Shopify Architecture Audits
Review platform architecture, app stack, integrations, technical debt, and operational risk with a prioritized action plan.
Los Angeles, CA
William Chong
Staff Software Engineer · Shopify Architect · Enterprise Commerce Systems Architect
I help brands and agencies solve complex Shopify, backend integration, checkout, subscription, shipping, and platform modernization problems.
Staff software engineer, Shopify architect, and enterprise commerce systems architect with 17+ years of experience building enterprise ecommerce platforms, backend systems, cloud services, and complex integrations. I specialize in architecture-heavy commerce work spanning checkout, subscriptions, shipping logic, fulfillment, order lifecycle systems, and platform modernization.
17+
Years in software engineering and enterprise commerce delivery
Lead
Shopify architecture at enterprise scale, subscriptions, checkout extensibility,
integrations, and the systems behind customer-facing commerce
End-to-end
Enterprise ecommerce, backend systems, cloud services, and complex integrations
Trusted across selected brands
Nestlé Purina
Apple
Mattel
Cisco
Glossier
SKIMS
Netflix Shop
Banana Republic
Bottega Louie
Brandy Melville
Rare Beauty
DraftKings
Material Bank
Quest Nutrition
ReserveBar
Nestlé Purina
Engagements
Consulting offers
Architecture-first work with clear outcomes, not generic “development” buckets. Each engagement is scoped for decision quality, risk reduction, and faster execution.
Checkout Extensibility / Functions Migration
Assess legacy checkout logic, script replacements, discount behavior, and migration paths for modern Shopify architecture.
Subscription & Order Lifecycle Architecture
Design or stabilize subscription workflows, order lifecycle logic, renewal handling, and related backend integrations.
Shipping, Fulfillment & Rate Logic
Audit and improve carrier logic, delivery methods, split shipment behavior, pickup flows, and fulfillment-related systems.
Commerce Integrations
Design and troubleshoot integrations across Shopify, ERP, OMS, ESP, payment, analytics, and third-party services.
Commerce Architect
Senior technical leadership for brands or agencies needing architecture guidance, delivery oversight, and production issue support.
Scope
How each engagement works
Each engagement is scoped for clarity: what we are solving, what “good” looks like, and what you can execute next, whether that is your internal team, a partner agency, or a blended model.
Shopify Architecture Audits
A structured review of how your Shopify implementation actually behaves in production: app dependencies, integration boundaries, checkout and subscription flows, operational risk, and technical debt. You receive a prioritized roadmap, stabilize first, modernize second, scale third, with explicit tradeoffs so leadership can make decisions with confidence.
Checkout Extensibility / Functions Migration
Legacy checkout logic rarely ages quietly. I assess scripts, discounts, edge cases, and third-party touchpoints, then define a migration path aligned to Shopify’s modern checkout model. The goal is predictable customer behavior, fewer surprises at launch, and a clean story for ongoing maintenance.
Subscription & Order Lifecycle Architecture
Subscriptions introduce long-running state: renewals, dunning, swaps, skips, and order lifecycle coupling across Shopify, and downstream systems. I design or stabilize these workflows so finance, fulfillment, and support see consistent data, and engineering can reason about the system under load.
Shipping, Fulfillment & Rate Logic
Carrier rules, split shipments, pickup flows, and rate shopping are where commerce systems earn their scars. I audit the real-world matrix of SKUs, locations, promises, and carrier APIs, then tighten logic, observability, and failure modes so operations can run without heroics.
Commerce Integrations
ERP, OMS, ESP, payments, analytics, and bespoke middleware: integrations are architecture problems first. I help teams design contracts, retries, idempotency, and monitoring, and when things break in production, I can drive root-cause analysis across vendor boundaries.
Commerce Architect
For brands and agencies that need senior technical judgment, I provide architecture services: steering discovery, reviewing designs, de-risking releases, and supporting incident response. This is leadership work, standards, sequencing, and accountability, aligned to your delivery reality.
Proof
Selected impact
Why teams bring me in on hard problems, outcomes over buzzwords.
- Led enterprise Shopify architecture across major consumer retail programs spanning subscriptions, checkout extensibility, backend integrations, and customer experience systems.
- Drove modernization of legacy commerce logic, release workflows, and cloud-hosted services into more scalable, maintainable architectures.
- Built and supported complex order lifecycle, shipping, fulfillment, and analytics integrations across high-traffic ecommerce environments.
- Resolved critical production issues across checkout, third-party integrations, cloud infrastructure, and operationally sensitive commerce systems.
- Provided architectural leadership across multiple teams and client engagements, guiding technical direction from discovery through launch and post-release stabilization.
- Applied AI-assisted engineering workflows using OpenAI, Claude, Claude Code, and Cursor to accelerate delivery and improve technical analysis while maintaining production-grade engineering standards.
Background
Experience highlights
At-a-glance roles, full chronology and skills are in the Resume section below.
Sourcefield Inc.
Staff Software Engineer / Shopify Architect
Spiegel Design Group
Staff Software Engineer / Enterprise Commerce Architect
Quest Nutrition
Lead Developer
Earlier roles
ONVI Media, Trendology, Golden Chart USA
Resume
William Chong
Staff Software Engineer · Enterprise Commerce Systems Architect
Professional summary
Staff software engineer and enterprise commerce systems architect with 17+ years of experience building backend systems, ecommerce platforms, cloud services, and complex third-party integrations. Deep expertise in backend/platform architecture, Node.js, JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Laravel, cloud services, and enterprise commerce systems, with proven leadership across order lifecycle, subscriptions, checkout modernization, fulfillment workflows, shipping logic, integration reliability, and platform modernization. Experienced leading complex technical programs across multiple teams, stakeholders, and production environments. Skilled in AI-assisted software engineering using OpenAI, Claude, Claude Code, and Cursor to accelerate development, improve technical analysis, and strengthen engineering workflows while maintaining production-grade standards.
