Lead Shopify Engineer / Architect

Lead Shopify Engineer / Architect
Liverpool, hybrid | Up to £85,000 plus benefits | Permanent

The opportunity
A growing multi brand ecommerce group is moving its international business from Magento to Shopify Plus. They want a Lead Shopify Engineer to work alongside their agency on the build, then take full ownership of the platform once it's live.

This is a chance to shape the whole platform. It runs on one shared base theme and back end. Each brand gets its own look through presets, settings, metafields and sections, so there is no forked code. International trading runs through store configuration such as Shopify Markets, VAT, payments and warehouses, not separate code bases. The international replatform comes first. It creates the base that every other storefront will move onto over time.

The team is being built around AI from the start. AI tools write the first draft of requirements, code, reviews and tests. Engineers own the architecture, review, QA and every release decision.

What you'll do

* Own the technical roadmap and architecture across every storefront, including store structure, the base theme and presets, the data model, checkout logic and reducing the number of apps.

* Lead each migration from start to finish, covering discovery, data migration, localisation, redirects, protecting SEO, cutover and support after launch.

* Design and run a delivery process where AI tools such as Claude Code draft, build, review and test the work, and engineers check and approve every release.

* Own the repository, branching, environments, CI/CD, automated regression testing on cart, checkout and product pages, monitoring and release decisions, including change freezes at peak season.

* Build a shared library of components and templates so ecommerce, conversion and marketing teams can launch pages and run tests without needing engineers each time.

* Own the integrations with NetSuite, Snowflake and GA4, and keep a clean data layer so commerce reporting matches across systems.

* Own Shopify B2B, checkout extensibility, Shopify Functions and third party apps, and keep a register showing what each paid app costs and what value it brings.

* Automate catalogue, pricing and site admin using Shopify Flow, bulk operations, the Admin GraphQL API and AI tools, with people reviewing the output.

* Scope, estimate and sign off all agency work against written statements of work, track velocity and spend, and bring skills into the team over time.

* Track site speed, uptime, accessibility, security, app numbers, platform spend and technical debt every month.

* Hire and mentor engineers, set standards and turn business needs into clear specs, prioritised by revenue impact.

What you'll bring

* 8 or more years in ecommerce engineering, with at least 5 building on Shopify and Shopify Plus.

* At least one platform migration led from start to finish, ideally Magento to Shopify, including data, redirects, SEO and cutover.

* Experience designing a shared theme or platform that serves several brands or storefronts.

* Experience leading engineering teams and managing agencies or contractors through scoping, estimation, code review and delivery.

* Ownership of the release process for a high revenue ecommerce business, including through peak trading.

* Expert knowledge of Liquid, Online Store 2.0, sections, blocks, metafields and metaobjects, Checkout UI extensions, Shopify Functions, the Admin and Storefront GraphQL APIs, webhooks, Shopify Markets, Shopify B2B, Flow, the Shopify CLI and running several Shopify Plus stores.

* Strong JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML and CSS, Core Web Vitals optimisation, component design systems, WCAG 2.1 AA and A/B testing that doesn't slow the site down.

* ERP integration, ideally NetSuite, middleware such as Celigo, custom app development in Remix and Node.js, and integrating payments, tax, shipping, search, reviews, loyalty, email and SMS platforms.

* URL mapping, canonical tags, hreflang, structured data, rollback plans and monitoring after launch.

* Git, CI/CD with GitHub Actions or similar, automated testing with Playwright or Cypress, monitoring, and a sound grasp of security, PCI and GDPR.

* Daily use of AI coding tools in production work, plus experience building them into a team's workflow, with clear judgement on where people need to check the output.

* GA4, server side tagging and working knowledge of Snowflake or a similar data warehouse.

* The ability to prioritise by revenue and margin, make the case for changing a tech stack or vendor spend, and explain technical trade offs clearly to marketers and executives.

Nice to have
Headless or Hydrogen experience, including knowing when not to use it. UK and EU ecommerce experience, including VAT and translation. Multi brand, wholesale or private equity backed experience. Mobile apps for Shopify.

Interested?
Apply with your CV and John Dyson at GTC will be in touch, in confidence
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed