Staff Machine Learning Engineer(Platform - Identity)

Coinbase; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 218,025 - 256,500; Full time

Job summary

Coinbase is searching for a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to lead the Identity Verification team. This role encompasses ownership of ML systems that validate identities, focusing on techniques like document verification and biometric analysis.

The candidate will drive ML strategy, mentor engineers, and collaborate with teams across Coinbase. The position demands extensive experience in deploying ML systems, particularly in identity verification.

The annual salary range is $218,025 to $256,500, with additional compensation and benefits.

Qualifications

• 8+ years deploying production ML systems at scale.
• Domain experience in identity verification or account integrity.
• Expert-level Python with production experience in ML frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Own the full IDV ML stack for identity verification.
• Build identity-graph systems to detect synthetic identities.
• Develop behavioral models for session anomaly detection.

Skills

Machine Learning

Python

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Computer Vision

NLP

Job description

Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Identity Verification

As a Staff Machine Learning Engineer on the Identity Verification team within the Platform group, you'll own the ML systems that determine whether a person, document, and capture session are legitimate. Every signup, account recovery, and high‑risk action at Coinbase depends on these models. You'll lead the technical strategy for IDV ML end‑to‑end, from architecture through production enforcement, protecting the integrity of millions of accounts.

What you’ll do:

• Own the full IDV ML stack, including document authenticity models, 1:1 and 1:N face‑match, liveness detection, presentation‑attack detection, and deepfake/injection detection from feature pipeline through threshold tuning and production enforcement.
• Build identity‑graph systems using GNNs that cluster accounts sharing biometric, device, and document signals to detect synthetic‑identity rings and coordinated fraud at onboarding.
• Develop behavioral and device‑intelligence models for capture‑session anomaly detection, bot‑vs‑human classification, and device‑fingerprint‑based risk scoring at real‑time latency.
• Drive vendor ML strategy by benchmarking external models against a Coinbase‑owned evaluation set, designing dynamic routing logic across providers and geographies, and building the in‑house evaluation layer that catches regressions before they reach users.
• Lead and mentor senior and mid‑level engineers in the pod while partnering with ML Platform and Risk ML teams to align cross‑company ML system design.

Required Skills and Experience:

• 8+ years deploying production ML systems at scale, with proven technical leadership owning cross‑team ML architecture from design through production.
• Domain experience in identity verification, biometrics, or account integrity with deep applied ML in at least two of: computer vision/biometrics, GNNs, sequence models, or NLP/LLMs.
• Expert‑level Python with production experience in TensorFlow or PyTorch, including model training, evaluation, and serving infrastructure.
• Track record translating KYC/AML requirements and fraud trends into ML roadmaps and communicating trade‑offs to Product, Compliance, Risk, and Security stakeholders.
• 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 USD - $256,500 USD

• Application Limit: Candidates may submit a maximum of 4 applications per 30‑day 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.
• AI Disclosure: Coinbase is piloting an AI tool based on machine learning technologies to conduct initial screening interviews to qualified applicants. The tool simulates realistic interview scenarios and engages in dynamic conversation. Coinbase is also piloting an AI interview intelligence platform to transcribe and summarize interview notes, allowing our interviewers to fully focus on you as the candidate. Coinbase will not use AI to make decisions impacting employment.