams.

• Strong technical acumen in DevOps concepts and practices, with the confidence to make informed data-driven decisions and guide the team in implementing scalable solutions & processes to improve developer experience.

• Experience managing multiple codebases and libraries in different stages of development, from greenfield projects to maintaining and improving legacy systems.

• Familiarity in backend application frameworks and languages (e.g., Python, Django, FastAPI), and AWS (Fargate, RDS, Lambda) 

• High emotional intelligence, with the ability to manage interpersonal relationships, resolve conflicts, and maintain a positive, creative, and collaborative team dynamic.

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to advocate for optimal front-end solutions, address technical challenges, and align goals across departments.

• Proven experience in coaching and mentoring engineers, helping them grow their skills in modern web technologies, accessibility, and performance optimization.

• A Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, with a strong focus on front-end development and user experience.

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

• Competitive stock options program that encourages our team to act like owners

• 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 first-hand in weeks (not years)

• Through our Top Hat Field Trip, every Top Hatter has the chance to visit a campus to see and feel the impact we're making in class with instructors and students