Principal Front-End 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
We’re seeking a Senior/Principal Front-end Engineer to join the Toptal Resume team, a small, high-velocity team building an AI-powered career services platform.
This is a hands-on, execution-heavy role for someone who is deeply experienced with React, Next.js, TypeScript, modern CSS, performance, and complex front-end product development. We need a front-end specialist who can own important product surfaces, make sound technical decisions, and ship high-quality work quickly.
This role is ideal for someone who combines strong front-end craft with pragmatic product delivery: someone who can move fast, make good architectural decisions, communicate clearly, and use AI tools daily to accelerate development without compromising quality.
This is a remote position. We do not offer visa sponsorship or assistance. Resumes and communication must be submitted in English.
Tasks and Deliverables
- Build and maintain high-quality front-end features in React, Next.js, and TypeScript.
- Own complex user-facing product flows in the Toptal Resume application.
- Build performant, accessible, responsive UI components with strong attention to usability and polish.
- Optimize front-end performance, including rendering behavior, loading experience, bundle size, and Core Web Vitals.
- Work with modern CSS patterns; Tailwind CSS experience is strongly preferred.
- Build and evolve reusable front-end patterns, component structures, and UI foundations.
- Integrate front-end features with backend APIs and collaborate on API contracts.
- Provide occasional support in Node.js / Next.js backend areas when needed, while keeping front-end excellence as the core focus.
- Review code and give practical, high-signal feedback to other engineers.
- Use AI development tools daily to increase delivery speed, improve code quality, and explore implementation options.
- Collaborate closely with product, design, backend, and engineering leadership.
- Work independently, communicate progress clearly, and take accountability for delivery.
Required Experience
- Senior or Principal-level front-end engineering experience, with a strong delivery track record.
- Deep production experience with React, Next.js, and TypeScript.
- Strong CSS fundamentals; experience with Tailwind CSS or similar modern styling approaches.
- Proven ability to build polished, responsive, accessible user interfaces.
- Strong understanding of front-end performance optimization and Core Web Vitals.
- Experience building consistent, reusable UI components and front-end patterns.
- Strong client-side state management experience in complex interactive applications.
- Solid understanding of REST/API integration and front-end/backend contracts.
- Some ability to work with Node.js or Next.js backend code when necessary.
- Strong code review skills and ability to distinguish maintainable, scalable front-end code from brittle implementation.
- Ability to make and own technical decisions, not just execute tickets.
- Fast, independent, methodical working style with strong written and verbal English communication.
- Daily use of AI development tools such as Claude Code or similar tools.
Nice to Have
- Experience with complex form-heavy or document-oriented products.
- Experience with Rails-backed applications or Rails/Next.js architectures.
- Experience with Turbo monorepos.
- Experience with observability and front-end monitoring tools such as Sentry, DataDog, or similar.
Engagement Highlights
- Work on an AI-powered career services platform with real users and direct business impact.
- Join a small, high-velocity team where strong individual contributors can shape the product.
- Front-end quality matters: performance, accessibility, polish, and delivery speed are all important.
- AI-first engineering culture: the team expects engineers to actively use AI tools to improve development speed and quality.
- Modern stack: Next.js 15, TypeScript, Rails 7.1, Turbo monorepo, and well-structured product/domain boundaries.
- Opportunity to own meaningful product surfaces rather than only implementing isolated tickets.
- Direct collaboration with product, design, backend, and business stakeholders.
- Startup-like execution environment inside a larger company.
