Staff Software Engineer

About the role

As a Staff Software Engineer at Coinbase, you will spearhead the development of critical cryptographic infrastructure and ensure adherence to global regulatory standards. Your work will involve defining long-term technical strategies and executing ambitious projects in a complex, zero-trust environment.

You will collaborate closely with senior engineers and cross-functional teams to drive engineering quality and secure commitment from various stakeholders. Success in this role means delivering secure and resilient cryptographic protocols while fostering a culture of rigorous code review and technical mentorship.

The salary range for this position is between $135,000 and $225,000.

Skills that matter here

• Golang: This role requires extensive programming experience in Golang, as it operates in a Golang-heavy environment.
• Java: Java is one of the systems languages utilized for building critical infrastructure.
• C++: C++ experience is essential for contributing to high-availability distributed systems.
• Rust: Rust is included in the programming stack for developing secure cryptographic solutions.

Who this role suits

• A senior engineer with over 8 years of experience in software engineering.
• Someone who has a strong background in applied cryptography and has worked with Key Management Systems or Hardware Security Modules.
• A proactive leader capable of navigating complex regulatory environments and translating them into engineering solutions.
• An individual who values collaboration and mentorship within a team of experienced engineers.

From the employer

What you'll do:

• Lead the architecture and execution of critical cryptographic infrastructure, including services required for global regulatory compliance.
• Define technical strategies with a multi-quarter horizon, bringing clarity to highly ambiguous requirements for novel cryptographic solutions.
• Own risky and ambitious initiatives, implementing secure and resilient cryptographic protocols in a high-stakes, zero-trust environment.
• Shape engineering quality practices as a technical anchor and mentor within a team of senior engineers, driving rigorous code reviews and eliminating single points of failure.
• Build alignment and secure commitment from cross-functional partners across Security, Product, and Policy to drive flawless execution.

Required Skills and Experience:

• 8+ years of experience in software engineering with demonstrated success building highly available, distributed systems.
• Deep domain expertise in applied cryptography, Key Management Systems (KMS), or Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), with proven experience safely implementing cryptographic protocols (Multi-Party Computation experience strongly preferred).
• Extensive programming experience in systems languages such as Golang, Java, C++, or Rust, with ability to operate in a Golang-heavy environment.
• Proven track record operating Tier-0 or highly critical infrastructure where system resilience, security, and low latency are absolute prerequisites.
• Demonstrated experience leading a team's technical strategy, architecture, and deliverables for large-scale projects, including navigating complex regulatory requirements and translating them into robust engineering solutions.
• Utilizes generative AI responsibly, maintaining human oversight to deliver business-ready outputs and drive measurable improvements in workflow efficiency, cost, and quality.