Principal Software Engineer, Backend - Platform

📌 Role Overview

• Position: Principal Software Engineer, Backend – Platform
• Location: Remote (India)
• Type: Full-Time
• Seniority: Principal/Staff-Level IC (Individual Contributor)

🚀 About Coinbase

Coinbase is building the onchain financial system of the future. The company is known for pushing boundaries in crypto and blockchain tech, and they're looking for a deeply experienced engineering leader who thrives in high-stakes, high-impact environments.

This is not a typical coding job—you’ll help shape architecture and strategy, mentor senior ICs, and influence product-wide platforms, including identity, payments, ledgering, risk, and AI.

🛠 What You’ll Be Doing

• Cross-Domain Engineering Leadership: Guide large-scale initiatives across platform domains (identity, payments, risk, AI, etc.).
• Strategic Vision: Collaborate with product and engineering leaders to define vision and architecture.
• API and Platform Design: Drive unified platform API architecture and long-term services strategies.
• Ledgering & Data Systems: Architect robust data stores and ledger systems that scale with the demands of global payment frameworks.
• System Design Excellence: Enforce best practices for building reliable, scalable, and maintainable backend infrastructure.

✔️ Requirements

• 15+ years of software engineering experience.
• Proven leadership in tech strategy and execution across large global teams (hundreds of engineers).
• Experience with multi-org, multi-billion dollar systems spanning years in development.
• Comfortable interfacing with VPs and C-level leadership to influence engineering direction and priorities.
• Background in fintech is expected; crypto is a strong plus.
• Strong track record mentoring senior ICs and setting high bars for engineering excellence.

🔥 Ideal Candidate Qualities

• Visionary Technologist: You can design architectures that scale across the org, with deep experience in ledger systems, payments, and infrastructure.
• Change Agent: You're not just comfortable with change—you drive it.
• Bridge Builder: You thrive at the intersection of tech and business, aligning diverse stakeholders around technical goals.
• Hands-Off, High Impact: You don’t need to write every line of code, but your architectural fingerprints are on everything.

💡 How to Position Yourself

If you're applying, here’s how to stand out:

• Showcase previous leadership roles in architecting backend platforms or payment systems at scale.
• Highlight any experience mentoring Staff or Principal-level engineers, especially in fintech, cloud-native, or high-performance systems.
• Include any experience driving multi-org initiatives and interfacing directly with C-suite leaders.
• If you’ve led projects with ledgering, API platforms, or compliance-sensitive architecture, elevate that upfront.

📈 Why This Role Rocks

• High influence and visibility across Coinbase’s most critical systems.
• Opportunity to define architecture for the next wave of global crypto adoption.
• Work with some of the most talented engineers and leaders in the blockchain space.