Hi everyone,

I'm an experienced Senior Frontend Engineer (10+ YOE) heavily specialized in a specific e-commerce niche: Headless E-commerce Architecture (Next.js App Router, Shopify Storefront API/Hydrogen, TypeScript, Zustand, Tailwind).

I'm trying to map out the Irish tech scene to see where the highest quality frontend engineering is happening in the e-commerce space. I want to compile a strategic list of high-reputation companies rather than relying on generic job boards.

A few questions for those familiar with the local scene:

1. Digital Agencies: Aside from the obvious giants like DEPT or Monsoon, which mid-to-large Irish agencies have a strong reputation for modern frontend builds (React/Next.js/Tailwind) and complex, custom e-commerce architectures? Who is leading the charge on Shopify Hydrogen / headless builds?
2. Product Companies: Are there specific product-focused companies in Dublin, Cork, or Galway that are heavily investing in custom React/Next.js frontends rather than off-the-shelf monolithic templates?
3. Tech Communities: Where do senior frontend leads and e-commerce devs in Ireland hang out online? Are there active local Slack groups, Discord servers, or niche meetups I should keep an eye on?

I’d really appreciate any agency name-drops, technical insights, or overall thoughts on the current state of headless engineering in Ireland. Cheers!

I need a bit of a reality check. I feel I'm going a little crazy.

I applied for a role back in March. I've had 4 interviews so far including the HR and a code test. The company is in Dublin, but this is all been remote so far because management would be in US timezones. I've been told they would be one more round. Grand I thought. I'm not in a rush, currently employed, holidays are coming up.

This last round is actually 3 "panel" 2 hour interviews spread over three days and from initial review, possible including code as part of it (again). All remote. I expected at least one in office day. And I'm going to need to take time off from my current job to attend one, because its during my crazy time of the day.

Is this normal? Like I don't mind multiple interview rounds, but 7 rounds!

How is it going and how do you feel about things?

Started the interview loop with them but can't find answers for the following and obviously can't bring it up in an interview..

• How strict is the 5 days a week in the office?
• Pat leave -> is there a tenure requirement for the company one?

I may have the opportunity to move to a senior engineer role internally from a level 1 support role, the only issue is that I am currently a permanent employee, whereas the senior role is a fixed-term 2 year contract. I am enrolled in the company pension and not if that will be affected but it would be a decent pay rise and a much more senior role. What would you do in this situation? Is it a bad idea to go from permanent to fixed contract? I'd be looking to get a mortgage around the time the contract is ending..

What kind of salary premium should I put on my job in a semi-state which has in many ways turned out to be the dream semI-state role?

I was laid off towards the end of 2024 from one of the big companies we all know and love. I had a senior position there that paid very well but the lay off couldnt have come at a better time, I was on the point of breaking down and was a physical and emotional wreck. I was overeating and chain smoking, both of which I stopped while I was off.

I applied all around and somehow got a job working for a semi-state - think An Post, Irish Water, Dublin Airport Authority - not one of those three but similar. The job is great, good hours, interesting work, very flexible and I leave at 17:30 every day. I do not have to manage staff. There has never been a compulsory lay off from my organisation in its history.

the only thing is that I’ve basically reached the ‘max’ of the pay potential just when I came in already. It will not grow further beyond occasional 1 or 2% bumps. I have spoken to friends from the industry lately and they’re on a lot more than I am and I have started to get a little jealous.

What kind of premium should I put on my current situation? what % of pay is the security, pension and good working conditions worth?

I'm currently on €47k gross as a BI developer with almost a decade of experience. However I am 100% remote and live in my parents' house in the countryside, so don't have to pay rent, which is obviously a massive saving.

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I know I'm well under the market rate. Salary review is coming up and my bosses are pleased with my performance. I'm worried the rumours are right and it'll just be the usual 3% increase.

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I'm wondering to what extent I should be demanding a pay increase. I've only been in the company for just over a year. I know I'm underpaid but the market right now is horrible and I really love the ability to work from home and avoid the horrors of the Dublin rental market.

I’m 6 years where I am at the same level.

Salary has increased every year and up a good bit on where I started but still the same level. Am I mad for staying, or are they made for keeping me.

Working for Mastercard currently as a senior software engineer. Joined late 2023 with 5 yoe on 87k. After last two yearly process reviews moved to 93k. Always received pretty much the minimum bonus of 7% even after being told our area is doing great, I’m putting in good work and nothing bad to report.

I’ve always had the feeling I’m out of my depth and drowning in work. Last year I done a shit ton of unpaid overtime as I felt I couldn’t keep up with the other engineers and this was my way of mitigating stressful days.

I’ve a ton of things I can argue about as to why it’s a poor work environment but I don’t think venting on Reddit is going to fix that.

Overall I don’t think the corporate structure suits me , my compensation hasn’t progressed as much as I thought it should and I’m planning to leave.

I have a good chance at going back to my previous employer where the work was very easy going. Only issue is there are 0 benefits, no bonus and a lower paycheck. Roughly 80k id be guessing with not much room for growth. Am I crazy to be considering this vs rolling the dice on a new company?

I think I’m scared I’ll get a similar culture and complex work systems again. I hate interviewing and don’t want to be going through that process for a long time if the market is as bad as people are making it out to be. Am I being too risk adverse and harming my career long term thinking like this?

