Senior Staff, Compliance Technology

Coinbase, Inc.; United States; Remote; USD 230,000 - 271,000; Full time

Job summary

Coinbase, Inc. is seeking a Senior Technical leader to set direction for compliance data and control systems in a remote-first company.

You will define multi-year roadmaps, frame ambiguous problems, and lead cross-functional initiatives with product, engineering, compliance, and operations to ensure scalable, auditable controls. You will own operational health, drive improvements, and mentor analytics teams while partnering with ML/Platform groups to enhance capabilities.

Qualifications

• At least 10 years of experience developing data-intensive systems.
• Expert in compliance data systems and architectural decisions.
• Proven successLeading complex technical initiatives end-to-end.
• Experience building reliable data pipelines and multi-tenant controls at scale.
• Ability to influence technical decisions without formal authority.
• Balance regulatory requirements with system reliability and customer experience.
• Hands-on implementation, reviews, and production troubleshooting.
• Strong communication with technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
• Translating regulatory requirements into testable controls with evidence.
• Passion for open financial systems and Coinbase mission.

Responsibilities

• Set technical direction for compliance data and control systems.
• Define multi-year roadmaps aligned with regulatory needs and growth.
• Frame ambiguities, evaluate options, balance control and cost.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives across Product, Engineering, Compliance and Operations.
• Serve as a technical expert shaping architecture and quality.
• Translate regulatory requirements into testable controls with criteria.
• Own operational health: monitoring, incident response, remediation.
• Analyze detection outputs to improve signal quality and efficiency.
• Collaborate with ML/AI and Platform teams on capabilities.
• Mentor analytics and data practitioners with technical guidance.

Skills

Data-intensive systems

Compliance data systems

Technical leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Code review

Production troubleshooting

AI tool judgment

Mentoring analytics

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.

The Compliance Technology team builds and operates data and detection capabilities that enable Coinbase to meet global BSA/AML and related regulatory obligations at scale. We partner closely with Compliance, Product, and Engineering to ensure our monitoring and investigative controls (e.g., Transaction Monitoring, EDD/KYC, Screening) are effective, measurable, and auditable.

What you’ll do:

• Set technical direction for compliance data and control systems within your domain, leading the design, implementation, and operation of large-scale solutions that support global compliance requirements.
• Define and deliver multi-year technical roadmaps aligned with regulatory requirements, business growth, and operational scalability, translating long-term priorities into measurable quarterly outcomes.
• Independently frame ambiguous technical problems, evaluate alternatives, and determine approaches that balance control effectiveness, data quality, reliability, customer experience, and operational cost.
• Lead complex, cross-functional initiatives across Product, Engineering, Compliance, and Operations. Build alignment on technical approaches, resolve competing priorities, and drive delivery across teams without relying on reporting-line authority.
• Serve as a technical expert whose judgment shapes critical architectural decisions across your team and cross-functional partners. Raise engineering quality through hands-on development, design reviews, technical documentation, and reusable approaches.
• Partner with Compliance and control owners to translate regulatory and policy requirements into testable technical controls, with clear acceptance criteria, traceable data, and evidence of control effectiveness.
• Own the operational health of systems within your domain, including monitoring, incident response, and remediation. Detect data-quality issues and control degradation, and drive improvements that reduce recurrence.
• Analyze detection outputs and control-performance trends to improve signal quality and operational efficiency, reducing non-actionable noise while validating that changes preserve detection sensitivity.
• Partner with Machine Learning/AI and Platform teams to improve compliance capabilities, with clear evaluation criteria and ongoing monitoring of production performance.
• Mentor analytics and data practitioners through technical guidance, reviews, and knowledge sharing, reinforcing Coinbase’s cultural values.

Required Skills & Experience:

• At least 10 years of experience developing data-intensive systems, including significant technical leadership in compliance data and control systems.
• Deep expertise in compliance data systems, with a track record of being a trusted technical resource whose judgment shapes architectural decisions and resolves critical cross-functional issues.
• Demonstrated success independently leading complex technical initiatives from problem definition and design through implementation, rollout, and production operation.
• Experience building reliable data pipelines, data models, and multi-tenant compliance controls or systems at scale, with strong practices for data quality, testing, and auditability.
• Demonstrated ability to influence technical decisions and align Product, Engineering, Compliance, and Operations stakeholders without formal authority.
• Strong technical judgment in balancing regulatory and control requirements with system reliability, customer experience, delivery constraints, and operational efficiency.
• Experience evaluating detection or control performance, investigating degradation, and validating improvements to signal quality and effectiveness.
• Strong hands-on skills in implementation, code and design review, technical writing, production troubleshooting, and incident leadership.
• Ability to connect long-term technical direction with near-term execution, independently determining approaches in ambiguous situations.
• Clear communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical and compliance issues, present trade-offs, and build agreement with technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
• Sound judgment in using AI tools, including reviewing outputs and protecting sensitive data.
• Passion for building an open financial system that brings the world together.

Pay Transparency Notice:Depending on your work location, the target annual base salary for this position can range as detailed below. Total compensation may alsoinclude bonus eligibility and benefits (including medical, dental, vision and 401(k)).

Annual base salary range (excluding bonus): $230,265 — $270,900 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. Need screen reading technology? Click here to download a free compatible screen reader and view the tutorial.
• 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.