Technical Lead (Future CTO)

Luxury E-Commerce Platform

Location: Lisbon, Portugal

Contract: Freelance (with clear path to CTO)

A new luxury digital commerce platform is preparing for launch - designed from the ground up to redefine how premium fashion is discovered, experienced, and purchased online.

This is not a standard Shopify store. It’s a curated, editorial-led, high-end e-commerce ecosystem combining luxury brand integrations, refined storytelling, and a best-in-class digital experience. The foundation is in place. What’s needed now is a technical leader to take the reins.

The business is seeking a hands-on Technical Lead who can own the technical vision, lead the build phase, and evolve into a long-term CTO as the platform scales globally with premium fashion partners.

If you enjoy building things properly, influencing product direction, and leaving a technical fingerprint on something ambitious, this role will feel refreshingly grown-up.

What You’ll Be Responsible For

• Lead the build phase: Own delivery across front-end, back-end, infrastructure, content modules, brand integrations, and checkout flows while coordinating external development partners.
• Technical ownership: Take control of the codebase, manage GitHub workflows, review and merge PRs, enforce standards, and contribute hands-on where it matters.
• API & brand integrations: Design and scale integrations for products, pricing, inventory, orders, and digital assets across multiple luxury brands.
• Shopify / Shopify Plus leadership: Drive advanced configurations, custom apps, automations, and seamless integration with a bespoke front-end.
• Commerce operations: Ensure clean, reliable flows for orders, returns, payments, and logistics across the full ecosystem.
• Post-launch evolution: Oversee performance, security, monitoring, and continuous feature development.
• Build the engineering function: Hire and mentor engineers, define workflows, documentation, and engineering culture, and shape the long-term technical roadmap.

What You Bring

• Strong experience delivering API-driven platforms, ideally in retail, multi-brand, or marketplace environments.
• Deep hands-on expertise with Shopify / Shopify Plus (APIs, backend customisation, automations).
• Excellent GitHub discipline: version control, reviews, branching strategies, and governance.
• Full-stack capability or strong depth in front-end or back-end engineering.
• Experience with order management, returns, and logistics integrations.
• Solid grasp of scalable e-commerce architecture, reliability, and performance.
• Proven ability to lead, mentor, and influence engineering teams.
• Exposure to luxury, premium, or editorial digital products is a strong plus.

The Kind of Person Who Thrives Here

• Comfortable switching between system-level thinking and hands-on execution.
• Structured, detail-oriented, and allergic to technical debt disguised as “speed.”
• Energised by early-stage environments where decisions actually matter.
• Clear communicator who can work fluently with founders, partners, and non-technical stakeholders.
• Genuinely excited by building refined digital experiences—not just shipping features.

Why This Role Is Different

• Real ownership: You define the technical foundation - this isn’t a maintenance gig.
• Clear CTO trajectory: This role is designed to evolve into a permanent leadership position.
• A premium product: You’re building something aspirational, not transactional.
• Lisbon-based, globally minded: Work with an ambitious team scaling internationally from day one.

If you don’t tick every single box but know you can lead this build and elevate the platform, that matters more than a perfect checklist.

Interested?

Reach out to discuss the role confidentially and explore whether this is the right fit - for both sides.

Apply using the link, or to discuss the role further, please contact: wesley.green@tech-recruitment.eu