Backend Software Engineer (Java, API)

Coinbase is a leading cryptocurrency exchange and financial technology company committed to increasing economic freedom worldwide. As a remote-first organization, Coinbase fosters an innovative and dynamic environment where talented professionals collaborate to build the future of finance. The company emphasizes high standards, intense work environments, and continuous growth, providing employees with opportunities to push their limits and contribute to impactful projects.

About the role

We are seeking a highly skilled Staff Software Engineer to join our Prediction Markets team. In this role, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining the core backend systems that enable market discovery, trading, order management, market resolution, and settlement for prediction markets. This is a unique opportunity to build market infrastructure from the ground up, combining the ownership and agility of a startup with the reach and security of Coinbase. You will lead cross-functional collaborations with Product, Compliance, and Risk teams to ensure the platform adheres to regulatory standards and launches with confidence. Your expertise will shape engineering standards across the team, driving operational excellence and high-quality code practices. This role offers the chance to influence the future of prediction markets and financial technology innovation.

Responsibilities

• Own the design, development, and reliability of backend systems supporting order management, trade matching, settlement, and market resolution for prediction markets
• Architect distributed systems that enforce strict correctness guarantees across clearing, payout, and position management workflows
• Drive the technical strategy for migrating from third-party venue participation to a fully Coinbase-operated exchange and clearing platform
• Lead cross-functional collaboration with Product, Compliance, and Risk teams to ensure platform compliance and successful launches
• Establish and uphold engineering standards, promoting best practices for code quality, system design, and operational procedures
• Partner with engineers across Consumer & Business teams to identify infrastructure opportunities and reduce duplication across trading surfaces
• Mentor team members, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and technical excellence
• Contribute to incident response, troubleshooting, and system optimization efforts to ensure high system uptime and performance

Requirements

• 8+ years of backend software engineering experience, with a focus on high-availability, low-latency distributed systems in production environments
• Proven expertise in designing systems where financial correctness is critical, such as order management, settlement, clearing, or ledger systems
• Experience leading complex, multi-quarter technical projects, including architecture design, trade-off analysis, and cross-team coordination
• Deep proficiency in at least one backend programming language (e.g., Go, Java, or similar)
• Strong fundamentals in distributed systems, concurrency, and data modeling
• Experience mentoring and elevating engineering teams, establishing high standards for code quality, system design, and incident response
• Ability to utilize generative AI responsibly, maintaining human oversight to improve workflows and deliver business value

Benefits

• Competitive salary aligned with experience and location
• Equity and bonus potential as part of total compensation
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans
• 401(k) retirement savings plan
• Paid time off and flexible work arrangements
• Opportunities for professional development and continuous learning
• Collaborative and innovative remote work environment with periodic in-person gatherings