Victoria, BC · Remote · Pacific time
I build and improve Shopify stores and connect the systems behind them. I spent nearly three years at PIVOT, a Shopify Plus agency partner, contributing to more than 20 DTC storefronts. I also built FieldsRaven, a published Shopify app, and continue to maintain it.
I take on client projects and team roles through Goodharbour, my independent software studio.
karim@goodharbour.ca · LinkedIn
Selected work
At PIVOT, a Shopify Plus agency partner, I contributed to more than 20 DTC storefronts over nearly three years, working within existing codebases and small development teams. Here are four of them, with my part in each.
Custom Shopify Plus storefront for a bag brand with a complex product catalog.
My part
Duration: 14 months
Custom Shopify Plus storefront for a flower and gifting brand with subscriptions and seasonal campaigns.
My part
Custom Shopify Plus storefront for an ergonomic chair brand with a product configurator on the product page.
My part
Duration: 18 months
Content-heavy Shopify Plus storefront for an LED light therapy brand with professional and consumer audiences.
My part
I built a Rails backend for an ecommerce business that turned incoming order data into internal orders, customer records and workflows for different staff roles. It connected those workflows with Shopify customer data, shipping, tax, notifications and order status.
For the Canadian launch of the Keurig Rivo espresso machine, I worked on a contest web app at Le Site in Montreal, delivered in three to four weeks from brief to launch. I also automated the campaign's email build process, cutting production time from eight hours to two using Middleman and the Google Docs API. This predates my Shopify focus, but it shows I can work on time-sensitive projects with tight deadlines.
My own products
Building my own products has meant working through the whole process: defining the idea, writing the application, releasing it and maintaining it afterward.
FieldsRaven extends Shopify's Metafields API to the storefront through an app proxy, enabling merchants to collect data on the fly and personalize their theme. Shopify doesn't expose that natively. Built with Ruby on Rails, I handle the full lifecycle: ideation, architecture, development, deployment, App Store review, and merchant support. Having a live app gives me platform depth that's hard to get from client work alone. I understand the API constraints, the review process, and how merchants actually use extended functionality in the real world.
Explore FieldsRavenStoreAudit is a Shopify AI-readiness audit I built and maintain in Ruby on Rails. It reads public storefront and catalog data, checks product content and structured data, and asks Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini what they know about a brand. Merchants get scored findings tied to affected products and specific fixes, with a prioritized action plan available in the full audit.
Explore StoreAuditRecommendations
Karim is easily one of the most collaborative and sharp Shopify developers I’ve worked with. He resolved countless existing issues on our company website with impressive speed and precision. What really sets him apart is his ability to look at the bigger picture—he didn't just fix code; he gave us invaluable insights across our broader digital strategies. Fast, solution-oriented, and strategic. Highly recommended!
Working with Karim has been a great experience. An exceptional Shopify developer who is dependable and highly professional. Always meets deadlines, communicates clearly, and writes efficient, well-structured code. What really stands out is his ability to think outside the box and offer creative solutions that elevate the project beyond expectations. A true asset to any team. Would absolutely work with Karim again.
Karim worked with us as a contractor for ~2 years. I was always impressed with his punctuality, organization, problem solving and ability to think outside the box. He was never afraid to push back and make suggestions which would always benefit the projects we worked on together.
Karim is a passionate developer that strives to better himself and improve his craft. He has helped OnlyGrowth with front-end development for Shopify sites. Karim is very responsive and communicates when he will be away or needs an extension. Unlike a lot of developers, Karim is also fairly good with estimating tasks and QA'ing his work prior to saying it is done.
Not only he would deliver quality work on time, but also made sure he was improving his source code while keeping it readable and maintainable. His eye for design and his constant curiosity was also very appreciated by our team.
I recently launched my Shopify store and I hired Karim to help with the development of the site. Karim did an amazing job with all of the projects I gave him and he exceeded all of my expectations. I was particularly impressed with Karim's communication, timeliness, receptivity to feedback, and attention to detail. He was very open to change and communicative about creative approaches we could take and the potential impact to the original estimate. I wholeheartedly recommend Karim.
Karim made a valuable contribution to our open source recipes application to introduce authentication and seeds. We're delighted with both the feature and the way he implemented it; the code is beautiful, well-documented and well-tested.
Twice I got told I would have to compromise on the changes I wanted for my website, until I contacted Karim. He implemented a challenging filter change to my delight. If there are more cost effective, efficient and better ways to do what you are trying to achieve he will tell you.
Karim did an excellent job, he met and exceeded all expectations. He communicated clearly at each phase of the project.
About
I'm Karim Tarek, a senior Shopify developer based in Victoria, BC. I have worked in web development for more than 17 years. Since 2016, I've contributed to dozens of Shopify stores through direct client projects and agency work. That includes nearly three years at PIVOT, a Shopify Plus agency partner, contributing to more than 20 DTC storefronts.
"Fast and flexible and dedicated to delivering work that fit our needs."
I also built and maintain FieldsRaven, a published Shopify app, and StoreAudit, an AI-readiness audit for Shopify stores.
Before Shopify, I worked at the ALDO Group, worked on a contest web app for Keurig's Canadian Rivo launch at Le Site in Montreal, and managed the UAE web presence for Doctors Without Borders. I hold a Project Management certificate from McGill and a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering.
I work remotely, and you deal directly with me throughout. I help you decide what's worth building, choose a practical approach, and carry it through development, testing and handover. If an existing tool or a smaller change will do the job, I'll say so. I use AI in my development work; working out how the pieces fit and checking the result remain my job through to handover.