When a Shopify Plus brand is ready to hire (a VP of eCommerce, a Director of Digital Marketing, a Head of Amazon) they have options. They can post and pray, go to a generalist staffing firm, or work with a recruiter who actually understands how eCommerce businesses are built. eCommerce Placement is a certified partner in the Shopify Plus Partner Directory, a credential that sets us apart from generalist recruiting firms. This post explains what that means and why it matters for brands making serious eCommerce hires.
What Being a Shopify Plus Partner Actually Means
The Shopify Plus Partner Program is Shopify's vetted network of agencies, technology providers, and service partners that have demonstrated expertise serving Plus-level merchants. Getting listed in the Partner Directory is not automatic. It requires meeting Shopify's standards for quality, specialization, and track record.
Most firms in the directory are development agencies, theme designers, or app builders. eCommerce Placement occupies a different category: we are a recruiting firm. That makes our listing unusual, and the distinction is intentional. Shopify recognized that growing Plus brands need not just technical partners but also the talent infrastructure to run and scale their operations. Recruiting is part of that infrastructure.
The Roles Shopify Plus Brands Are Hiring For
Shopify Plus brands tend to be at an inflection point. They have outgrown the scrappy founding team, and they are building the professional management layer that will take them from $10M to $100M, or from $100M to $500M. The talent needs at this stage are specific and unforgiving.
The most common searches we run for Shopify Plus brands:
- VP of eCommerce: Often the first true eCommerce executive hire. Responsible for P&L ownership, channel strategy, and team build-out. Usually a search that takes 6–10 weeks and requires deep sourcing into passive candidate networks.
- Director of eCommerce: Owns day-to-day execution of the digital business. Needs hands-on platform experience, including Shopify, and often comes from a DTC or omnichannel background.
- Director of Digital Marketing: Paid media, email/SMS, SEO, and attribution. At Plus-level brands, this role needs to manage significant ad spend and navigate complex attribution environments.
- Head of Amazon / Director of Marketplace: For brands running a dual-channel strategy. This person needs to protect DTC margins while managing the Amazon P&L and vendor relationship.
- eCommerce Analytics Manager / Director of Digital Analytics: As brands grow, the data stack becomes critical. This hire needs to translate analytics into decisions, not just dashboards.
- Site Merchandising Manager / Director: Often undervalued until conversion starts dropping. A strong merchandiser understands both the customer journey and how to configure the Shopify Plus experience at scale.
These are not roles that get filled by posting on LinkedIn and waiting. The people who can actually perform at Plus-level brands are usually employed, well-compensated, and not actively looking. Reaching them requires a firm with established relationships in the eCommerce talent market, which is the only market we operate in.
What eCommerce Placement Brings to Shopify Plus Searches
Generalist recruiting firms can fill eCommerce roles. The question is whether they can fill them well and fast enough to matter. Here is what working with a specialized partner looks like in practice:
We speak Shopify
When we qualify a candidate for a Shopify Plus brand, we understand what platform proficiency actually looks like. We know the difference between a candidate who has launched a Shopify store and one who has managed a Plus subscription at scale, including Shopify Scripts, Launchpad, B2B functionality, and headless builds. That distinction matters when you are hiring someone to run your platform, not just use it.
We know the DTC talent market
Shopify Plus brands are overwhelmingly DTC-first, even when they have wholesale or retail channels. The talent market for DTC eCommerce leaders is different from traditional retail or Amazon-native businesses. We have spent 15 years recruiting in this space and maintain an active network of 100,000+ eCommerce professionals, with deep coverage in the DTC segment.
We understand the comp landscape
Shopify Plus brands often compete for talent against larger enterprises with deeper pockets and against VC-backed startups offering equity. Getting the comp package right (base, bonus structure, and equity if applicable) is part of closing a search successfully. We advise clients on market rates and help calibrate offers to close candidates who have multiple options on the table.
We work on contingency
We do not charge retainers or upfront fees. Our fee is 20% of the placed candidate's first-year base salary, invoiced on their start date. You pay only when we successfully fill the role. For Shopify Plus brands that are capital-efficient by nature, this model reduces risk and aligns our incentives with yours.
Our Shopify Plus Partner Listing
You can view eCommerce Placement's official listing in the Shopify Plus Partner Directory here: shopify.com/partners/directory/partner/ecommerce-placement.
The listing reflects our focus on recruiting eCommerce professionals across the US, Canada, and United Kingdom for online retailers, SaaS companies, and digital agencies, including Shopify Plus merchants at every stage of growth.
If you are a Shopify Plus brand building out your eCommerce leadership team, or if you are approaching a milestone that will require more senior talent to execute against, we are happy to have a conversation about what the talent market looks like for the roles you need.
Starting a Search
Most searches begin with a brief intake call where we learn about the role, the team, the business stage, and what a successful hire looks like six months in. From there, we build a target candidate profile, source against our network and the broader market, present a shortlist within two to three weeks, and manage the process through offer and close.
There is no cost to start a conversation. If we do not fill the role, you pay nothing.
Contact us to start a search or browse our current open roles to get a sense of what we typically work on.