Senior Software Engineer - Money Movement Risk

About

Are you ready to be challenged to exceed your limits?

At Coinbase, our mission is to enhance economic freedom globally. This grand endeavor calls for our utmost dedication as we construct the emerging onchain platform, paving the way for the future financial system.

We are in search of an exceptional candidate who is not only passionate about our mission but also believes in the transformative potential of crypto and blockchain technology to revolutionize finance. We want someone eager to make a meaningful impact, thrives under pressure, and actively seeks feedback for continuous improvement. If you are someone who embraces challenges head‑on and is excited to tackle our toughest problems, this is the place for you.

Our work environment is intense and may not suit everyone, but if you aspire to build the future alongside high‑performing colleagues who expect the same commitment from you, then you will find no better opportunity.

While many roles at Coinbase allow for remote work, we are not a remote‑only organization. Regular in‑person participation is required, with team and company‑wide gatherings held several times a year to promote collaboration and connection. Your attendance is anticipated and fully supported.

On the Money Movement team, we are developing the essential infrastructure for stablecoin‑based payments, facilitating fast, secure, and scalable cross‑border transfers. This foundational work supports the movement of value across the Coinbase ecosystem and beyond.

As a Senior Software Engineer within the CDP Payment Risk team, you will be instrumental in designing, building, and scaling real‑time risk infrastructure that safeguards Coinbase's payment flows — including fraud detection and transaction scoring for multi‑currency, cross‑border payouts. This role goes beyond core backend engineering, requiring active ownership of machine learning systems: developing risk models, data pipelines, and integrating cutting‑edge AI agents for automated risk decision‑making. You will lead risk controls as CDP expands into new markets and payment channels (e.g., PIX, SPEI, Faster Payments), ensuring that USDC fiat flows are secure while delivering a seamless customer experience.

Responsibilities

• Own essential risk outcomes across CDP's payment platform, optimizing the balance between fraud loss prevention, abuse mitigation, and user experience.
• Develop expertise in global payment systems and CDP products/APIs, contributing to creating a world‑class crypto payment risk architecture as these platforms grow internationally.
• Design and implement innovative risk decisioning systems, including policy/rule engines, machine learning models, real‑time scoring services, and autonomous risk assessment agents.
• Architect and build high‑throughput data pipelines (batch, real‑time, and streaming) that enable risk detection, monitoring, experimentation, and model training on a global scale.
• Create advanced detection methods using classical machine learning, graph‑based techniques, and anomaly detection to proactively identify and address fraud and abuse issues.
• Pioneer innovations at the intersection of risk management, fraud prevention, and AI, translating cutting‑edge research into practical systems.
• Contribute to the technical community through publications or engineering blogs, helping position Coinbase as a leader in next‑generation payment risk technology.

Requirements

• Minimum 3 years of experience in software engineering.
• Expertise in developing real‑time risk and fraud detection systems at scale.
• Experience designing and building production services within a service‑oriented architecture.
• Understanding of payment risk, including chargebacks, unauthorized transactions, and payment fraud typologies.
• Familiarity with rules engines and machine learning‑based risk scoring (feature engineering, model serving, decisioning).
• Experience working with cross‑border payment flows and the associated risk of multi‑currency, multi‑rail transactions.
• Proven leadership abilities to mentor other engineers and influence risk strategy.
• Adept at responsibly leveraging AI tools and technologies in daily work, embracing their evolution, and applying practices that enhance efficiency and quality.

Nice to Haves

• Experience in rapid growth environments (from startup to mid‑size).
• Background in fintech or neobanking, focusing on scaling risk systems.
• Proficiency in Golang, Python, Kafka, Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.
• Experience with event‑driven architectures for real‑time risk evaluation.
• Knowledge of blockchain analytics tools (Chainalysis, TRM Labs, Elliptic).
• Experience transitioning monolithic risk systems into microservices.
• Interest in cryptocurrency, including familiarity with on‑chain activity, DeFi protocols, and cross‑chain transfers.

Compensation

Pay Transparency Notice: Depending on your work location, the target annual base salary for this position ranges as detailed below. Total compensation may also include equity, bonuses, and benefits such as medical, dental, vision, and 401(k).

Annual base salary range (excluding equity and bonus):
$186,065 – $218,900 USD

Application Limits

Please note that each candidate may submit a maximum of four applications within any 30‑day period.

Commitment to Equal Opportunity

Coinbase is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, or any other basis protected by applicable law. Coinbase will also consider applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local law.

Accommodations

Coinbase is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need accommodation due to a disability during any part of the employment process, please contact us at accommodations[at]coinbase.com to share your request and contact information.

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 influence how we handle job applicants' data. Our comprehensive notice outlines data processing as part of the application process for applicable locations.

AI Disclosure

For selected roles, Coinbase is piloting an AI tool to conduct initial screening interviews. The tool creates realistic interview scenarios, with human recruiters reviewing responses provided via voice recordings or transcripts to assess candidates.

This pilot is for testing purposes, and Coinbase will not use AI to make employment decisions.