Core strengths
Enterprise Commerce Architecture · Backend Services & Systems Integrations · API Design & API Gateway Architecture · Subscription, Order Lifecycle & Fulfillment Systems · Checkout Modernization · Shipping, Rate Logic & Delivery Systems · Platform Modernization & Legacy Migration · Cloud Infrastructure & Operational Reliability · Multi-Team Technical Leadership · Production Incident Response & Root Cause Analysis
Professional experience
Sourcefield Inc.
Staff Software Engineer / Enterprise Commerce Systems Architect · 2026 - Present
- Provide senior-level enterprise commerce architecture, backend systems, integration, subscription, fulfillment, and checkout modernization consulting for select enterprise clients.
- Lead technical strategy, architecture, and implementation across large-scale commerce and backend initiatives spanning subscriptions, checkout modernization, fulfillment logic, analytics, and customer experience.
- Design and support enterprise commerce systems across multiple brands, with ownership from requirements and architecture through launch and production support.
- Build and maintain complex backend integrations involving subscription workflows, order flows, shipping logic, analytics, API orchestration, and third-party services.
- Drive modernization efforts across commerce architecture, release workflows, backend services, API integrations, and cloud-hosted systems.
- Provide technical leadership and architectural direction across multiple teams and parallel workstreams.
- Support production systems, Azure-based services, operational reliability, root-cause analysis, and high-impact issue resolution across checkout, integrations, fulfillment, and cloud systems.
Spiegel Design Group, Inc. - Los Angeles, CA
Staff Software Engineer · 2014 - 2026
Delivered enterprise ecommerce platforms, backend systems, integrations, and cloud-hosted services for major retail and consumer brands including: Apple, Banana Republic, Barnes & Noble, DraftKings, Glossier, Korn Ferry, Mattel, Netflix Shop, Rare Beauty, Revlon, SKIMS, and Peet's Coffee.
- Led architecture and implementation across a broad portfolio of enterprise ecommerce and digital platform engagements.
- Engineered backend services, integrations, API integrations, and scalable commerce solutions for complex client environments.
- Defined technical standards, platform direction, and implementation strategy across multiple concurrent projects.
- Led cross-functional teams across engineering, project management, and client stakeholders, aligning technical execution with business goals across multiple concurrent engagements.
- Modernized legacy systems into more maintainable, scalable architectures with improved deployment API reliability, and operational supportability.
- Designed resilient integration patterns around third-party API failures, webhook processing, retries, error handling, idempotency, and production recovery.
- Supported the full lifecycle of delivery including technical discovery, system design, API design, implementation, deployment, troubleshooting, and post-launch support.
- Worked directly with clients and internal stakeholders to translate business goals into scalable technical solutions.
- Resolved high-impact production issues and platform failures across ecommerce systems, cloud services, and third-party integrations.
Quest Nutrition - Los Angeles, CA
Lead Developer · 2013 – 2014
- Led the rebuild and redesign of QuestNutrition.com, a Magento-based ecommerce platform, during a period of rapid company growth.
- Contributed during a major growth phase as Quest became one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S., expanding from approximately $60 million in 2013 to $262 million in 2014.
- Provided leadership across architecture, infrastructure, development standards, and user experience improvements.
- Led and mentored developers on Magento best practices, implementation standards, and scalable solution design.
- Built custom Magento modules and enterprise features to support large-scale ecommerce operations.
ONVI MEDIA - Los Angeles, CA
Lead Web Developer · 2013
- Led frontend and backend execution for a multimillion-dollar travel-based digital initiative.
- Coordinated development efforts across engineering, design, and QA while maintaining delivery alignment.
- Provided hands-on technical leadership, implementation support, and project execution oversight.
Trendology Inc.
Magento Developer / Web Developer · 2011 – 2013
- Built Magento ecommerce solutions and custom features for small and mid-sized businesses.
- Supported full end-to-end delivery across backend systems, frontend implementation, and launch execution.
Golden Chart USA Inc.
Web Developer · 2008 – 2011
- Developed custom web applications, CMS platforms, ecommerce solutions, and internal workflow tools.
- Supported full-stack engineering across business systems, frontend features, and backend development.
Technical skills
Languages & Frameworks
JavaScript, TypeScript, Node.js, React, Express.js, PHP, Laravel, Lumen, Zend, HTML, CSS
Databases & Infrastructure
MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Microsoft SQL Server, REST APIs, GraphQL, Webhooks, API Middleware, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, AWS Lambda, Amazon SQS, Amazon API Gateway, Amazon EC2, Redis, Varnish, Docker, Git, Fly.io, Netlify
Commerce Platforms
Shopify, Shopify Plus, Shopify Functions, Checkout Extensibility, Magento, Adobe Commerce, TikTok Shop
Integrations & Systems
NetSuite, Stripe, Braintree, Synapse, Bolt, Authorize.Net, CyberSource, Recharge, Recurly, Spreedly, FedEx, UPS, ShipEngine, AfterShip, Order Desk, Storis, Full Circle, Sailthru, Twilio, Klaviyo, SendGrid, Searchspring, Contentstack, Contentful, Sanity.io, Salsify, Google Tag Manager, Custom Ecommerce Platforms, OMS/ERP Integrations, Fulfillment Systems, Shipping Rate Engines
Monitoring & Observability
Datadog, Sentry, New Relic, Raygun
Additional Exposure
Ruby, Python
Education
University of California, Riverside - Computer Science
Contact
Let’s talk
Hiring, vendor evaluation, or a scoped consulting engagement, send context and timing.