Senior Staff Software Engineer, Data Platform

About the Role

The Data Platform team is the engine that makes Coinbase's data reliable, fast, and accessible at scale, powering everything from fraud detection and financial reporting to AI and ML systems. As a Senior Staff Software Engineer, you will have significant autonomy and be expected to have impact across multiple cross-functional teams and the broader Infrastructure organization.

Coinbase is a remote-first company, but not remote-only, with quarterly in-person working sessions called 'surges.' This role requires a high level of expertise in building and operating large-scale distributed data infrastructure, as well as a deep understanding of the crypto industry and its unique challenges.

What You Will Do

• Define and drive the technical strategy and architecture for Data Platform, setting direction across data ingestion, transformation, warehousing, streaming, and serving systems.
• Develop and execute a multi-quarter roadmap that transitions the team from operational cost-saving toward engineering-led cost reduction.
• Architect for the AI-Native Future, redesigning data infrastructure from the ground up to natively support AI and ML workloads.
• Drive the evolution to near-real-time data availability, enabling downstream teams to act on fresher data across the company.
• Spearhead a builder mindset, pushing the team to build data infrastructure that creates compounding leverage.
• Drive cross-functional alignment, building alignment and securing commitment from senior leadership and cross-functional partners on technical priorities and tradeoffs.
• Serve as the primary technical voice for Data Platform in org-wide forums, including OKR planning, architecture reviews, and long-term infrastructure strategy.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure that data infrastructure meets the needs of various stakeholders, including product, infrastructure, data engineering, analytics, ML, privacy, security, and compliance.

What We Are Looking For

• Deep experience building and operating large-scale distributed data infrastructure, including streaming platforms, data lakes, batch and real-time processing engines, and query/serving systems.
• Strong understanding of data engineering principles, including data modeling, data warehousing, and data governance.
• Experience with AI and ML workloads, including data pipeline design, data lake infrastructure, and compute systems.
• Strong technical leadership skills, with the ability to mentor and elevate engineering talent.
• Experience driving multi-quarter roadmaps and technical strategy, with a focus on engineering-led cost reduction.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to build alignment and secure commitment from senior leadership and cross-functional partners.
• Experience working in a remote-first environment, with a strong ability to work independently and collaborate with distributed teams.

Nice to Have

• Experience with cloud-based data infrastructure, including AWS, GCP, or Azure.
• Familiarity with data engineering tools, including Apache Beam, Apache Spark, or Apache Flink.
• Experience with data governance and data quality, including data lineage and data validation.
• Strong understanding of security and compliance principles, including data encryption and access control.

Benefits and Perks

• Competitive salary and equity package.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Flexible PTO and remote work schedule.
• Access to top-tier technical training and development opportunities.
• Quarterly in-person working sessions, with opportunities for team-building and collaboration.
• Coinbase-sponsored events and conferences, with opportunities for networking and professional development.
• Flexible stipend for remote work setup and equipment.

• Develop a strong understanding of data engineering principles, including data modeling, data warehousing, and data governance, to stand out in the application process.
• Highlight your experience with AI and ML workloads, including data pipeline design, data lake infrastructure, and compute systems, to demonstrate your ability to drive technical strategy.
• Prepare to discuss your approach to technical leadership, including your experience mentoring and elevating engineering talent, and your ability to drive multi-quarter roadmaps.
• Emphasize your ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product, infrastructure, data engineering, analytics, ML, privacy, security, and compliance, to demonstrate your ability to build alignment and secure commitment.
• Be prepared to discuss your experience working in a remote-first environment, including your ability to work independently and collaborate with distributed teams, to demonstrate your fit with Coinbase's company culture.