Y Combinator Senior Software Engineer, Core Infra Systems
Summary
Build and maintain secure, scalable cloud infrastructure at Coinbase by standardizing multi-cloud networking, compute, and platform tooling for reliable, self-service operations.
Ready to do the most impactful work of your career? At Coinbase, we are uncompromising on our mission to increase economic freedom. The bar is high, the environment is intense, and we like it that way. This isn't a place for complacency, it’s a place to be pushed past your perceived limits. If you're ready to build the future of finance alongside people who refuse to settle for "good enough," you belong here. Coinbase is a remote-first, but not remote-only company. Expect to get together quarterly for intense in-person working sessions called “surges.” learn more about working at Coinbase.
As a Senior Software Engineer on the Core Infra Systems team within the Platform group, you'll work across the cloud and networking foundations that Coinbase engineers rely on to run reliably at scale. The team owns the front door for GCP paved roads, cloud networking, and AWS-centered infrastructure patterns, with a focus on standardization, self-service, and strong default guardrails. You'll work closely with the AWS, GCP, and Networking owners inside Core Infra Systems and partner with Compute, Infra Security, Routing, and broader infrastructure stakeholders to deliver secure, scalable, and opinionated infrastructure that keeps Coinbase fast and resilient.
What you'll do:
- Own cross-cutting infrastructure initiatives that span the AWS, GCP, and Networking pillars inside Core Infra Systems, driving alignment on standards, tooling, and operational patterns.
- Build and maintain self-service tooling and paved-road defaults that let product teams provision and operate cloud infrastructure safely without deep platform expertise.
- Partner with Compute, Infra Security, and Routing teams to embed guardrails into infrastructure provisioning, ensuring every default meets Coinbase's bar for security, compliance, and reliability.
- Drive infrastructure standardization across Coinbase's multi-cloud environment, reducing fragmentation and improving consistency in how teams consume cloud networking, compute, and shared platform primitives.
- Lead technical investigations and operational improvements across infrastructure boundaries, working with broader stakeholders to resolve systemic issues and scale foundational systems.
Required Skills and Experience:
- 5+ years of software engineering experience, with 3+ years building and operating production cloud infrastructure on AWS and/or GCP (networking, compute, or platform engineering).
- Hands-on experience with cloud networking primitives such as VPCs, transit gateways, DNS, load balancers, and infrastructure-as-code tools (e.g., Terraform, Pulumi).
- Proficiency in at least one backend language (e.g., Go, Python) used to build platform tooling and automation at scale.
- Demonstrated ability to drive cross-team technical initiatives, partnering across multiple infrastructure domains to deliver cohesive, production-ready outcomes.
- Utilizes generative AI responsibly, maintaining human oversight to deliver business-ready outputs and drive measurable improvements in workflow efficiency, cost, and quality.
Pay Transparency Notice: Base salary varies by location (see range below). Total compensation may also include equity and bonus eligibility, and benefits (medical, dental, vision, 401(k)).
- Application Limit: Candidates may submit a maximum of 3 applications within a 6-month period.
- Equal Opportunity Employer: Coinbase is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information. Applicants with criminal histories will be considered consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws.
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