Ecommerce Job Titles Explained: What Each Role Actually Does
8 min read · Updated 24 October 2026 · Ecommerce Jobs List
Ecommerce job titles are inconsistent. A "Specialist" at one brand does what a "Manager" does at another. "Head of DTC" can mean a team of twelve or a team of one. This glossary describes what each title usually involves so you can read a posting and know what you are actually applying for.
For each title you get the shape of the day, who the role typically reports to, the experience employers usually expect, and how the role changes between the three places it exists: in-house at a brand or retailer, at an agency serving many brands, and platform-side at a company like Shopify, Amazon or Klaviyo that sells tools to brands.
The core ladder
These are the generalist titles most ecommerce careers run through. The career path guide covers how to move between them.
Ecommerce Coordinator
The day: product uploads, listing fixes, promo setup, order and inventory checks, pulling the weekly report, updating the campaign calendar. Lots of tickets, lots of spreadsheets.
Reports to: Ecommerce Manager or Specialist.
Experience: entry level. A degree is often listed and often not required if you can show Shopify and Sheets skills.
Versions: in-house is the norm. At an agency the same work is called Account Coordinator and spans several client stores. Rare platform-side.
Ecommerce Specialist
The day: owning one slice of the store, such as site merchandising, product content, email or a marketplace channel. You run the work and are measured on a metric.
Reports to: Ecommerce Manager.
Experience: usually one to three years, or a coordinator stepping up.
Versions: in-house and agency both common. Platform-side, "Specialist" often means a support or onboarding role helping merchants use the product.
Ecommerce Manager
The day: running the online store or a major channel. Planning promotions, managing the site calendar, coordinating with marketing, operations and customer service, reporting revenue weekly, managing one or two coordinators and a few agency relationships.
Reports to: Director of Ecommerce, Head of DTC or, at smaller brands, the founder or CMO.
Experience: usually three to six years. This is the first role where you own a number. See the ecommerce manager jobs board for current postings.
Versions: in-house owns the P&L of a channel. The agency version is Account Manager, owning client relationships and delivery. Platform-side, "Ecommerce Manager" is unusual; the closest is a Merchant Success or Partner Manager role.
Senior Ecommerce Manager
The day: same scope as Manager with more channels, bigger budgets and more people. Often owns the full DTC site plus a marketplace or an international store, and starts shaping the annual plan rather than executing it.
Reports to: Director or VP.
Experience: usually five to eight years with a clear record of growing a channel.
Versions: mostly in-house. Agencies use Senior Account Manager or Account Director.
Director of Ecommerce
The day: owns the ecommerce P&L. Sets targets, builds the budget, hires and manages the team, chooses agencies and platforms, presents to leadership. Less time in Shopify, more time in forecasts, vendor negotiations and hiring.
Reports to: VP, CMO, Chief Digital Officer or CEO depending on company size.
Experience: usually eight or more years, including team leadership.
Versions: in-house. At an agency, the equivalent is VP of Client Services or Head of Ecommerce Practice.
VP of Ecommerce and Head of DTC
The day: strategy, capital allocation, org design, board and executive reporting. Decides whether to enter Amazon, open a second warehouse, replatform or expand internationally. Manages Directors.
Reports to: CEO, President or Chief Commercial Officer.
Experience: usually ten or more years. "Head of DTC" is used at brands where wholesale is large and DTC is a distinct business unit. At a small brand it can be a one-person job with a big title.
Versions: in-house only in the true sense. Platform-side companies have VP titles, but those roles run product or sales functions, not a store.
Marketplace and channel roles
Marketplace Manager (Amazon, Walmart, TikTok Shop)
The day: listings, inventory, advertising and account health on one or more marketplaces. Catalog fixes, FBA or WFS shipment planning, Sponsored Products bids, case management with marketplace support, promotions tied to Prime Day and other marketplace events. TikTok Shop adds creator and affiliate management.
Reports to: Ecommerce Manager or Director.
Experience: usually two to six years. Hands-on Seller Central or Seller Center time is non-negotiable.
Versions: in-house owns the brand's account. The agency version manages many brand accounts and is the most common way to get this title quickly. Platform-side, Amazon and Walmart hire people with this background into account management or category roles.
Amazon Account Manager
The day: two different jobs share this title. At a brand or agency it is the Marketplace Manager role focused on Amazon, often including Vendor Central for first-party relationships. Inside Amazon itself it is a role managing relationships with sellers or vendors.
Reports to: marketplace lead or Director in-house; a client services lead at an agency.
