Senior Software Engineer, Backend - Platform (Payment Rails)

Coinbase is a company dedicated to increasing economic freedom in the world, and they are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join their Payment Rails team. This role involves designing and building backend services that process transactions and ensure secure, reliable money movement across the Coinbase platform.

Responsibilities:

• Design and build scalable payment systems that process millions of transactions daily—developing APIs, services, and integrations that power deposits, withdrawals, and fund transfers across multiple payment methods and rails
• Own backend services end-to-end from architecture through production—writing high-quality, well-tested code and operating services that must be correct, auditable, and reliable in a real-time financial environment
• Partner cross-functionally with Product, Design, Compliance, and Finance to translate complex payment requirements into robust, scalable technical solutions that balance speed, safety, and regulatory compliance
• Drive technical vision and execution by working with engineers, product managers, and senior leadership to shape the long-term roadmap for Payment Rails—identifying opportunities to improve reliability, reduce latency, and scale our systems
• Integrate with internal and external partners including banking systems, payment processors, and teams across Coinbase (e.g., FinHub, Ledger, Risk) to ensure seamless money movement across the platform
• Contribute to engineering excellence by mentoring teammates, participating in design reviews, and helping build a strong, inclusive, and high-performing engineering culture

Requirements:

• 5+ years of experience in backend software engineering, with demonstrated experience building high-volume, low-latency distributed systems
• Strong coding skills in Go (preferred) or similar languages, with solid understanding of relational databases, transactions, and data consistency
• Experience designing and operating production services at scale—including monitoring, alerting, incident response, and performance optimization
• Deep understanding of distributed systems, APIs, and system design principles—you can decompose complex problems into well-structured, service-oriented architectures
• Proven ability to collaborate across teams and functions, driving alignment with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• You're passionate about building an open financial system that brings the world together
• Demonstrates the ability to responsibly use generative AI tools and copilots (e.g., LibreChat, Gemini, Glean) in daily workflows, continuously learn as tools evolve, and apply human-in-the-loop practices to deliver business-ready outputs and drive measurable improvements in efficiency, cost, and quality
• Experience with payment systems, banking integrations, or financial infrastructure (e.g., ACH, SWIFT, SEPA, card networks, payment processors)
• Experience with blockchain technology, stablecoins, or crypto payment flows
• You've gone through rapid growth at a company (from startup to mid-size) and understand the challenges of scaling systems and teams
• Crypto-forward experience, including familiarity with onchain activity such as interacting with Ethereum addresses, using ENS, and engaging with dApps or blockchain-based services