FCM Tech Lead

About the role

In this role at Coinbase, you will lead the technical design and architecture for the Futures Commission Merchant core, overseeing systems from market data to settlement. Your contributions will be pivotal in reducing dependencies on legacy vendors while enhancing system stability and reliability.

You will collaborate across teams, ensuring that the systems built are correct and auditable. Mentoring engineers will also be a key aspect of your responsibilities, as you help elevate the overall quality of engineering within the team.

The salary range for this position is between $90,000 and $150,000, depending on various factors including location.

Skills that matter here

• backend engineering: This role requires extensive backend engineering experience to manage complex distributed systems.
• distributed systems: You will own the architecture of production-grade distributed systems critical for the FCM core.
• Go: Proficiency in Go is preferred for developing high-availability architectures.
• Java: Experience with Java or similar languages is necessary for backend development.
• event-driven architecture: You will work with event-driven architectures to ensure system efficiency and reliability.
• high-availability architectures: Designing high-availability systems is a key responsibility in this position.

Who this role suits

• A candidate with a strong background in backend engineering and a deep understanding of the derivatives market.
• Someone who thrives in a remote-first environment and is comfortable collaborating with cross-functional teams.
• An individual who takes initiative in mentoring others and improving engineering practices.
• A professional who has experience in regulated financial environments where accuracy and reliability are paramount.

From the employer

• Own design and architecture across the FCM core, from market data and order routing through settlement, reporting, and risk.
• Drive the next-gen replatforming effort, reducing legacy vendor dependencies while raising stability and reliability.
• Set the technical bar through code, design reviews, and standards, and pay down the technical debt that matters most.
• Partner across pods (execution, risk, lifecycle) and cross-functionally with Product, CFM Risk and Ops, Finance, and Compliance to deliver correct, auditable systems and turn strategy into a roadmap.
• Mentor engineers across the team and act as a force multiplier, scaling engineering quality and helping others grow.

• Extensive backend engineering experience, with demonstrated ownership of complex, production-grade distributed systems.
• Direct FCM or derivatives experience, with hands-on ownership of one or more parts of the futures trade lifecycle (settlement, clearing, margin/risk, order entry/routing, market data, or back-office books and records).
• Deep proficiency in a modern backend language (Go preferred; Java or similar) and event-driven, high-availability architectures; familiarity with Ion XTP is a plus.
• Experience in a regulated or financial environment (CFTC/NFA or comparable) where correctness, auditability, and reliability are critical.
• Track record delivering end-to-end, from scoping and architecture through implementation, monitoring, and iteration, including replatforming or migrating off legacy systems while still coding hands-on and raising the quality bar.
• Utilizes generative AI responsibly, maintaining human oversight to deliver business-ready outputs and drive measurable improvements in workflow efficiency, cost, and quality.

• Base salary varies by location (see range below). Total compensation may also include equity and bonus eligibility, and benefits (medical, dental, vision, 401(k)).
• Annual base salary range (excluding equity and bonus): $218,025 — $256,500 USD.