Experience: usually two to five years, with Advertising console and catalog experience.
Versions: read the company name before assuming which version you are applying for.
Technical and product roles
Shopify Developer
The day: theme development in Liquid, JavaScript and CSS, app integrations, checkout customizations, performance work, migrations to Shopify or between themes. Often the person who turns a designer's mockup into a working page.
Reports to: Head of Engineering, Ecommerce Director or, at an agency, a Technical Lead.
Experience: varies widely, from junior theme developers to senior engineers building headless storefronts.
Versions: in-house at larger brands, agency (the most common home), freelance, and platform-side as a Shopify Partner or app developer. Browse the Shopify developer jobs board for the current mix.
Ecommerce Product Manager
The day: owning the roadmap for the storefront, checkout, account or app experience. Writing specs, prioritizing with engineering, running experiments, analyzing conversion data.
Reports to: Head of Product or Director of Digital.
Experience: usually three to seven years in product, or a strong ecommerce background with technical fluency.
Versions: in-house at brands with their own engineering. Platform-side this is a classic software PM role at Shopify, BigCommerce or an app company, building features for merchants.
Merchandiser (Ecommerce or Digital Merchandiser)
The day: deciding what appears where on the site. Collection order, search results, product recommendations, landing pages for campaigns, pricing and markdown execution, reading sell-through and reacting.
Reports to: Ecommerce Manager or Head of Merchandising.
Experience: usually two to five years, often from retail merchandising or buying.
Versions: in-house almost exclusively. Agencies offer merchandising as a service but rarely hire the title.
Marketing and retention roles
Growth or Performance Marketing Manager
The day: paid acquisition across Meta, Google, TikTok and sometimes Amazon Ads. Creative testing, budget allocation, bidding, landing page tests, daily spend and ROAS review, weekly reporting on CAC and payback.
Reports to: Head of Growth, CMO or Director of Ecommerce.
Experience: usually three to six years, with real budget ownership.
Versions: in-house owns the brand's spend. The agency version runs several accounts and is where many people learn the craft. Platform-side, Meta and Google hire from this pool into client solutions roles. See ecommerce marketing jobs.
Lifecycle or CRM Manager
The day: email and SMS. Flows (welcome, abandoned cart, post-purchase, winback), campaigns, segmentation, list growth, deliverability, A/B tests, loyalty program management. Klaviyo is the default tool at DTC brands; larger retailers use enterprise platforms.
Reports to: Head of Retention, Director of Ecommerce or CMO.
Experience: usually two to six years.
Versions: in-house and agency both common. Platform-side, Klaviyo and similar companies hire lifecycle marketers into customer success and solutions roles.
Data and operations roles
Ecommerce Analyst
The day: building and maintaining reports in GA4, Looker Studio or a BI tool, pulling data with SQL, answering questions from the Manager and Director, forecasting, attribution analysis, cohort and retention work.
Reports to: Director of Ecommerce, Head of Analytics or Finance.
Experience: usually one to five years. Strong Excel and SQL matter more than a specific degree.
Versions: in-house at mid-size and larger brands. Agencies hire analysts to serve client reporting. Platform-side, analyst roles are standard data roles.
Fulfillment or Operations Manager
The day: inventory levels, inbound receiving, order fulfillment SLAs, carrier performance, returns processing, 3PL relationship management, warehouse staffing or oversight. During peak season this is the hardest job in the building.
Reports to: Director of Operations, COO or Director of Ecommerce.
Experience: usually three to eight years, often with a warehouse or supply chain background.
Versions: in-house at brands with their own operations. On the 3PL side, the same person manages fulfillment for multiple brand clients.
Customer Experience Lead
The day: running the support team or function. Response time and CSAT targets, help center content, macros, escalations, returns policy, feeding customer insight back to product and marketing. Tools are typically Gorgias, Zendesk or similar.
Reports to: Director of Ecommerce, Head of Operations or COO.
Experience: usually three to six years, often from a support agent or team lead role.
Versions: in-house most often. Outsourced CX providers hire team leads to run brand accounts.
Reading a posting
Three checks save time. First, look at the reporting line: a Manager reporting to a founder is a different job from a Manager reporting to a Director. Second, look for team size and budget mentions, because they tell you whether the role is doing or leading. Third, check whether the company is a brand, an agency or a platform, because the same title means a different day in each.
Next step
Once you know which title fits your experience, browse the ecommerce jobs board by role and check the salary page for current pay ranges pulled from live listings.