The Director of Ecommerce Architecture & Engineering is responsible for the strategic planning, development, and execution of ecommerce platforms and services. This leadership role focuses on driving the technical direction of the ecommerce systems and ensuring that all architectural and engineering solutions meet the business goals. The role requires close collaboration with stakeholders, product teams, and engineering teams to deliver seamless ecommerce experiences. This role requires visionary perspective and expert craftsmanship in the software engineering domain. This role is responsible for setting the technological direction and pioneering new methodologies for designing and implementing substantial segments of software code to propel high-level strategic initiatives. This role will be instrumental in designing state-of-the-art software architectures, contributing to the broader vision for software development, and leading the creation and evangelism of technical visions and design specifications for cutting-edge projects. The ideal candidate will not only bring a wealth of technical expertise and experience but will also possess the leadership and visionary qualities needed to steer the organizations toward a future of innovation and sustained technological excellence.

Duties & Responsibilities Strategic Leadership: 

· Define the technical vision and roadmap for ecommerce engineering and architecture in line with the company’s overall business strategy. 

· Lead the architecture design and implementation of scalable, secure, and high-performance ecommerce solutions. 

· Collaborate with cross-functional teams including marketing, product, IT, and business leaders to align technology initiatives with business goals.

 Engineering Management:

· Oversee ecommerce engineering teams, ensuring timely delivery of projects and adherence to best practices in software development.

· Drive continuous improvement initiatives and implement modern development methodologies (Agile, CI/CD) to streamline the ecommerce engineering process.

· Foster a culture of innovation and technical excellence within the team, mentoring and developing engineering talent.

Ecommerce Architecture:

· Design and maintain a robust and scalable ecommerce architecture, addressing both short-term needs and long-term scalability.

· Ensure system integrations are seamless between ecommerce platforms (e.g., Shopify, Magento, or custom solutions), payment gateways, CRM, ERP, and other back-office systems.

· Optimize the performance and reliability of ecommerce platforms, implementing appropriate monitoring, automation, and alerting tools.

· Evaluate and adopt new ecommerce technologies and platforms to improve the overall digital shopping experience.

Security and Compliance:

· Ensure that ecommerce systems adhere to industry-standard security and compliance regulations (e.g., PCI DSS, GDPR).

· Implement security protocols, data encryption, and fraud prevention measures to safeguard sensitive customer information and transaction data.

Performance Optimization:

· Drive improvements in ecommerce platform performance, including page load times, search functionality, and overall user experience.

· Analyze traffic patterns, site metrics, and customer feedback to continuously refine and optimize ecommerce experiences.

Vendor Management and Technology Partnerships:

· Evaluate and manage relationships with third-party vendors and service providers (e.g., hosting platforms, CDN, software partners) to ensure the ecommerce architecture remains best-in-class.

· Lead the integration of third-party applications and services into the ecommerce platform where necessary.

Budgeting and Resource Allocation:

· Manage budgets for ecommerce architecture and engineering projects.

· Ensure effective resource allocation to meet project goals and timelines.

Innovation Mindset:

· Drive the organizations through an innovative mindset creating forums to develop ideas, find value, experiment and deliver.

· Conduct Architecture Review Board sessions to bring architecture solutions across the organizations and make sure best practices are implemented and developed.

· Open discussion around new technologies, pros and cons, and inform leadership on the ongoing and upcoming technological innovation and trends.

· Evangelize technology and innovation mindset across enterprises.

· Maintain technical expertise in all areas of software engineering including coding standards, best practices, and methodologies.

· Continuously research and evaluate emerging technologies and propose their adoption and implementation within the organization.

· Provide mentorship and guidance to less experienced engineers, promoting a culture of technical excellence.

Basic Qualifications

· Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical field or equivalent work experience.

· A minimum of 15 years of software engineering experience with a track record of progressively

complex projects and solutions.

· Demonstrable experience leading large-scale software development projects through all phases

of the lifecycle, from conception to deployment and maintenance.

· Proficiency in multiple programming languages such as Java, C++, Python, or similar modern

programming languages, and a solid understanding of object-oriented design principles.

· Extensive experience with software architecture design, including patterns for distributed

systems, microservices, micro frontends and cloud-native solutions.

· Familiarity with front-end technologies and frameworks (e.g., HTML/CSS, JavaScript, React)

and backend development (e.g., Node.js, Django).

· Solid understanding of network protocols, web services (REST, SOAP), and APIs.

· Expertise in software development best practices, including coding standards, code reviews,

source control management, build processes, and testing.

· Proficient in using version control systems such as Git, and continuous integration tools like

Jenkins or CircleCI.

· Practical experience with containerization and orchestration technologies (e.g., Docker,

Kubernetes).

· Familiarity with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, particularly in

ecommerce deployment.

At Staples, “inclusion” is an action word. It represents what we do to ensure that all employees feel valued and supported to contribute to their fullest potential. When we operate inclusively, diversity naturally follows. This is why we work hard to foster an inclusive culture, as we seek employees with unique and varied perspectives and areas of expertise. The result is a better workplace and innovative thinking that helps us exceed our customers’ expectations -- through the power of the people behind our iconic brand.

Staples is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.