Job Description
This role is pivotal in driving the technical direction and operational excellence of Coinbase's international engineering initiatives. As a senior leader, you will be responsible for translating the company's vision into actionable strategies, ensuring alignment with global market dynamics and product goals. The position requires a balance of hands-on technical execution and strategic oversight, with a focus on fostering innovation, maintaining engineering quality, and navigating complex challenges in the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency landscape.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and mentor a team of individual contributors (ICs) through hands-on coding and technical guidance, ensuring high-performance outcomes and professional growth.
- Develop and execute a multi-year strategic roadmap for international engineering, aligning technical leadership with business objectives and market trends.
- Coach direct reports to enhance their technical capabilities and career development, while actively contributing to organizational success through leadership and mentorship.
- Provide technical expertise and support to the team in making informed architectural decisions that balance innovation, scalability, and reliability.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams including engineers, designers, product managers, and senior leadership to create and deliver quarterly roadmaps that reflect the company's vision.
- Partner with the talent organization to identify, attract, and onboard top-tier engineers who align with Coinbase's culture and product innovation goals.
- Act as a catalyst for positive team dynamics by fostering inclusive communication, encouraging collaboration, and maintaining a high-energy work environment.
- Owning and refining engineering processes to ensure consistent quality delivery, adherence to service level agreements (SLAs), and operational efficiency.
- Manage teams through high-uncertainty scenarios such as rapidly changing product requirements, market volatility (bear/bull cycles), and tight deadlines for product releases on unstable platforms.
- Serve as the central integration point for coordinating engineering efforts across multiple teams, ensuring seamless collaboration and alignment with organizational priorities.
Job Requirements
- Proven experience in leading engineering teams and delivering complex technical projects with measurable impact on product quality and business outcomes.
- Strong technical background in software development, with expertise in system architecture, design patterns, and scalable solutions for high-traffic platforms.
- Excellent communication skills to articulate technical vision to non-technical stakeholders and facilitate cross-functional collaboration effectively.
- Ability to navigate ambiguous situations and make data-driven decisions in the face of rapid market changes, regulatory shifts, and evolving customer needs.
- Experience in managing talent pipelines and building high-performing engineering teams through strategic hiring, onboarding, and retention practices.
- Leadership experience in fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement within engineering teams.
- Proficiency in agile methodologies and iterative development processes to adapt to changing priorities and deliver results under tight deadlines.
- Strong problem-solving skills to address technical challenges, optimize system performance, and ensure reliability in high-stakes environments.
- Ability to balance technical depth with business acumen, aligning engineering solutions with product goals and market demands.
- Excellent organizational skills to manage multiple priorities, coordinate cross-team efforts, and deliver on complex projects with minimal oversight.
Qualifications
- Minimum of 8 years of experience in software engineering, with a track record of leading international projects and managing large-scale technical teams.
- Advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (preferred but not required).
- Deep understanding of cryptocurrency ecosystems, blockchain technologies, and decentralized finance (DeFi) systems.
- Proven ability to deliver high-quality products within tight timelines, even under conditions of platform instability or market volatility.
- Experience in managing technical debt, ensuring code maintainability, and implementing robust quality assurance processes.
- Strong leadership skills with a history of mentoring engineers, fostering team growth, and creating inclusive work environments.
- Excellent strategic thinking capabilities to develop long-term plans for engineering initiatives and align them with business objectives.
- Ability to collaborate with diverse stakeholders, including product managers, designers, and senior leadership, to drive innovation and product success.
- Proficiency in multiple programming languages and frameworks, with a focus on scalable, secure, and high-performance systems.
- Experience in managing cross-functional integration challenges, ensuring seamless collaboration between engineering teams and other departments.
