AJ is available for hire

AJ Bale

Verified Expert in Engineering

Full-stack Developer

Neptune City, NJ, United States

Toptal member since February 18, 2025

Expertise

Shopify Development A/B Testing Prompt Engineering CSS JavaScript Git GitHub REST API Tailwind CSS Node.js React.js TypeScript GraphQL ChatGPT

Bio

AJ is a senior full-stack developer with seven years of hands-on experience. Most recently, he worked at Shopify for 2.5 years, working on enterprise web applications. At well-known digital agencies such as King & Partners, he worked on prominent eCommerce brands' websites such as goodamerican.com, solidandstriped.com, and tobeinbloom.com. AJ specializes in all things eCommerce and takes pride in building accessible, high-performance web applications that exceed expectations.

Portfolio

Shopify

React, React Router, GraphQL, CSS, Shopify API, Ruby on Rails 6, React Native...

Myntr Inc.

Shopify Liquid, HTML, CSS, Preact, React, Vue, Shopify API, GraphQL, REST...

King & Partners

Shopify Liquid, HTML, CSS, Alpine.js, Vue, Vuex, Vue 3, Web Accessibility...

Experience

Shopify Liquid - 6 years
Tailwind CSS - 6 years
React - 4 years
Jest - 3 years
TypeScript - 3 years
Prompt Engineering - 2 years
React Native - 1 year
Next.js - 1 year

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

Next.js, React, Shopify, Vue, Tailwind CSS, React Native, TypeScript, GraphQL, Git, Node.js

The most amazing...

...eCommerce site I've had the pleasure to work on is goodamerican.com. It converts well and looks great, and it's fast and accessible.

Work Experience

Developer

2022 - 2024

Shopify

Developed, edited, and debugged interfaces, tests, and front-end architecture from designs in Figma using React.
Served as the team’s subject-matter expert on React Router.
Prompted AI tools for code composition, including GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and OpenAI APIs.
Edited and debugged APIs built with Ruby on Rails 6.
Contributed to the architecture and initial development of the Shopify Collabs app in React Native.
Led a project requiring extensive infrastructural improvements, securing leadership buy-in with a phased technical design, staffing a cross-functional team, and delivering the project on time.
Adapted designs for a major project to align with company guidelines, ensuring UX best practices were implemented while delivering the feature on time with no post-release complaints.
Wrote public-facing documentation for features and APIs.

Technologies: React, React Router, GraphQL, CSS, Shopify API, Ruby on Rails 6, React Native, Prompt Engineering, Jest, HTML, Web Accessibility, Remix, TypeScript, REST, Git, GitHub, Node.js, PostgreSQL, REST APIs, eCommerce, Generative coding, GitHub Copilot Chat, ChatGPT, Responsive UI, Custom Shopify Apps, Content Management Systems (CMS), APIs, API Applications, Prisma, A/B Testing, User Interface (UI)

Front-end Developer

2021 - 2022

Myntr Inc.

Developed, edited, and debugged Shopify themes and headless eCommerce sites using Vue, Preact, React, and Liquid.
Built high-performance, responsive, and accessible landing pages and features based on designs in Figma and Zeplin.
Established and documented version control and code review workflows.
Standardized Shopify theme development by creating a universal local environment, migrating client repositories, and training the team, which eliminated deployment errors and dramatically increased productivity.
Led the development of notable brands, including tobeinbloom.com, flowerbeauty.com, and dylanscandybar.com.

Technologies: Shopify Liquid, HTML, CSS, Preact, React, Vue, Shopify API, GraphQL, REST, Vue 3, Vuex, Web Accessibility, Tailwind CSS, SCSS, Shopify, JavaScript, Git, GitHub, Node.js, REST APIs, eCommerce, Responsive UI, Content Management Systems (CMS), APIs, Shopify Customizations, API Applications, Membership Sites, Yotpo, A/B Testing, User Interface (UI)

Web Developer

2020 - 2021

King & Partners

Developed, edited, and debugged Shopify themes and headless eCommerce sites using Vue, Alpine, and Liquid.
Built high-performance, responsive, and accessible landing pages and features based on designs in Figma and Zeplin.
Served as the subject-matter expert on accessibility, leading code reviews for accessibility audits of client sites.
Led the development of notable brands, including goodamerican.com, and contributed to others, including solidandstriped.com, deeocleppo.com, patricianashdesigns.com, and twinstarhome.com.

Technologies: Shopify Liquid, HTML, CSS, Alpine.js, Vue, Vuex, Vue 3, Web Accessibility, Tailwind CSS, SCSS, Shopify, Shopify API, REST, JavaScript, Git, GitHub, Node.js, PostgreSQL, Amazon Web Services (AWS), REST APIs, eCommerce, Responsive UI, Content Management Systems (CMS), APIs, Shopify Customizations, API Applications, Twilio, Twilio API, Membership Sites, Yotpo, A/B Testing, User Interface (UI)

Web Developer

2019 - 2020

Black & Black

Developed, edited, and debugged Shopify and WordPress eCommerce sites using Liquid and PHP.
Created high-performance, responsive, and accessible landing pages and features based on designs in Adobe XD and Zeplin.
Served as lead technical point of contact for clients during scoping calls.
Implemented a standardized version control, code review, and continuous integration process using Git and GitHub Actions, trained the development team, which significantly reduced bugs, and streamlined rollback processes.

Technologies: Shopify Liquid, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Git, GitHub, WordPress, PHP, CI/CD Pipelines, Web Accessibility, Tailwind CSS, SCSS, Shopify, Shopify API, REST, REST APIs, eCommerce, Responsive UI, Content Management Systems (CMS), APIs, Shopify Customizations, API Applications, Membership Sites, Yotpo, A/B Testing, User Interface (UI)

Experience

Model Size Selector

https://www.goodamerican.com/products/always-fits-good-legs-straight-indigo316

I built a feature for goodamerican.com that allows users to view the apparel they are shopping for being worn by models of a chosen size. The feature works on product and collection pages. I architected and implemented the solution, ensuring the feature was accessible, performant, and bug-free.

Shopify Collabs Merchant App

https://apps.shopify.com/collabs

The Shopify Collabs merchant app enables Shopify merchants to connect with content creators to promote their products. I rearchitected the app to improve performance and update React Router to its latest version, allowing for much more efficient navigation.

Generative AI Consultation

Worked with a client to help them establish a production-ready generative AI workflow using multiple AI personas that gave them the ability to produce production-ready features and document them quickly and accurately.

Education

2006 - 2010

High School Diploma in Engineering

High Technology High School - Lincroft, NJ, USA

Skills

Libraries/APIs

React, React Router, Shopify API, Node.js, REST APIs, Vue 3, Vuex, Vue, Preact, Twilio API

Tools

Git, GitHub, ChatGPT, Prisma

Languages

HTML, CSS, Shopify Liquid, SCSS, TypeScript, GraphQL, JavaScript, PHP

Frameworks

Tailwind CSS, Next.js, Jest, Remix, Shopify Hydrogen, React Native, Ruby on Rails 6, Alpine.js

Paradigms

REST

Platforms

Shopify, Yotpo, WordPress, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Amazon Web Services (AWS), Twilio

Storage

PostgreSQL

Other

Web Accessibility, Prompt Engineering, eCommerce, Generative coding, GitHub Copilot Chat, Responsive UI, Custom Shopify Apps, Content Management Systems (CMS), APIs, Shopify Customizations, API Applications, Membership Sites, A/B Testing, User Interface (UI), CI/CD Pipelines, Generative Coding

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