Software Engineer, Backend (risk Platform)

Software Engineer

Ready to be pushed beyond what you think you're capable of?

At Coinbase, our mission is to increase economic freedom in the world. It's a massive, ambitious opportunity that demands the best of us, every day, as we build the emerging onchain platform – and with it, the future global financial system.

To achieve our mission, we're seeking a very specific candidate. We want someone who is passionate about our mission and who believes in the power of crypto and blockchain technology to update the financial system. We want someone who is eager to leave their mark on the world, who relishes the pressure and privilege of working with high caliber colleagues, and who actively seeks feedback to keep leveling up. We want someone who will run towards, not away from, solving the company's hardest problems.

Our mission is intense and isn't for everyone. But if you want to build the future alongside others who excel in their disciplines and expect the same from you, there's no better place to be.

While many roles at Coinbase are remote-first, we are not remote-only. In-person participation is required throughout the year. Team and company-wide offsites are held multiple times annually to foster collaboration, connection, and alignment. Attendance is expected and fully supported.

The Risk Engineering Platform team at Coinbase is at the forefront of protecting our platform and millions of users from fraud and financial risks. We build flexible, scalable, and customizable engineering systems to detect and prevent fraud in real-time, near-real-time, and scheduled workflows. Our mission is to foster business growth by effectively managing financial risks while maintaining the best possible user experience.

The Role

As an IC4 Software Engineer on the Risk Engineering team, you will play a critical role in designing, building, and optimizing risk detection and mitigation systems that balance technical excellence, system reliability, and business impact. You will work on high-impact projects that directly protect Coinbase users and enable the platform to scale safely.

What you'll be doing (ie. job duties):

Design, scope, and build new risk detection systems and major features, applying experienced-based judgment to solve complex technical challenges

Independently manage complex features and projects from inception to production deployment

Turn our vision into tangible roadmaps every quarter by working with engineers, product managers, and senior leadership

Build self-serve options to reduce friction for legitimate users while blocking fraudulent activities

Optimize end-to-end experiences related to security protection and scam prevention

Actively participate in PR reviews, code lifecycle management, and mentor junior engineers

Respond to incidents of all severities and contribute to post-mortems

Collaborate with Data Science, ML, and Risk Analysts teams to develop both proactive (models & user-facing features) and reactive (one-off rules to mitigate urgent issues) solutions

Technical Excellence

Proactively propose novel ideas to enhance codebase, features, and architecture, promoting developer efficiency

Build systems that accelerate the team's ability to deliver high-quality work

Identify, propose, and implement scalable solutions that can be leveraged across the team

Leave code cleaner than you found it and maintain high code velocity

Implement mechanisms to identify regressions and ensure prompt visibility of emerging issues

What we look for in you (ie. job requirements):

2+ years of experience in software engineering, with demonstrated ability to ship production systems

Strong proficiency in at least one backend language (Go, Java, Python, Ruby)

Experience building and maintaining distributed systems at scale

Ability to independently manage complex tasks and work in unfamiliar systems with guidance

Strong understanding of software design patterns, data structures, and algorithms

Experience with modern development practices including CI/CD, testing, and monitoring

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with risk, fraud detection, or financial systems

Familiarity with machine learning models and their application in production

Experience with real-time event processing and streaming architectures

Knowledge of payment systems (ACH, cards, crypto) and associated fraud patterns

Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP) and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)

Understanding of security best practices and compliance requirements

Technical Skills

Backend Engineers Should Have

Proficiency in Go, Java, or Python

Experience with microservices architecture

Knowledge of databases (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Snowflake)

Experience with message queuing systems (Kafka, RabbitMQ)

Understanding of API design and RESTful services