Life at TOPS

Six years in, and the work still surprises me. Early on, I was handed real challenges — not trivial tasks — and that set the tone for everything that followed. What keeps me here is a team that genuinely collaborates and leadership that trusts you to own your work. That trust changes how you show up every day.

Five years is long enough to see the patterns — and what I keep seeing is consistency. Consistent support, consistent encouragement to push beyond what’s comfortable, and a culture that stays grounded even as the technology around us evolves rapidly. I’m a better engineer than when I walked in, and that matters.

I came in as a designer. I didn’t leave design — I outgrew it, and TOPS let that happen naturally. The transition into development wasn’t a detour; it was an expansion. Nine years on, the thing I value most isn’t any single skill I’ve picked up. It’s that I still leave work feeling like myself. That kind of environment is rare.

Laravel 5.7 to Laravel 13 — that’s not just a version bump, that’s a career arc. I went from writing my first routes to leading the team that writes them now. And just when I thought I’d found my groove, AI tools like Claude and OpenAI came into the picture. Seven years later, I’m still the one asking “what can we try next?” That says everything.

Twelve years. People always ask how. Honestly, I stopped thinking of it as loyalty to a company a long time ago — it became loyalty to the people, to the craft, to what we’re building together. TOPS has been the backdrop for some of the most formative chapters of my life, professionally and personally. I’m not done writing them yet.

As a professional who was seeking growth in software development, TOPS was the perfect place for me to showcase my abilities and witness growth. It has been a pleasure to collaborate with team members who are supportive, work on projects that challenge me, and enhance my problem-solving skills. It’s a great place for anyone looking to build a strong career in development.

Four years, same Monday-morning energy. That’s not a small thing. It comes from working with leadership that thinks beyond deliverables — that asks whether what we’re building actually solves something for the client. I’ve watched this company adopt new approaches with genuine curiosity, not just obligation. It keeps the work feeling purposeful.

Design gets stale fast when you’re doing the same thing repeatedly. At TOPS, that’s never been a problem — the variety of projects is real, not a recruitment line. More than that, there’s space to bring your actual ideas to the table and see them tested. Ownership like that is what turns a job into a craft.

Some workplaces have good projects but a difficult environment. Some have the opposite. Here, both are genuinely solid — the work challenges you and the people around you make it easier to rise to it. That combination is harder to find than it sounds, and I don’t take it for granted.

The tech stack here is current — AI tools included — which keeps the day-to-day work genuinely interesting rather than routine. But what I’d actually highlight is the culture outside the work: the team games, the informal outings, the moments that remind you these are real people you’re building things with. That part matters more than most job descriptions admit.