Staff Software Engineer, Infrastructure - Datastores

Ready to be pushed beyond what you think you're capable of?
At Coinbase, our mission is to increase economic freedom in the world. It's a massive, ambitious opportunity that demands the best of us, every day, as we build the emerging onchain platform - and with it, the future global financial system.
To achieve our mission, we're seeking a very specific candidate. We want someone who is passionate about our mission and who believes in the power of crypto and blockchain technology to update the financial system. We want someone who is eager to leave their mark on the world, who relishes the pressure and privilege of working with high caliber colleagues, and who actively seeks feedback to keep leveling up. We want someone who will run towards, not away from, solving the company's hardest problems.
Our work culture is intense and isn't for everyone. But if you want to build the future alongside others who excel in their disciplines and expect the same from you, there's no better place to be.
While many roles at Coinbase are remote-first, we are not remote-only. In-person participation is required throughout the year. Team and company-wide offsites are held multiple times annually to foster collaboration, connection, and alignment. Attendance is expected and fully supported.
At Coinbase, our mission is to increase economic freedom in the world. This monumental goal rests on a foundation of data, and the Datastores team is the architect and guardian of that foundation. We engineer the critical database infrastructure that powers every product, every transaction, and every user interaction on a global scale, making us the bedrock of the entire company.
We are seeking a visionary Staff Software Engineer to join this pivotal team. This is not a role for the faint of heart. You will be entrusted with the keys to systems that handle millions of requests per second, supporting a diverse and rapidly evolving portfolio of technologies-from OLTP databases like MongoDB and Postgres to analytics powerhouses like ClickHouse and caching solutions like Redis. Your work will be the engine that ensures the reliability, scalability, and performance of the entire Coinbase ecosystem.
In this role, you will be more than just an engineer; you will be a technical leader and a strategic partner to teams across the company. You will guide them in selecting the right database technologies for their needs, provide them with fully paved and automated solutions, and pioneer the industry-defining technologies that will meet the complex demands of Web3. If you are driven to solve problems at a massive scale and build the database infrastructure that will help increase economic freedom for the world, we want to hear from you.
What you'll be doing (ie. job duties):

• Architect and pioneer the next generation of Coinbase's distributed database technologies (e.g., MongoDB, Postgres, DynamoDB, ClickHouse, Redis), building and running highly available services that handle millions of requests per second.
• Drive the evolution of our core database systems, relentlessly pursuing improvements in scalability, reliability, performance, and cost efficiency to meet the demands of a global user base.
• Serve as a technical leader and force multiplier, guiding senior engineers and leadership on critical architectural decisions while anticipating the future needs of the business.
• Uphold the highest standards of operational excellence, delivering world-class, well-tested code for our customers and taking ownership of system reliability through proactive maintenance and expert-level troubleshooting during on-call rotations.
• Be a forward-thinking expert, researching and integrating cutting-edge industry trends and emerging technologies to continuously enhance our systems and define the future of datastores for Web3.

What we look for in you (ie. job requirements):

• You have at least 8+ years of industry experience with a proven track record of building and operating scalable, fault-tolerant, and highly available distributed systems.
• You have deep, hands-on experience with incident response and disaster recovery for large-scale database deployments in a production environment.
• You have thrived in a high-growth environment, ideally experiencing the scaling challenges of a company growing from 10 to 100s of engineers.
• You have a solid understanding of distributed database architecture, performance tuning, and reliability.
• You have deep expertise in developing the automation and tooling required to manage large-scale, distributed database systems with minimal human intervention.
• You are a world-class communicator, capable of driving complex technical decisions and aligning senior engineers and leadership on a long-term vision.

Job #: GPIN06NA
Pay Transparency Notice: Depending on your work location, the target annual salary for this position can range as detailed below. Full time offers from Coinbase also include target bonus + target equity + benefits (including medical, dental, vision and 401(k)).
Pay Range:
$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.
Commitment to Equal Opportunity
Coinbase is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation or any other basis protected by applicable law. Coinbase will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. For US applicants, you may view the Employee Rights and the Know Your Rights notices by clicking on their corresponding links. Additionally, Coinbase participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations, as required by law.
Coinbase is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please contact us at accommodations[at]coinbase.com to let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. For quick access to screen reading technology compatible with this site click here to download a free compatible screen reader (free step by step tutorial can be found here) .
Global Data Privacy Notice for Job Candidates and Applicants
Depending on your location, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) may regulate the way we manage the data of job applicants. Our full notice outlining how data will be processed as part of the application procedure for applicable locations is available here . By submitting your application, you are agreeing to our use and processing of your data as required. For US applicants only, by submitting your application you are agreeing to arbitration of disputes as outlined here.
AI Disclosure
For select roles, Coinbase is piloting an AI tool based on machine learning technologies to conduct initial screening interviews to qualified applicants. The tool simulates realistic interview scenarios and engages in dynamic conversation. A human recruiter will review your interview responses, provided in the form of a voice recording and/or transcript, to assess them against the qualifications and characteristics outlined in the job description.
For select roles, Coinbase is also piloting an AI interview intelligence platform to transcribe and summarize interview notes, allowing our interviewers to fully focus on you as the candidate.
The above pilots are for testing purposes and Coinbase will not use AI to make decisions impacting employment . To request a reasonable accommodation due to disability, please contact accommodations[at]coinbase.com