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MichaelDLR.

About me.

I work between the product data and the storefront, the part of ecommerce most people never see.

My Story.

I'm from Orange County, California. I got into the web by learning HTML and CSS, making small sites, and building Castle Care with KiritoFireTeam, a group of five developers spread across the US.

Since April 2022 I've worked in ecommerce for an outdoor and fishing retailer. I manage product data for a catalog of about 26,000 active products, roughly 76,000 in all. I learned the platform as it changed from Magento 1 to Magento 2 to Adobe Commerce, working through each change on the fly. Most of what I know comes from getting the data I need out of systems that weren't built to hand it over easily.

I like taking things apart to see how they work, and that goes for computers too. My current PC started out as a "broken" machine sitting next to a friend's house on moving day. It only needed RAM.

This site is my portfolio, and it's also where I keep the videos andarticles I learn from.

Experience.

Senior Ecommerce Merchandiser @ Outdoor & fishing retailer

April 2022 – Present

  • Manage product data for 26,000 active SKUs (~76,000 total) on Adobe Commerce. Learned and worked through the platform changes from Magento 1 → Magento 2 → Adobe Commerce on the fly.
  • Work in a team-oriented ecommerce department: shared Microsoft Teams tasks, watching each other’s changes to the storefront, and catching problems before customers do.
  • Merchandise new products end to end: attributes, specifications, descriptions, images and SEO content.
  • Run bulk import/export updates for pricing, clearance and inventory behavior, including the backorder settings that decide whether a product can be purchased.
  • Take on the unusual data problems: combining exports to rebuild the SKU, URL and attribute data the system won’t give directly.
  • Used ChatGPT to help build Excel VBA tools, including a script that filters a full ~76,000-product export in seconds.
  • Write SEO- and ADA-minded product, category and guide content, detailed enough that competitors use our site for specs.
  • Own the homepage and key landing pages: new arrivals, featured products, sale banners and Instagram tagging. Everything shown must be in stock and able to be added to cart.
  • Make small backend changes that affect the storefront through a local WSL + Git/GitHub workflow.
  • Brought Claude Code into image templating and ADA alt text, and found a bulk-import path for both.
  • Coordinate with in-store product experts, sales, marketing and an outside email marketing agency on launches, clearance and limited-edition releases.
  • Help train and support new merchandisers through the unusual problems this job always brings.

Teamwork.

Most of my work happens with other people: my team, the rest of the company, and developers I've never met in person.

Skills.

Ecommerce

  • Adobe Commerce / Magento 2
  • Catalog & attribute management
  • Bulk import / export
  • Pricing, clearance & inventory rules
  • Homepage merchandising

Data & Automation

  • Excel: XLOOKUP, large datasets
  • VBA macros, built with ChatGPT
  • Reconciling multiple exports
  • Claude Code automation
  • Manufacturer data collection

Web & SEO

  • HTML, CSS / SASS, JavaScript
  • On-page SEO & content
  • Accessibility (ADA, alt text)
  • Git, GitHub, npm, WSL / Ubuntu
  • Astro, React, Next.js

Teamwork & Workflow

  • Cross-team communication
  • Microsoft Teams & Asana
  • PowerToys: FancyZones, Workspaces
  • Keyboard-first everything
  • Photoshop: templates, pen tool
  • Training new merchandisers