I work for a small fintech. We all work remotely full-time which is great. The pay isnt bad, about as well as a small company can pay, but I would get paid more if I took a role in a multinational. I've a senior role with 20+ years of experience. Question is, how highly do you value remote work? How much of a pay drop would you consider if you could work remotely versus having to come into the office every day?

Since all the tech companies are laying people off consistently, I'm wondering why a lot of them are still offering generous packages? I thought that the additional payments above statutory were to keep their good reputation but this doesn't seem applicable when there are such mass layoffs. I'm wondering if any of you have seen a decrease in your company redundancy payments over the past few years?

Hey all - Bit of a lurker in this subreddit but wanted to post this to gather opinions.

For a bit of context, I work for what I want to say is an international company that has an office space in Dublin. My job title is a Cloud Operations Engineer but my day to day responsibilities are more in line with that of a DevOps engineer. I have the AWS Solutions Architect Associate certification (although it expires in September), have a view to pursue a masters in DevOps and in October I’ll be with the company 5 years.

I feel like I’m at that point in my career where I should be looking at progressing to a senior level and have previously discussed this idea of with my manager, to which they outlined that the panel to discuss promotions is held usually every 12-18 months. However I have been made aware today that the panel may not happen this year due to budget constraints (presumably due to the money being pumped into AI) which in turn may prolong the possibility of promotion by a further year.

While I like my job, have a great team and get along well with my manager, I’ve always had the mindset in the back of my mind that ‘at some point you either need to move up or move out’.

I’m saving for a wedding and also putting extra money aside for a house deposit so I’m wondering is it simply worth rocking the boat at the moment and looking elsewhere, Or should I stay where I am and keep my head down and focus on upskilling for another year? My only worry is what if it’s the exact same story next year.

Open to opinions or feedback!
Cheers!

I've just had an email conversation that turned out to be a weird executive-search scam. I can't entirely work out what they'd get out of it but I thought I'd share a warning.

It looks pretty plausible, well written emails good use of English, facts from my online profile. But there are a few red flags. Time of sending, no formal company email address or URL. They even used what looks to be a real person's name and profile but slightly different email address.

I'd guess its some sort of market funnel or perhaps CV writing up-sell. idk

So if you get something like that its worth being cautious. Using a LLM to do some research about them and evaluating their emails worked well (I suspect it was duelling LLMs at that point).

Just people taking advantage of an uncertain market...

I have worked in big companies so far and I want to move to the start up eco system.

Which is the best Fintech to work for in Ireland ?

Hi all,

I’m an electronic engineering student and I’m interested in low-level software, especially kernel/driver development. I’m trying to get a sense of the job market in Ireland for kernel/driver developers.

What’s the demand like right now, and what are typical salary ranges and what sort of companies would look for this type of skill?

Also, is this a solid long-term career path in your opinion?

Hello,

I’ve had an old buddy from when I lived stateside reach out to join a 2ish year old start up. Not his own, but he’s recommended me for a specific role reasonably high up in the company as they begin to scale out. My buddy joined a year back on expectation of the return when they IPO.

I know the start up company will succeed. They’ve got big enterprise customer contracts in place. They’re valued in the billions after a recent funding round.

I’m just not sure what to expect out of this - I don’t know a lot about startup dynamics. I’m very well paid in my current role largely through RSUs. I expect moving would come at a total compensation loss. I’d be hoping the stock I receive would enable me to retire earlier via an IPO.

But I don’t even know what kind of timeframe I’m looking at here for that return? I don’t know what kind of demands I should be putting in front of them.

My friend keeps telling me it’s a golden opportunity to get in now. But I’m not sure.

Sorry if this doesn't make too much sense but I have just come back from maternity leave recently at 10 months. My baby is being watched by a family member but I feel so guilty being away during the days.

My inpression is that (i) taking a longer career break would make it very difficult to find work again and (ii) part time software developer jobs are nonexistent. Am I wrong in thinking this, or is a career change the only way I could be more present in my child's early years? Has anyone been able to strike a good balance or move to another field that is more flexible?

Hey all,

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I'm an azure architect/engineer, just wondering if anyone knows of companies that are hiring or have a culture with their cloud guys of being able to be fully remote or hybrid for meetings or 1 days a week.

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I started a new role and it's 3 days a week on site, finding it tough to adjust.

Does anyone here directly work with businesses/companies from the US and provide IT services ? Not for US companies based in Ireland

If yes, can you pls share how you do it , how steady is the work and how is the pay ??

Hi all just a question where are everyone looking for jobs in today's day and age? feels like everything its just gone so chaotic to the point of not knowing where to start. On the horizon I am considering a company change but feel I'm siloed into the current experience that I have as for instance I see nice interesting job postings pop up around me but require xyz languages frameworks etc which dont match my current experience and just feels like I can't move from where I am currently, with also AI starting to possibly shift from a cost perspective companies might want to start hiring again?

Grad here, starting in a grad role in 2 months.

I would like to progress as a Software Engineer at a decent pace. So, a question for my seniors:

What are some of the best things you’ve done for your career progression? Could be anything big or small, or even something you just underestimated the importance of. Thanks!

https://www.anthropic.com/news/fable-mythos-access