Senior Software Engineer, Compute Platform

Coinbase, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 186,000 - 219,000; Full time

Job summary

Coinbase is seeking a Senior Software Engineer for the Compute Platform to own and evolve the core orchestration infra used by hundreds of engineers. You’ll work with CNCF tools and cloud services to enable scalable, reliable deployments.

You’ll craft developer tooling, automate toil, and drive platform observability while partnering with Security, Reliability, and Observability teams to raise standards.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of software engineering experience.
• 3+ years building and operating Kubernetes or similar systems.
• Proficiency in Go, Python or Java with production-grade infra services.
• Hands-on with AWS and/or GCP in production at scale.
• Experience designing distributed infrastructure and incident response.
• Familiarity with CNCF tools (Helm, Prometheus, ArgoCD, Envoy).
• Ability to apply AI tooling to automation and developer productivity.

Responsibilities

• Own design and operation of Kubernetes cluster management tooling.
• Build developer-facing tooling to improve Kubernetes interaction and AI-driven processes.
• Deliver compute capabilities like one-off jobs, cron scheduling, deployment strategies, and right-sizing.
• Automate toil and improve platform observability and incident response.
• Collaborate with Security, Reliability, and Observability teams to meet standards.

Skills

Go

Python

Java

AI tooling

Security

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent

Tools

Kubernetes

ECS

Mesos

Nomad

Istio

Helm

Prometheus

ArgoCD

Envoy

Job description

Ready to do the most impactful work of your career? AtCoinbase, 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.

As a Senior Software Engineer on the Compute Platform team within thePlatform group, you'll own the primary compute orchestration infrastructure that every service at Coinbase runs on. Built largely on CNCF technologies including Kubernetes and Istio, this platform underpins the scalability, reliability, and efficiency of our entire product suite. You'll design and ship tooling, automation, and net-new capabilities that make it easy for hundreds of engineers to deploy and operate critical services, while partnering closely with Security, Reliability, and Observability teams to raise the bar across the stack.

What you'll do:

• Own the design, build, and operation of Kubernetes cluster management tooling and automation that keeps our compute platform reliable and self-healing at scale.
• Build developer-facing tooling and workflows that improve how engineers across Coinbase interact with Kubernetes, with a heavy emphasis on integrating AI-driven processes and support.
• Deliver net-new compute capabilities for service owners, such as one-off jobs, cron scheduling, deployment strategies, EFS support, and automated right-sizing.
• Drive operational excellence by automating toil, reducing on-call burden, and continuously improving platform observability and incident response.
• Partner with Security, Reliability, and Observability teams to ensure the compute platform meets Coinbase's standards for security, uptime, and performance.

Required Skills and Experience:

• 5+ years of software engineering experience, including 3+ years building and operating Kubernetes or similar compute orchestration systems (e.g., Mesos, Nomad, ECS).
• Proficiency in one or more programming languages (e.g., Go, Python, Java) with experience building and shipping production-grade infrastructure services
• Hands-on experience with AWS and/or GCP infrastructure services (e.g., EC2, EKS, IAM, VPC, networking) in a production environment at scale.
• Demonstrated ability to design, implement, and operate distributed infrastructure systems, including diagnosing complex failures and driving them to root-cause resolution.
• Hands-on experience with the CNCF ecosystem (e.g., Helm, Prometheus, ArgoCD, Envoy) and a track record of applying these tools to solve real infrastructure problems.
• Proven ability to apply AI tooling to infrastructure workflows, improving automation, developer productivity, or operational efficiency.
• 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):: $186,065 USD - $218,900 USD

• Application Limit: Candidates may submit a maximum of 3 applications within a 6-month period.
• 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.
• US Applicants: View Employee Rights, Know Your Rights, and E-Verify Notice of Participation.
• 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.
• Data Privacy & Arbitration: By submitting your application, you agree to our Candidate Privacy Notice. US applicants: By submitting your application, you agree to Arbitration of Disputes.