E-Commerce Technical Lead

Role Overview

Platform Architecture & Technical Design

• Design the full technical architecture for B2C platforms on a shared backend with distinct consumer-facing experiences.
• Design and build the Central Inventory System with a real-time stock allocation algorithm that routes each incoming SKU to the appropriate storefront based on sales velocity, price point, margin profile, and brand positioning rules.
• Define and maintain the technology stack, development toolchain, CI/CD pipeline, hosting infrastructure, and security architecture across all three platforms.
• Produce and maintain the technical architecture documentation: system diagrams, API specifications, data model, and infrastructure runbooks.

Drop Engine & Live Commerce Build

• Build the Drop Engine — the commercial heart of the e-commerce platform(s).
• Implement real-time inventory locking during live commerce events.
• Build the community design vote interface: submission form, voting mechanics, winner calculation logic, and production trigger API.
• Implement live commerce streaming integration — connecting the 60-minute live event to the storefront checkout with seamless cart and payment handoff.

Arabic RTL, Localisation & Regional UX

• Implement full Arabic right-to-left (RTL) rendering from Sprint 1 — not as a post-launch addition. All layouts, navigation elements, form fields, payment flows, and content modules must be RTL-native.
• Implement multi-currency pricing in USD/AED-equivalent across all platforms, with locale-appropriate display for TRY, NGN, and EGP markets.
• Ensure all platform pages meet Core Web Vitals performance benchmarks when loaded from UAE, KSA, and Turkey — CDN configuration and image optimisation are non-negotiable.

Payment Gateway Integration

• Integrate and test the complete Gulf and regional payment stack: STC Pay, Mada, Fawry, M-Pesa, Tabby (BNPL), Tamara (BNPL), Apple Pay, Google Pay, and standard Visa/Mastercard card rails.
• Implement UAE and KSA-compliant VAT handling, consumer data localization, and transaction-level audit logging.
• Build the WhatsApp Business API integration, enabling high-value customers to complete purchases via WhatsApp with concierge support.
• Implement full refund and returns processing flows.

Logistics & Third-Party Api Integrations

• Integrate last-mile logistics partner APIs for real-time order tracking across all hubs.
• Build the automated inventory push from the Central Inventory System: trigger conditions when a SKU reaches the 60-day velocity threshold, pricing rule application (30–60% markdown), and listing creation on the Outlet storefront.
• Implement the QR-coded certificate of authenticity generation and verification system for all licensed items.
• Build the blockchain provenance recording integration.

Mobile App & Affiliate Infrastructure

• Build and deploy iOS and Android mobile apps — React Native preferred — targeting App Store and Google Play.
• Build the influencer affiliate dashboard: referral link generation, conversion tracking, 25% commission calculation, and payout reporting .
• Implement the B2B brand data analytics dashboard: licensor-facing view of consumer behaviour data, SKU performance metrics, and demographic breakdowns.

Engineering Team Management

• Manage all contracted developers, freelancers, and development agencies engaged.
• Define and enforce coding standards, test coverage requirements (minimum 80% on core commerce flows), and incident response procedures.

Experience & Requirements

• 8–12 years of software engineering experience, with minimum 3 years in a technical lead or engineering manager role.
• Must have personally shipped a consumer-facing e-commerce or marketplace platform — not managed a vendor, not consulted; built and deployed a live system that handled real customer transactions.
• Deep hands-on Shopify Plus experience: Storefront API, Admin API, custom app development, Shopify Functions, and headless commerce implementation.
• Demonstrated experience integrating MENA payment gateways — STC Pay, Mada, Tabby, or Tamara — or equivalent complexity emerging market payment integration.
• Arabic RTL front-end development experience — this is non-negotiable given the platform's primary language.
• Experience building real-time commerce mechanics: countdown timers, inventory locking under concurrent load, live event queue management.
• React / Next.js front-end expertise. Node.js or comparable backend. React Native for mobile.
• Experience managing third-party developers, freelancers, or development agencies — with accountability for their output.
• E-commerce performance optimisation experience: CDN configuration, image pipelines, Core Web Vitals for MENA markets.
• Comfortable writing production code individually while simultaneously managing others — this is a player-manager role at pre-seed stage.