Application ready. Utkarsh Jukaria is applying to the Shopify APM program, Spring 2027 cohort. Toronto · available March 8, 2027.
Utkarsh Jukaria · APM candidate · Spring 2027

An engineer who speaks merchant.
I write the code, and I run the ad budgets that turn browsers into buyers.

Computer science engineer with 4+ years in performance marketing, now at PHD Media (Omnicom) in Toronto. I run multi-million-dollar monthly paid social, from full-funnel campaigns for GO Transit to multi-platform awareness for Lipton and Red Bull. I find where money leaks between an ad and a sale, then build AI-powered tools that fix it.

  • B.Tech, Computer Science
  • Meta Certified Media Buying Professional
  • 4+ years in paid media
  • Certified: Meta · Google · TikTok · Pinterest
See the tools →Why I fit
Brands run3GO Transit · Lipton · Red Bull
Certifications5Meta · Google Ads · GA · TikTok · Pinterest
Ad platforms run5Meta · TikTok · Snap · Pinterest · Reddit
Languages readEN · FR · HIRegister to Store
Scroll to dive in
001 / Fit check

What the APM role asks for, and where I've already done it.

Shopify looks for people who ship, use AI reflexively, care about merchants, and do more with less. Here's the evidence, line by line.

0/ 8

Requirements with proofReady March 8, 2027

Every line on this receipt links to something real: a live tool, a role, a board seat or a certification. Nothing on it is a buzzword without a receipt behind it.

APM · Spring 2027 · fit checkProof
Total8 / 8 · ready
002 / Work

Three merchant problems. Three working tools.

Each one starts from something I've watched cost merchants money, and two of them I built specifically for this application. Each is a standalone page you can open and use right now. Add #demo to load sample data.

T—001

ROAS Reality Check

“My ROAS is 3, so why am I losing money?” Shows the ROAS a store actually needs once product cost, shipping, fees and returns are counted.

Real problem

Ads Manager reports return on revenue. Merchants scale ads that lose money on every order.

In Shopify terms

The break-even number agencies work out for big brands, for every merchant.

Open tool ↗
T—002

Discount Stack Check

Rings up the worst cart your Shopify discounts allow, before Black Friday customers do. Imports real discounts and products from a store.

Real problem

One extra tick box lets a sale, two codes and free shipping stack below cost. A missing one silently breaks codes you promised together.

In Shopify terms

A pre-flight check for discount combinations: every legal stack, on one receipt, with a one-click fix.

Open tool ↗
T—003

Register to Store

Photograph a handwritten stock page; Gemini reads it (English, French or Hindi) into a Shopify product CSV, flagging anything it isn't sure about.

Real problem

Small makers count stock on paper between batches. Typing it all into a store is the wall that keeps them offline.

In Shopify terms

Faster onboarding for the next million merchants, with a person checking before anything is imported.

Open tool ↗
003 / Why merchants

I've seen what it costs to win a customer.

At PHD Media in Toronto I run full-funnel paid social for GO Transit, from awareness through conversion, plus awareness funnels for Lipton and awareness campaigns for Red Bull, across Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest and Reddit. Before that, I managed $400K+ in ad spend for small and mid-sized businesses at Social Know How, and built the landing pages their traffic landed on. Big brands have agencies to make every dollar work. A friend's shop, The Bakers Bar in Gravenhurst, sells bath bombs, soaps, organic creams and infused cupcakes, and has none of that. I want to build the products that close that gap.

  • 01I know the acquisition side: budgets, ROAS and CAC, creative testing, Pixel and Conversions API tracking.
  • 02I can build: a B.Tech in Computer Science, building with JavaScript, Node and the Gemini API, plus GA4 and Tag Manager setups.
  • 03I own things end to end on small budgets: I'm on the board of the Vaughan International Music Festival and run its whole digital setup.
004 / How I work

A merchant prototype in 20 minutes, with AI.

The same loop that built these tools. Drag the clock, or press play. The example is the Discount Stack Check.

00:00
  1. 00:00
    Name the merchant and the moneyWho loses what, and when? One sentence, or stop.
  2. 03:00
    Write the rules, not the UIThe platform's real constraints go into the prompt first.
  3. 08:00
    Generate, then run itAI drafts the code; a working page beats a perfect one.
  4. 14:00
    Break it on purposeZero, junk input, extremes, phone width. Fix what breaks.
  5. 18:00
    Ship and decide what to measurePut it in front of a merchant. Pick one number to watch.

