Senior Director of Engineering, Head of Developer Experience

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 work culture 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 Mission

At Coinbase, our mission is to increase economic freedom in the world. Achieving that ambitious goal requires more than just code - it requires world-class engineering velocity, quality, and security.

Coinbase is accelerating its strategic commitment to AI-driven development. We believe that the deep integration of artificial intelligence will fundamentally rewrite the laws of software engineering efficiency. The Developer Experience (DevX) organization sits at the center of this transformation, tasked with turning this conviction into reality.

The Role

We are looking for a Senior Director of Engineering to lead the evolution of software development at Coinbase.

In this role, you will lead Coinbase’s advancement in AI-driven engineering. You will determine how the organization leverages this technology to not just enhance workflows, but to reimagine them for the next decade.

You will build a powerful, intelligent ecosystem for thousands of engineers, blending resilient infrastructure fundamentals with cutting-edge AI agents. Your goal is to enable our teams to move faster and more reliably than any other engineering organization in the industry, shifting focus from routine implementation to high-value architecture and product creation.

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

• • Mastery of the Fundamentals: The success of our AI strategy depends on an unshakeable foundation. You will modernize and maintain our core systems - CI/CD pipelines, testing frameworks, source control, and compliance engines - guaranteeing they are robust, secure, and performant enough to support high-velocity automation.
  • Architect an AI-First Ecosystem: Deeply embed AI agents into the development loop - automating test generation, refactoring legacy code, proactively detecting bugs, and optimizing performance before code ever hits production.
  • Define the AI-Native Engineer: As AI handles more implementation tasks, you will define the changing skills, workflows, and hiring profiles required for the next generation of engineering at Coinbase.
  • Platform as a Product: Build and scale a best-in-class Internal Developer Platform that treats internal engineers as customers. The platform must be an enabler of speed, removing friction so engineers can focus on solving crypto’s hardest problems.
  • Quality at Speed: Leverage automation to drive high velocity without sacrificing quality. Implement systems where security and reliability are standard, enabling frequent, safe deployments at massive scale. Measure this success for the business.
  • Strategic Leadership: Lead and scale a ~100-person organization. You will mentor leaders and foster a culture that balances aggressive innovation with the operational discipline required of a financial institution.
  • Executive Impact: Partner with executives to align our AI technical strategy with broader business goals, ensuring Coinbase sets the industry standard for engineering efficiency.

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

• Strategic Vision & Execution: You can envision the long-term future of developer workflows while maintaining the operational discipline to keep current pipelines running smoothly.
• Proven Platform Leadership: Significant experience leading large-scale Developer Experience, Platform Engineering, or Infrastructure organizations (100+ engineers) in high-growth environments.
• Technical Authority: Deep technical judgment in engineering fundamentals - CI/CD, public cloud (AWS/GCP), container orchestration, and modern testing methodologies. You understand that advanced AI tools require a stable, rigorously tested underlying architecture.
• Deep AI Conviction & Application: You don't just follow trends; you have a strong thesis on how LLMs and agents will rewrite the SDLC. You have experience or a clear plan for practically applying AI to solve engineering bottlenecks.
• Change Management: Experience guiding large organizations through technical and cultural shifts with empathy and clear communication.
• Product Mindset: You possess deep empathy for developers. You treat the platform as a product, consistently gathering feedback and iterating to reduce friction and improve user satisfaction.

Nice to haves:

• Experience operating in highly regulated industries or security-first cultures.
• Background in Crypto, Fintech, or Financial Services.
• Direct experience deploying internal AI assistants, "Copilot-at-scale" initiatives, or autonomous coding agents.

Pay Transparency Notice:  Depending on your work location, the target annual salary for this position can range from $[Zone 3 Pay] to $[Zone 1 Pay] + target bonus + target equity + benefits (including medical, dental, vision and 401(k)).

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 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 Employee Rights and the Know Your Rights notices by clicking on their corresponding links. Additionally, Coinbase participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations, as required by law. 

Coinbase is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please contact us at accommodations[at]coinbase.com to let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.   For quick access to screen reading technology compatible with this site click here to download a free compatible screen reader (free step by step tutorial can be found here).

Global Data Privacy Notice for Job Candidates and Applicants

Depending on your location, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) may regulate the way we manage the data of job applicants. Our full notice outlining how data will be processed as part of the application procedure for applicable locations is available here. By submitting your application, you are agreeing to our use and processing of your data as required.

AI Disclosure

For select roles, 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. A human recruiter will review your interview responses, provided in the form of a voice recording and/or transcript, to assess them against the qualifications and characteristics outlined in the job description.  

For select roles, 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. 

The above pilots are for testing purposes and Coinbase will not use AI to make decisions impacting employment. To request a reasonable accommodation due to disability, please contact accommodations[at]coinbase.com