Senior Staff Software Engineer, Payments

About the role

We are seeking a seasoned engineer to influence the technical framework governing the movement of funds into and out of Coinbase on a global scale. In this position, you will be responsible for designing systems that manage substantial transaction volumes while ensuring reliability and efficiency across diverse payment methods.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Develop and oversee the technical strategy for payment systems, focusing on transaction pathways, orchestration, and fund transfers to facilitate new product launches, international growth, and increased transaction volumes.
• Design and refine the foundational payment infrastructure, which includes integrating with various payment rails, establishing routing logic, and creating fund flow services that prioritize high availability, low latency, and cost efficiency for global operations.
• Spearhead the design and implementation of significant projects that require collaboration across multiple teams, such as the introduction of new global payment channels, system migrations, and resilience initiatives.
• Set and uphold technical standards for financial accuracy within payment operations, emphasizing idempotency, reconciliation, error management, and auditability across all money movement pathways.
• Work closely with teams such as FinHub, Payments Risk, Regulatory Platform, and Product to develop cohesive architectures that balance user experience, risk management, compliance, and economic sustainability.
• Offer comprehensive technical mentorship to senior and staff engineers within the Payments team, enhancing system design quality, code review practices, and long-term maintainability of systems.
• Assess and implement best practices for system performance and reliability, ensuring that the payment infrastructure can scale effectively to meet growing demands.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align technical solutions with business objectives, ensuring that all stakeholders are informed and engaged in the decision-making process.

Requirements

• At least 10 years of experience in building and managing large-scale distributed systems in a live production environment, with advanced proficiency in backend programming languages such as Go, Java, or Python, along with cloud-native architecture expertise.
• Significant experience in the architecture of money movement systems, including knowledge of payment service providers (PSPs), ISO 20022 standards, transaction routing, double-entry accounting, and high-volume payment processing.
• Proven track record of designing systems that are both highly available and performant, with the capability to identify and proactively mitigate potential scaling challenges.
• Experience in leading technical projects that involve multiple engineering teams, as well as mentoring senior engineers on best practices in system design and maintainability.
• Strong communication skills to effectively convey complex technical trade-offs to executive and cross-functional stakeholders, facilitating consensus on critical technical decisions.
• Familiarity with the responsible application of generative AI, ensuring human oversight to yield business-ready results and measurable enhancements in workflow efficiency, cost, and quality.

Nice to have

• Experience with payment orchestration platforms, enhancing the ability to manage and optimize payment processes.
• Knowledge of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency payment systems, providing insights into emerging trends in the financial technology landscape.
• Previous involvement in regulatory compliance related to payment systems, contributing to the development of compliant and secure payment solutions.

Skills & tools

• Proficient in Go, Java, and Python
• Expertise in cloud-native architecture (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure)
• Strong background in distributed systems design
• Experience with payment processing systems and financial systems architecture
• Familiarity with generative AI applications in a technical context

Practical notes

• The annual base salary for this position ranges from $253,895 to $298,700 USD. Total compensation may also include equity and bonus eligibility, along with benefits such as medical, dental, vision, and a 401(k) plan.
• Candidates are limited to submitting a maximum of three applications within a six-month timeframe.
• Coinbase is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer.
• For US applicants, information regarding employee rights and E-Verify can be found on our website.
• If you require accommodations, please reach out via email at accommodations[at]coinbase.com.
• By submitting your application, you agree to the Candidate Privacy Notice and, for US applicants, the Arbitration of Disputes policy.