Senior Software Engineer - Institutional Markets Systems

About Coinbase

Are you ready to reach new heights in your career?

At Coinbase, we are on a mission to enhance economic freedom globally. This ambitious vision requires our best efforts daily as we develop the leading on‑chain platform and, with it, a transformative global financial system.

We are looking for a dedicated candidate who shares our passion and believes in the potential of crypto and blockchain technology to revolutionize the financial landscape. If you're eager to make a significant impact, thrive under pressure, and seek constructive feedback, we want you on our team to tackle the toughest challenges head‑on.

Our work environment is fast‑paced and intense, perfect for individuals who want to shape the future alongside exceptional colleagues. Here, you'll be expected to excel and contribute your best!

Most roles at Coinbase are remote‑friendly, but we value in‑person connections. Regular team and company‑wide offsites are organized to encourage collaboration and synergy. Your participation is expected and fully backed by us.

Team Overview

Coinbase Institutional – Making the Future Real

Our team transforms crypto from concepts into reality. Coinbase Institutional builds innovative platforms that enable the world's largest financial institutions to trade, secure, and engage in the global crypto economy. We are proud to lead with industry “firsts” and develop secure infrastructure for dozens of digital assets, providing essential gateways for staking, governance, and web3 functionalities. Be it prime brokerage or international markets, we are crafting the technology and user experiences that allow leading players to advance their financial transactions.

Within the Coinbase Institutional Markets organization, the Coinbase Exchange team is responsible for building the core trading platform that empowers crypto markets, designed for ultra‑low latency, high throughput, and reliable performance around the clock.

Role: Engineering Manager – Coinbase Exchange

As an Engineering Manager, you will guide a talented team working on the heart of the exchange's systems, including order entry gateways, matching engines, and real‑time market data. Collaborating closely with product teams and cross‑functional stakeholders, you will drive the development of institutional‑grade capabilities that enable our most discerning customers to execute trades with speed and precision.

This is an exciting opportunity to work at the intersection of large‑scale distributed systems and performance‑critical engineering, addressing some of the most complex problems in the crypto domain. If you're energized by engineering challenges and aspire to make a significant impact in the market's future, this position is ideal for you.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead a team of approximately 8 engineers to develop the next evolution of Coinbase Exchange trading systems.
• Oversee core exchange functionalities including order entry, matching, market data, and APIs from start to finish.
• Develop ultra‑low‑latency and high‑throughput systems that maintain reliability and scale (operating 24/7/365).
• Collaborate with Product, Infra/SRE teams, and senior leadership to align strategy with actionable quarterly objectives.
• Establish effective team processes to enhance execution quality, including planning, reviews, testing, safe deployments, and postmortems.
• Define and monitor specific operating metrics (SLOs/SLIs, latency, availability) to ensure consistent performance.
• Swiftly manage and resolve incidents and partner issues, maintaining clear accountability and communication.
• Mentor and guide engineers to elevate technical skill levels and develop future leaders.

Qualifications

• A minimum of 5 years of software engineering experience.
• Expertise in designing, building, scaling, and maintaining production services, with a solid grasp of service‑oriented architectures.
• Proficiency in writing high‑quality, well‑tested code that meets user needs.
• A passion for developing an inclusive global financial system.
• A demonstrated capacity to effectively utilize generative AI tools and copilot technologies, adapting to evolving environments while applying best practices for continuous improvement.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in building and managing low‑latency trading systems such as matching engines and market data.
• A strong background in designing high‑performance distributed systems.
• Hands‑on experience with Java in performance‑critical settings, familiar with Aeron or similar high‑throughput messaging technologies.

Job Details

• Job #: P72897
• Annual Salary Range: $186,065‑$218,900 USD (excluding equity and bonuses). Total compensation may include these elements along with benefits like medical, dental, vision, and 401(k).

Application Guidelines

• Each candidate may submit a maximum of four applications within a 30‑day period. We encourage thoughtful evaluation of your alignment with our openings before applying.

Equal Opportunity Commitment

Coinbase proudly supports equal employment opportunities for all individuals. Qualified applicants will be considered for employment regardless of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by applicable law. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in accordance with applicable laws.

Accommodations

Coinbase ensures reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. For accommodation requests during the application process, reach out via email to indicate the nature of your request.

Global Data Privacy Notice

For applicable locations, our management of job applicant data adheres to GDPR and CCPA regulations. By submitting your application, you consent to our data processing practices. For U.S. applicants, submitting your application indicates agreement to arbitration of disputes per outlined terms.

AI Disclosure

For select roles, we are exploring an AI tool for initial screening interviews, which simulates realistic scenarios. A human recruiter will review your responses. We also might use AI to transcribe and summarize interview notes to focus on you as the candidate.

These AI initiatives are for testing only; hiring decisions will not be influenced by AI. For reasonable accommodations due to disabilities, please reach out via email.