How to hire an e-commerce director

How to hire an e-commerce director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step e-commerce director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an e-commerce director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new e-commerce director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an e-commerce director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring an e-commerce director, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect e-commerce director also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents e-commerce director salaries for various positions.

   Type of E-Commerce Director	Description	Hourly rate
   E-Commerce Director	Sales managers direct organizations' sales teams. They set sales goals, analyze data, and develop training programs for organizations’ sales representatives.	$37-92
   Digital Marketing Manager	As the digital marketing manager, you are responsible for managing the various aspects of your company's digital marketing plan and strategy. It is your job to develop, implement, and manage marketing campaigns that promote the company's products and services... Show more	$34-66
   Online Marketing Manager	Online marketing managers are professionals in charge of creating marketing campaigns for social media and internet platforms. Marketing managers take responsibility for the development, implementation, and management of marketing campaigns for a company... Show more	$33-63

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Digital Marketing
   • Google Analytics
   • User Experience
   • ROI
   • Project Management
   • Conversion Rates
   • CRM
   • Email Marketing
   • B2C
   • Email Campaigns
   • Customer Acquisition
   • Marketing Campaigns
   • Web Analytics
   • KPI

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and maintain a profitable ROAS for PPC campaigns.
   • Manage the business justification and implementation of market-base Internet technology, gather market intelligence, perform competitive analysis and track ROI.
   • Create new revenue streams through B2C online sales channels-ebay, amazon, and websites.
   • Develop B2B and B2C websites and coordinate usage of data management tool to add-edit-delete data.
   • Slash spending 35 percent in 6 months by executing marketplace presence strategies that reduce PPC expenditures.
   • Develop measurement and reporting that will enable tangible ROI analysis on all digital media efforts and communicate effectively to all management.

   More e-commerce director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your e-commerce director job description helps attract top candidates to the position. An e-commerce director salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for an e-commerce director in South Carolina may be lower than in California, and an entry-level e-commerce director usually earns less than a senior-level e-commerce director. Additionally, an e-commerce director with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average e-commerce director salary

   $122,256yearly

   $58.78 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level e-commerce director salary

   $77,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 22, 2025

   Average e-commerce director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$157,578	$76
   2	New York	$144,162	$69
   3	Michigan	$137,403	$66
   4	Connecticut	$135,407	$65
   5	Massachusetts	$134,994	$65
   6	Wisconsin	$130,782	$63
   7	Maryland	$128,229	$62
   8	District of Columbia	$127,897	$61
   9	Pennsylvania	$122,200	$59
   10	Colorado	$117,168	$56
   11	Indiana	$117,056	$56
   12	Texas	$116,602	$56
   13	Ohio	$111,988	$54
   14	Washington	$111,341	$54
   15	Illinois	$110,817	$53
   16	North Carolina	$108,218	$52
   17	Virginia	$107,502	$52
   18	Minnesota	$105,436	$51
   19	Georgia	$100,936	$49
   20	Florida	$87,428	$42

   Average e-commerce director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Levi Strauss & Co.	$184,586	$88.74	8
   2	StubHub	$178,166	$85.66	10
   3	Tillys	$176,477	$84.84
   4	Harman International	$173,259	$83.30	3
   5	NetApp	$162,592	$78.17	19
   6	Christian Dior	$155,869	$74.94
   7	Walmart	$155,736	$74.87	127
   8	Wpp Us Holdings Inc	$152,943	$73.53	26
   9	North American Corporation	$146,751	$70.55
   10	CyberCoders	$144,256	$69.35
   11	Underscore Marketing	$144,096	$69.28
   12	Something Navy	$142,493	$68.51
   13	Verizon Communications	$141,760	$68.15	1
   14	Kforce	$139,514	$67.07	20
   15	Eclaro	$139,090	$66.87
   16	Bumble Bee Seafoods	$137,179	$65.95
   17	Salesforce	$136,689	$65.72	86
   18	Navy Exchange	$136,263	$65.51
   19	KPMG LLP	$135,659	$65.22	8
   20	STV Group	$133,564	$64.21

4. Writing an e-commerce director job description

   An e-commerce director job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of an e-commerce director job description:

   E-commerce director job description example

   The Director, Commerce acts as a key thought leader and expert in the Retail Media space, serving all Publicis Media agencies. This role requires a proven ability to showcase strategic thought leadership and development of tactical best practices. This role requires a thorough understanding of all major commerce platform capabilities and being able to translate complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences. We need someone who loves to solve challenges, collaborate across agency teams, and has a strong POV with the ability to proactively identify needs and build solutions.
   
   This role is unique as it drives best practices, thought leadership, and innovation across all agencies. Rather than working for a single client, our work impacts all clients. The Director is able to define our roadmap, team priorities, and lead content that directly influences all clients in the US. Self-starters and people who naturally curious and are comfortable working in grey space are successful in this role.
   Responsibilities:
   
   Develop Commerce and Retail Media content, including POVs, playbooks, training, and educational 101, 201, and 301 content pieces.
   
   Deep understanding of the Commerce and Retail Media space to deliver against business outcomes, including both the Retail Media side of Commerce, as well as the shoppable components within traditional search, social and programmatic channels.
   
   Contribute to curation of first-to-market solutions - inclusive of commerce activation support, collateral development, and testing frameworks
   
   Identify and document FAQs, automating responses to common agency questions
   
   Develop ad hoc content based on custom requests from agency teams and/or reactions to relevant marketplace changes
   
   Build relationships with Publicis Media agency executives and media channel leads
   
   Manage day-to-day priorities for a team of high-performing commerce activation experts
   
   Execute roadmaps and build thought leadership collateral for commerce strategy and activation
   
   Own cross-functional relationships to collaborate on solutions priorities
   
   Contribute to account planning and coordination with key SMEs across agencies to improve how we serve clients across Publicis Media
   
   Identify clients that are candidates for priority solutions and assist in stewarding clients into best-in-class landing pads
   
   Administer assessments and guide agency teams on recommendations
   
   Stay abreast of industry trends and advise on the use of emerging retailer networks and shoppable ad units based on agency, industry, and client priorities

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find e-commerce directors for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your e-commerce director job on Zippia to find and recruit e-commerce director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting e-commerce directors requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new e-commerce director

   Once you've found the e-commerce director candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new e-commerce director first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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