Coinbase

Staff Software Engineer, Backend - Platform (Payment Rails)

Coinbase$218K — $256K *
US-AnywhereRemote in United States
Consumer Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8+ years of software engineering experience
  • Proven history in building payment systems or high-volume transaction systems
  • Expertise in designing fault-tolerant distributed systems that manage billions in transactions
  • Experience transforming fragmented services into cohesive, reusable platforms
  • Strong leadership in production reliability and high-severity incident management
  • Collaborative influence across teams without direct authority
  • Ability to utilize generative AI tools in engineering workflows

Responsibilities

  • Own the architecture and technical strategy for Payment Rails, integrating and designing APIs and orchestration layers
  • Build and scale fault-tolerant distributed systems for high-volume payment processing
  • Drive AI integration in engineering workflows to enhance development and operational efficiency
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to convert business needs into technical solutions that adhere to compliance
  • Lead initiatives to scale systems and proactively manage potential bottlenecks
  • Establish engineering best practices and provide mentorship to raise team standards
  • Train team members on design techniques and coding standards

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision coverage
  • 401(k) plan with company match
  • Equity and bonus eligibility
  • Flexible work arrangements
  • Professional development opportunities
Full Job Description
We're hiring a Staff Software Engineer to join the Payment Rails team within the Platform organization. Payment Rails is Coinbase's gateway between the fiat and crypto economy, operating a network of payment integrations and routing that power fiat on- and off-ramps for individual and institutional customers, moving hundreds of billions of dollars in transaction volume each year. You'll shape the architecture and technical direction of this network, designing and scaling systems that ensure every payment is reliable, efficient, and correct across an expanding set of markets, partners, and payment methods. What you'll do: • Own the technical strategy, architecture, and roadmap for scaling Payment Rails' network of partner integrations and routing, enabling more customers to participate in the crypto economy across more markets and payment options. • Build complex distributed systems that process high-volume, high-reliability payment traffic, designing for fault isolation, graceful degradation, strong observability, and clear SLOs for Tier-0/Tier-1 services. • Drive an AI-first approach to engineering workflows by identifying where AI-powered tools can accelerate development, improve code quality, and enhance operational efficiency across the team and broader engineering org. • Partner cross-functionally with Product, Risk, Compliance, and Operations to translate ambiguous business requirements into well-scoped technical solutions that balance speed, safety, and regulatory requirements. • Lead high-stakes scaling initiatives, anticipating bottlenecks before they occur and driving proactive, systematic improvements to how Coinbase moves money. • Strengthen the engineering bar across Payment Rails and adjacent orgs by establishing paved roads, design patterns, and best practices, and by mentoring engineers through design reviews and coding standards. Required Skills and Experience: • 8+ years of experience in software engineering, including experience building payment systems, financial infrastructure, or high-volume transactional systems. • Demonstrated track record of architecting fault-tolerant, highly reliable distributed systems at scale that handle billions of dollars in transaction volume. • Led efforts to turn fragmented services and bespoke integrations into coherent, reusable platforms (e.g., shared frameworks, unified APIs, multi-tenant architectures). • Proven ownership of production reliability, including leading high-severity incident response and driving systemic improvements from postmortems across multiple teams or domains. • History of influencing across teams and organizations without direct authority, driving consensus on high-impact technical decisions, and representing your area in org-level forums. • Utilizes generative AI responsibly, maintaining human oversight to deliver business-ready outputs and drive measurable improvements in workflow efficiency, cost, and quality. Job #: P76350 Pay Transparency Notice: 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 Please be advised that each candidate may submit a maximum of four applications within any 30-day period. We encourage you to carefully evaluate how your skills and interests align with Coinbase's roles before applying.

About Coinbase

Coinbase is a digital currency exchange that allows users to buy, sell, and store cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. The company was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Coinbase has over 56 million verified users in over 100 countries and has facilitated over $335 billion in trades. Coinbase offers a variety of services, including a cryptocurrency wallet, a trading platform, and an API for developers. Coinbase is known for its user-friendly interface and high level of security. Coinbase has raised over $547 million in funding from investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, and the New York Stock Exchange.
Learn more about Coinbase
Size
1,200 employees
Industry
Founded
2012

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