Software Engineer II at Recurly

Currently working at Recurly as a Software Engineer II, focused on building and enhancing Recurly Commerce, a subscription management platform that helps Shopify merchants manage recurring revenue through subscriptions, memberships, and subscription boxes.

Experience Overview

• Company: Recurly
• Role: Software Engineer II
• Timeline: July 2025 - Present (8 months)
• Location: Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
• Product: Recurly Commerce (Shopify Subscription Platform)
• Tech Stack: Full-stack web development, Shopify API, Payment Processing

About Recurly Commerce

Recurly Commerce is a subscription management platform built specifically for Shopify merchants. It enables businesses to offer various subscription models including:

• Curated subscriptions and subscription boxes
• Replenishment subscriptions (recurring product deliveries)
• Access subscriptions and memberships
• Product bundles and customizable options
• Subscribe and save programs with tiered pricing

The platform integrates directly into Shopify's native checkout experience and provides a low-code customer portal for subscription management.

Key Responsibilities

Shopify Integration Development

• Building and maintaining Shopify app extensions (checkout and customer account integrations)
• Developing seamless integration between Recurly Commerce and Shopify's native checkout
• Implementing webhook handlers for Shopify events (orders, products, customers)
• Ensuring compliance with Shopify API rate limits and best practices
• Working with Shopify's GraphQL Admin API for store data access

Subscription Management Features

• Developing subscription lifecycle management (create, pause, skip, cancel)
• Building bundle configuration systems (gift boxes, fixed bundles, customizable options)
• Implementing pricing models (subscribe and save, tiered pricing, usage-based)
• Creating trial period functionality and promotional pricing
• Developing subscription modification flows (swaps, add-ons, upgrades/downgrades)

Customer Portal Development

• Building low-code customer portal for subscription self-service
• Implementing skip and swap functionality for subscription flexibility
• Creating gift subscription management features
• Developing subscription preference controls
• Ensuring mobile-responsive portal experience

Payment Processing & Billing

• Working with payment processing pipelines for recurring billing
• Implementing retry logic for failed payments
• Developing dunning management for recovering failed charges
• Creating invoice generation and management systems
• Handling proration calculations for subscription changes

Analytics & Reporting

• Building analytics dashboards for merchant insights
• Implementing metrics tracking (MRR, churn rate, LTV)
• Creating executive reporting features
• Developing data export capabilities
• Integrating with third-party analytics platforms (Klaviyo, Fivetran)

Churn Reduction Features

• Developing retention tools (pause subscriptions, incentives)
• Building cancellation flow optimizations
• Implementing win-back campaigns and offers
• Creating automated retention workflows
• Designing UX flows to reduce subscriber churn

Key Challenges & Solutions

Challenge 1: Shopify API Rate Limiting

Problem: High-volume operations (bulk imports, sync operations) hitting Shopify API rate limits.

Solution:

• Implemented request queuing with exponential backoff
• Built batch processing for bulk operations
• Added caching layer for frequently accessed data
• Created monitoring and alerting for rate limit proximity
• Optimized API calls to use bulk operations where possible

Challenge 2: Subscription State Synchronization

Problem: Keeping subscription state consistent between Recurly Commerce and Shopify (orders, inventory, customer data).

Solution:

• Implemented event-driven architecture with webhooks
• Built idempotent webhook handlers to prevent duplicate processing
• Created conflict resolution strategies for out-of-sync states
• Added sync status tracking and manual reconciliation tools
• Implemented retry mechanisms with dead letter queues

Challenge 3: Complex Pricing Calculations

Problem: Handling various pricing models (tiered pricing, promotions, trials, proration) with correct tax calculations.

Solution:

• Built comprehensive pricing engine with rule-based calculations
• Implemented preview functionality for subscription changes
• Created extensive test coverage for pricing scenarios
• Integrated with Shopify's tax calculation APIs
• Documented pricing logic for support team reference

Challenge 4: Checkout Extension Performance

Problem: Checkout extensions need to load fast to not impact conversion rates.

Solution:

• Optimized bundle size for checkout extensions
• Implemented lazy loading for non-critical features
• Added performance monitoring and alerting
• Cached subscription configuration data
• Minimized API calls during checkout flow

Skills Developed

Technical Skills:

• Shopify app development and ecosystem
• Subscription billing system architecture
• Payment processing and PCI compliance
• Webhook-based integrations
• E-commerce checkout optimization
• Multi-tenant SaaS architecture

Domain Knowledge:

• Subscription business models and metrics (MRR, churn, LTV)
• E-commerce best practices
• Recurring payment processing
• Merchant onboarding flows
• Customer retention strategies

Tools & Platforms:

• Shopify Admin API (GraphQL & REST)
• Shopify App Extensions
• Third-party integrations (Klaviyo, Postscript, Gorgias)
• Payment gateway integrations
• Analytics platforms

Soft Skills:

• Working on a product used by thousands of merchants
• Balancing merchant needs with platform scalability
• Cross-functional collaboration with product, design, and support teams
• Debugging production issues affecting live subscriptions
• Communicating technical decisions to non-technical stakeholders

Impact & Results

Platform Performance

• Maintaining high availability for subscription processing (critical for recurring revenue)
• Fast checkout extension load times to prevent conversion drop-off
• Reliable webhook processing for real-time sync
• Scalable architecture handling thousands of subscription operations daily

Merchant Experience

• Simplified subscription setup process for new merchants
• Intuitive admin interface for managing subscriptions
• Comprehensive analytics for business insights
• Flexible subscription options to match various business models

Customer Experience

• Seamless Shopify-native checkout experience
• Easy-to-use customer portal for subscription management
• Reliable subscription deliveries and billing
• Flexible pause/skip/swap options reducing cancellations

Technical Highlights

Shopify Integration Architecture:

• OAuth 2.0 authentication for merchant stores
• Webhook subscriptions for real-time updates
• App extensions embedded in Shopify admin and checkout
• Theme app extensions for storefront integration
• Metafield management for subscription data

Subscription Engine:

• Recurring billing scheduler with timezone handling
• Subscription lifecycle state machine
• Flexible pricing rule engine
• Inventory allocation for upcoming orders
• Automated notification system

Third-Party Integrations:

• Klaviyo for email marketing automation
• Postscript for SMS notifications
• Gorgias for customer support context
• Fivetran for data warehouse integration
• Payment gateway connections

This role at Recurly has taught me how to build reliable, merchant-facing SaaS products integrated deeply with e-commerce platforms like Shopify, handling the complexity of subscription billing at scale.

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Key Takeaway: Working on Recurly Commerce has deepened my understanding of subscription business models, Shopify ecosystem development, and building scalable SaaS products for e-commerce merchants.