FCM Tech Lead

Coinbase; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 218,000 - 257,000; Full time

Job summary

Coinbase is building the future of regulated derivatives as part of the Institutional Everything Exchange, and the FCM Tech Lead will be a hands-on technical anchor across the entire FCM lifecycle: market data, order entry and routing, settlement and money movement, back-office reporting, and our in-house risk and liquidation system.

You'll help lead a major replatforming onto next-gen architecture, reduce legacy vendor dependencies, and own the technical standards while collaborating with

Qualifications

• Extensive backend engineering experience with ownership of complex distributed systems.
• Direct FCM or derivatives experience and familiarity with futures lifecycle.
• Proficiency in Go (preferred) and Java; strong event-driven, high-availability architectures.
• Experience in regulated financial environments requiring auditability and compliance.
• Track record delivering end-to-end design through implementation and iteration while coding hands-on.
• Responsible use of generative AI with human oversight to improve workflows.

Responsibilities

• Own design and architecture across the FCM core, from market data to settlement and risk.
• Drive the next-gen replatforming to reduce legacy dependencies and improve stability.
• Set the technical bar through reviews, designs, and standards; address technical debt.
• Collaborate with Product, Risk, Ops, Finance, and Compliance to deliver auditable systems.
• Mentor engineers and scale engineering quality across the team.

Skills

Distributed systems

Go language

Java backend

Regulated finance

End-to-end delivery

AI usage

Futures trading

Job description

Ready to do the most impactful work of your career? At Coinbase, we are uncompromising on our mission to increase economic freedom. The bar is high, the environment is intense, and we like it that way. This isn't a place for complacency, it's a place to be pushed past your perceived limits. If you're ready to build the future of finance alongside people who refuse to settle for "good enough," you belong here. Coinbase is a remote-first, but not remote-only company. Expect to get together quarterly for intense in-person working sessions called "surges." learn more about working at Coinbase.

Coinbase is building the future of regulated derivatives as part of the Institutional Everything Exchange, and Coinbase Financial Markets (CFM) is our CFTC-regulated Futures Commission Merchant, the entity that lets retail and institutional clients trade and clear US futures and options. As a FCM Tech Lead, you'll be a hands-on technical anchor across the entire FCM lifecycle: market data, order entry and routing, settlement and money movement, back-office reporting, and our in-house risk and liquidation system. You'll help lead a major replatforming onto next-gen architecture and reduce legacy vendor dependencies, a rare chance to re-architect a regulated trading platform from the inside, with the ownership of a startup and the reach of Coinbase.

What you'll do:

• Own design and architecture across the FCM core, from market data and order routing through settlement, reporting, and risk.


• Drive the next-gen replatforming effort, reducing legacy vendor dependencies while raising stability and reliability.


• Set the technical bar through code, design reviews, and standards, and pay down the technical debt that matters most.


• Partner across pods (execution, risk, lifecycle) and cross-functionally with Product, CFM Risk and Ops, Finance, and Compliance to deliver correct, auditable systems and turn strategy into a roadmap.


• Mentor engineers across the team and act as a force multiplier, scaling engineering quality and helping others grow.

Required Skills and Experience:

• Extensive backend engineering experience, with demonstrated ownership of complex, production-grade distributed systems.


• Direct FCM or derivatives experience, with hands-on ownership of one or more parts of the futures trade lifecycle (settlement, clearing, margin/risk, order entry/routing, market data, or back-office books and records).


• Deep proficiency in a modern backend language (Go preferred; Java or similar) and event-driven, high-availability architectures; familiarity with Ion XTP is a plus.


• Experience in a regulated or financial environment (CFTC/NFA or comparable) where correctness, auditability, and reliability are critical.


• Track record delivering end-to-end, from scoping and architecture through implementation, monitoring, and iteration, including replatforming or migrating off legacy systems while still coding hands-on and raising the quality bar.


• Utilizes generative AI responsibly, maintaining human oversight to deliver business-ready outputs and drive measurable improvements in workflow efficiency, cost, and quality.

Pay Transparency Notice:

Base salary varies by location (see range below). Total compensation may also include equity and bonus eligibility, and benefits (medical, dental, vision, 401(k)).

Annual base salary range (excluding equity and bonus): $218,025 - $256,500 USD

• Equal Opportunity Employer: Coinbase is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information. Applicants with criminal histories will be considered consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws.


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• Accommodations: If you are an individual with a disability who needs a reasonable accommodation, email us your request and contact info at accommodations[at]coinbase.com. Need screen reading technology? Click here to download a free compatible screen reader and view the tutorial.


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