Senior Software Engineer, Fullstack (CDP API)

Coinbase Developer Platform (CDP) is building the developer tools to bring the world onchain.

Today, onchain development is slow, risky, and painful, even for the most experienced onchain developers. Our goal is to bring a million developers onchain by creating an easy to use and trusted developer experience. We build API and SDK products for developers like wallets, paymaster, staking, stablecoins, onchain data, and more.

We are a small team that moves like a startup at Coinbase, with a fast pace, strong ownership culture, and a relentless commitment to making developers happy.

The Coinbase Developer Platform APIs are the easiest way for developers to get started with building crypto applications. Conceived by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, these APIs enable those with no prior knowledge of crypto to begin sending and receiving crypto in as little as 30 seconds. A top priority of the Coinbase Developer Platform (CDP), the CDP APIs encapsulate some of the most cutting-edge technologies in crypto by externalizing Coinbase’s internal services, built over more than a decade of experience. The CDP APIs combine custodial and non-custodial wallets into one clean abstraction, making interactions with the blockchain simple and painless.

The CDP API team owns both server-side APIs and client-side libraries across different languages. The team seeks a full-stack engineer who is passionate about all aspects of excellent developer experiences: authoring clear and informative documentation, building compelling sample applications, interacting directly with customers to incorporate feedback, architecting delightfully simple SDKs, etc. The engineer must be comfortable operating in both frontend and backend codebases, fluent across a variety of programming languages, and demonstrate both high code velocity and quality simultaneously. The CDP API team consists of some of the most prolific and tenured software engineers at Coinbase, and is excited to ship a game-changing set of APIs and SDKs at breakneck speed.

What you’ll be doing:

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable, secure, and high-performance backend systems for the CDP APIs using Go and Javascript
• Define and maintain clean and conformant HTTP REST API definitions using OpenAPI specifications
• Design, develop, and maintain ergonomic, open-source SDKs to interact with the CDP APIs using Ruby, Typescript, Go, Python, and Java 
• Author, publish, and maintain clear and concise documentation, including quickstart and how-to guides, to increase adoption of the CDP APIs and SDKs
• Develop secure and scalable key management systems, packaged as Docker images, to enable crypto wallet functionality across a range of custodial configurations (e.g. self-custodial MPC)
• Work closely with many different teams at Coinbase to externalize their backend services through the CDP APIs, ensuring consistency of concepts, style, and design
• Interface directly with customers to collect their feedback and iteratively improve the CDP APIs and SDKs
• Build compelling sample applications end-to-end using the CDP APIs and SDKs to demonstrate their value and pressure-test the developer experience
• Troubleshoot and debug complex fullstack issues, ensuring stability, reliability, and security
• Participate in code reviews and provide constructive feedback to maintain high code quality standards

What we look for in you:

• 5+ years of experience in both backend and frontend software development
• Mastery of Go and JavaScript; experience with Ruby, TypeScript, Python, and Java is a plus
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with an eye for detail and a passion for clear, comprehensive developer documentation
• Strong understanding of crypto wallets, including key management, cryptography, and blockchain protocols (e.g. EVM)
• Proven track record of designing, developing, and shipping high-quality, ergonomic client-side libraries and SDKs
• Strong understanding of distributed systems, microservices architecture, and event-driven architectures
• Experience with databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB) and caching systems (Redis, Memcached)
• Solid knowledge of RESTful API design principles and experience with API development and integration
• Familiarity with AWS and containerization technologies like Kubernetes
• Understanding of security best practices and experience with implementing secure coding practices for financial systems
• Crypto-forward experience, including familiarity with onchain activity such as interacting with Ethereum addresses, using ENS, and engaging with dApps or blockchain-based services.

Job #: GDFS05NA

Please be advised that each candidate may submit a maximum of four applications within any 30-day period. We encourage you to carefully evaluate how your skills and interests align with Coinbase's roles before applying.

Commitment to Equal Opportunity

Coinbase is committed to diversity in its workforce and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation or any other basis protected by applicable law. Coinbase will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.  For US applicants, you may view the Know Your Rights notice here.  Additionally, Coinbase participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations, as required by law. 

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