My tools: Claude for building and reviewing, Gemini inside products, plain HTML and JavaScript so anything runs anywhere.

005 / Life story

Trophies and bruises, in order.

Drag or scroll →
Ch. 01[YEAR–YEAR]

Engineer first

B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering, Graphic Era University, India. I learned how software is built before I learned how it's sold.

TrophyA CS foundation I still use every week, from JavaScript and Node to the Gemini API.
Bruise[A setback from university and what it taught you]
Ch. 02Oct 2, 2021

Landed in Toronto

Started over in a new country and retooled for the business side: post-graduate Business Administration at York University and Social Media Advertising at Seneca College.

TrophySeneca Student Ambassador (2021–2022): onboarding and outreach for new domestic and international students.
Bruise[The hardest part of starting over in Canada]
Ch. 03May 2022 – Nov 2023

Social Know How

Digital Advertising and Web Specialist for small and mid-market businesses: paid media on Meta and Google, WordPress sites and landing pages built for paid traffic, SEO audits and GA4, GTM and Looker Studio reporting.

Trophy$400K+ in tracked ad spend managed, with measurable gains in ROAS and lead volume.
Bruise[A client or campaign that went wrong, and what changed]
Ch. 042024 – 2025

Trust Your Talent Academy

Social Media and Paid Ads Manager and growth consultant. Owned full-funnel lead generation across Meta and Google, rebuilt landing pages, conversion flows and retargeting, and set up GA4, GTM and Meta Pixel tracking.

TrophyScaled qualified student enrollments while lowering cost per lead.
Bruise[What you would do differently now]
Ch. 05Nov 2024

A puppy joined the family

Life got louder, and the mornings got earlier.

Trophy[Puppy's name, if you'd like to share it]
Ch. 06Sep 2025 – now

PHD Media, Toronto

Social Manager (Performance and Paid Social) at PHD (Omnicom Media Group). Full-funnel paid social for Metrolinx (GO Transit), from awareness through conversion; awareness funnels for Lipton across multiple platforms; awareness campaigns for Red Bull. Multi-million-dollar monthly budgets across Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest and Reddit, plus pixel, Conversions API and audience strategy.

TrophyLed agency pitches and campaign plans, including GO Transit's sports and student transit campaigns. Built an internal naming tool that standardizes campaign and audience taxonomy across platforms.
Bruise[A campaign that underdelivered, and what changed after]
Ch. 07Dec 2025 – now

A board seat, on a lean budget

Board of Directors, Digital Strategist and Website Retainer Manager for the Vaughan International Music Festival: website architecture, ticketing funnel UX, SEO and audience growth, under nonprofit constraints. I also advise my family's retail venture, Pehnava Boutique.

Trophy[One result, e.g. traffic, tickets or money saved]
Bruise[A constraint you had to work around]
Ch. 08May 17, 2026

Engaged

The best decision on this timeline.

Ch. 092026

Building for merchants

Three merchant tools: ROAS Reality Check, Discount Stack Check and Register to Store. Two were built specifically for this application, and each was tested against dozens of edge cases.

TrophyTools a real shop can use today, inspired by friends' and family's stores.
BruiseI started PodScribeAI and TokenPulse and didn't finish either. Now I scope to what can actually ship.
Ch. 10Mar 8, 2027

Next: Shopify APM

Twelve months, two product teams, building for merchants every week.

Why I fit →
006 / Why I fit

I already do the job. I just don't have the title yet.

Every week at PHD I find where money leaks between an ad and a sale, decide what to fix first, and ship the fix: a new campaign structure, a workflow tool, a test. Then I measure it and do it again. On my own time I build the software that fixes those same leaks for merchants. The APM program is where those two halves become one job.

01 · BuilderI ship working software.

A CS degree and AI-native habits: merchant tools built with AI and tested like products, two of them made for this application.

02 · OperatorI've run the money.

Multi-million-dollar monthly budgets across five ad platforms, optimized every week.

03 · Merchant-mindedI build for real shops.

From GO Transit's full-funnel campaigns to a friend's shop in Gravenhurst, I start from what a business is losing.

Email me →LinkedInResume (PDF)
Based inToronto, Ontario
Canadian work authorization
ProgramShopify APM
Spring 2027 cohort
AvailableFull-time from
March 8, 2027