Lead Web Developer (Shopify)

About the Client

Our client is a fast-growing, pre-IPO consumer brand redefining its category through product innovation, premium design, and a highly profitable omnichannel eCommerce model. Backed by strong product-market fit and global brand recognition, the company operates a revenue-critical Shopify ecosystem that supports high traffic, frequent launches, and large-scale promotional moments.

The organization values ownership, technical excellence, and pragmatic decision-making. Teams are lean, highly collaborative, and focused on building systems that scale without sacrificing performance or reliability.

About the Role

The Web Development Manager is the technical owner and architectural authority for the company’s entire web ecosystem. This is a hands-on leadership role, combining deep Shopify expertise with team management, system architecture, and direct contribution to production code.

This role goes beyond feature delivery. The Web Development Manager is accountable for building and maintaining a scalable, secure, and high-performance Shopify platform that directly impacts revenue, conversion, and customer experience.

You will lead by example—coding regularly, setting technical standards, mentoring developers, and making high-stakes architectural decisions in a fast-moving eCommerce environment.

Scope of the Role

Technical Ownership & Architecture

• Own the end-to-end architecture of the web ecosystem, including Shopify (Liquid, Hydrogen, Storefront API, checkout extensibility), custom applications, integrations, and internal tools
• Make pragmatic trade-offs between speed, scalability, performance, and maintainability in a revenue-critical environment
• Ensure systems are resilient during high-traffic events, product launches, and promotions

Hands-On Development

• Actively contribute to production code across Shopify and supporting systems
• Lead architectural decisions while remaining deeply involved in implementation
• Review code, enforce standards, and maintain high quality across the codebase

Shopify & eCommerce Excellence

• Lead development for high-traffic, high-revenue Shopify environments
• Design scalable content models using metafields and metaobjects to empower non-technical teams
• Implement checkout improvements using Shopify-supported extensibility, prioritizing conversion and stability
• Evaluate and manage third-party apps, keeping the tech stack lean and performant

Team Leadership & Process

• Manage, mentor, and elevate a team of developers through clear standards, feedback, and coaching
• Lead sprint planning, technical scoping, and code review processes
• Own development workflows, version control, testing strategies, and deployment processes

Performance, Reliability & Security

• Ensure site performance, uptime, and reliability across all environments
• Own CI/CD pipelines, environment management, monitoring, and incident response
• Ensure compliance with PCI, GDPR/CCPA, and modern security best practices

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with eCommerce, Marketing, Creative, Operations, and IT teams
• Translate business goals into technically sound solutions while protecting long-term system health
• Clearly communicate technical trade-offs and risks to non-technical stakeholders

Requirements

Requirements

Must-Have

• 7+ years of web development experience, including modern JavaScript frameworks (React, Vue, etc.) and backend technologies
• 2–3+ years in a lead or managerial role, directly overseeing and mentoring developers
• Deep Shopify expertise, including:
• Liquid and theme development
• Metafields and metaobjects
• Checkout extensibility
• Storefront and Admin APIs
• Custom app development and integrations
• Proven track record of hands-on coding while leading architecture and technical roadmaps
• Strong experience with APIs, integrations, and database design/management
• Expert knowledge of performance optimization, accessibility, and cross-browser compatibility
• Ownership of Git workflows, CI/CD pipelines, deployments, and monitoring
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to troubleshoot complex production issues
• Excellent communication skills and comfort working with non-technical stakeholders
• Fluent English for daily collaboration in a global, remote team

Nice-to-Have

• Experience working with Shopify Plus environments
• Background in high-growth, high-volume eCommerce brands
• Familiarity with conversion optimization and experimentation frameworks
• Experience supporting global teams across time zones
• Interest in food, cooking, or consumer lifestyle brands