Tech Lead

Barrel; United States; Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Barrel is seeking a Tech Lead to ensure technical project success through collaboration and leadership. This role involves hands-on coding, project management, and communication with clients. The ideal candidate will possess 5+ years of software engineering experience, strong skills in both frontend and backend development, and familiarity with the Shopify ecosystem. This hybrid position offers a dynamic environment to lead and innovate while working with a globally distributed team.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of education in a relevant field; relevant work experience including freelance and/or entrepreneurship considered.
• 5+ years of software engineering for the web.
• 3+ years of experience with Shopify and migrating to Shopify from other platforms.
• 2+ years of technology experience within a design and/or digital agency.

Responsibilities

• Research and evaluate software technology options and weigh cost/benefit analysis.
• Assist with identifying level of effort for initial estimates.
• Brainstorm and communicate technical solutions with clients.
• Ensure technology processes are followed on projects.
• Contribute to best practices, workflows, and company knowledge sharing.
• Lead developers while assisting with execution of projects.
• Perform hands-on code review and collaborate technically.
• Manage delivery by tracking project technical requirements and scope.

Skills

Frontend development (HTML, CSS, JS, LIQUID)

Backend development (LAMP, MERN, JAM)

Project management tools (Google Suite, Slack, Basecamp, JIRA, Harvest)

Communication skills

Shopify ecosystem knowledge

Analytical mindset

Leadership skills

Detail-oriented

Fast-paced environment adaptability

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science

Job description

Barrel partners with CPG brands to elevate their online presence and drive growth through e-commerce, website optimization, email, SEO, and content strategy. As a globally distributed team, we are united by a mission to help clients succeed through thoughtful, customer-centric solutions. Our goal is to create experiences that resonate, add value, and build lasting connections with their communities.

The Role

The Tech Lead is responsible for technical project success and works closely with project team members to ensure that our technical solutions are delivered on time and under budget. While writing code and understanding of the software development lifecycle is a prerequisite for the role, a large part of your time will be spent architecting an approach, working with the team to plan sprints, writing tickets for engineers to execute, reviewing and testing their code, interfacing with QA team, and managing deployments. You’re a proactive problem solver, can leverage tools like AI to be more efficient, and have a strong sense of leadership amongst the team and clients.

Responsibilities

• Research and evaluate software technology options and weigh the cost/benefit analysis when relying on third‑party platforms, apps, plugins, services, etc.
• Assist with identifying level of effort to provide initial estimates and inform scoping efforts.
• Brainstorm and communicate technical solutions directly with clients in a courteous and professional manner.
• Ensure that correct technology processes are being employed and followed on projects.
• Contribute to best practices, workflows, and standards and company knowledge sharing.
• Present simple solutions and alternatives for complex and expensive problems.
• Lead and oversee developers while assisting with their execution on current projects with new tasks.
• Hands‑on code review and technical collaboration to support developers resourced on customer projects to remove blockers in the architecture or development process.
• Provide a strong point of view on technical approach for projects, including research and proof‑of‑concept prototyping
• Estimate and plan with leadership teams on tech strategy or red flags in pre‑sales conversations
• Manage the delivery by staying on top of all project technical requirements, scope, specs, documentation, and assumptions and communicating gaps in expectations/agreements.
• Be an articulate voice during client discussions, building confidence and trust
• Work through bugs/QA issues/project roadblocks, and adapt to changes as they happen
• Communicate personnel needs, challenges, or issues to the Director of Software Engineering or CTO
• Run scrums or scrum‑like process with PMs to effectively manage engineers against a project and its timeline and deliverables

Skills

• Hands‑on experience both in frontend development (HTML, CSS, JS, LIQUID) and backend development (LAMP, MERN, JAM)
• Proficiency in project management tools such as Google Suite, Slack, Basecamp, JIRA, Harvest and Forecast
• Ability to simplify complex technical concepts to non‑technical audiences
• Be an articulate voice during internal and external presentations
• Excellent verbal, written, presentation and interpersonal communication, organizational, leadership and time‑management skills
• Working knowledge of the Shopify ecosystem, including platform features, apps, and integrations, with the ability to translate this knowledge into actionable strategies for clients
• Analytical mindset with the intellectual curiosity to seek context
• Self‑motivated and detail‑oriented
• Level‑headed and positive under pressure
• Ability to thrive in a fast‑paced environment with multiple clients and projects, balancing competing priorities effectively

Experience

• 4+ years of education; e.g. Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science or similar relevant field; relevant work experience including freelance and/or entrepreneurship considered
• 5+ years of software engineering for the web
• 3+ years of experience with Shopify and migrating to Shopify from other platforms
• 2+ years of technology experience within a design and/or digital agency

Details

Hybrid

Full Time

Intermediate or Experienced