• Perform design reviews, threat modeling and code reviews of upcoming features and products. • Identify top product risk areas and lead risk-reduction initiatives with cross-functional teams. • Improve and/or automate existing processes to increase efficiency, utilizing agentic/AI tooling. • Create monitoring solutions to ensure identified risks remain at acceptable levels for Coinbase. • Participate in the team on-call rotation to support engineering teams through timely design consultations, vulnerability analysis, bug fix verification, etc. • Publish blogs and give talks (internal and external) on newfound vulnerabilities, incident investigations, unique integration risks, and related topics

This description is a summary of our understanding of the job description. Click on 'Apply' button to find out more. Role Description We are seeking a Senior Protocol Engineer to design and implement high-performance, secure, and scalable protocols for decentralized systems. In this role, you will work on advanced blockchain infrastructure and distributed systems, contributing to software that directly impacts a fast-growing Layer 1 network. - Collaborate with a small, high-performing team of engineers to tackle complex technical challenges - Drive product features end-to-end - Ensure the reliability and efficiency of mission-critical systems - Ownership of protocol architecture - Opportunities to influence technical strategy - Contribute to open-source projects shaping the future of blockchain ecosystems Ideal candidates thrive in dynamic, fast-moving environments and enjoy building robust solutions for large-scale, high-value systems. - Architect and develop Solana programs using native and Anchor programming models, ensuring security and performance - Write safe, efficient, and maintainable code that can handle large-scale distributed systems - Develop extensive testing infrastructure and public-facing test plans to validate protocol behavior - Collaborate closely with internal teams and external stakeholders to leverage knowledge and tooling for effective solutions - Take full ownership of features and products, driving them from concept through production with a focus on high-quality delivery - Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks, debugging issues across the entire stack - Contribute to technical documentation and ensure all code meets defined specifications Qualifications - 5+ years of systems programming experience with Rust, C, or C++ - Demonstrated experience building multiple Solana programs using native programming or the Anchor framework - Proven ability to translate complex technical problems into simple, elegant solutions - Strong collaboration and communication skills within small, agile teams - Experience working in startups or high-ownership environments (<50 employees preferred) - Passion for blockchain, decentralized finance, or distributed system technologies - Nice-to-have: security expertise or familiarity with the DeFi landscape Requirements - 5+ years of systems programming experience with Rust, C, or C++ - Demonstrated experience building multiple Solana programs using native programming or the Anchor framework - Proven ability to translate complex technical problems into simple, elegant solutions - Strong collaboration and communication skills within small, agile teams - Experience working in startups or high-ownership environments (<50 employees preferred) - Passion for blockchain, decentralized finance, or distributed system technologies - Nice-to-have: security expertise or familiarity with the DeFi landscape Benefits - Competitive salary range of $205,000 - $225,000 per year - Equity opportunities with potential for substantial upside - All-expenses-paid team retreats and conferences - Weekly meal vouchers and other wellness perks - Opportunity to work on high-impact protocols handling billions in capital - Flexible, fast-paced work environment with ownership of technical decisions

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. Security is a primary competency at Coinbase, and the Security Team keeps a watchful eye over every aspect of it. Every day, we go to battle against some of the most sophisticated attackers in the world to protect billions of dollars worth of digital assets and ensure that our customers and employees can enjoy a safe, trusted experience. As Coinbase scales globally, our team is scaling along with it, using a blend of tooling, automation, and strategic team growth to ensure that we’re well-equipped to protect the next billion users of crypto. Blockchain Security (BlockSec) team’s mission is to secure funds and data from protocols to wallets. Coinbase has a unique opportunity: enabling our customers to easily and securely interface with blockchains, a.k.a. digital asset networks, a.k.a. cryptocurrencies. Blockchains are a cutting edge technology, with many unique security considerations for any entity that supports interaction with them. Understanding those unique considerations requires deep expertise in blockchains and the ability to maintain that expertise over time. What you’ll be doing (ie. job duties): To be completed by all business teams except Eng. - Identify gaps in our Crypto-Security infrastructure and drive cross-function efforts to address them - Perform security assessments, framework development, and threat modeling of assets, including various blockchain protocols, smart contracts, and other distributed ledger tech - Partner with software engineering teams to advise on code and architecture for internal smart contract development - Partner with internal tooling teams to drive the roadmap and vision for internal Coinbase blockchain security tools - Identify automation opportunities in our tooling and processes, deliver a Proof of Concept, and write detail technical requirements - Investigate impactful changes to the space, blockchain upgrades, and novel innovations such as zero-knowledge proofs and bleeding-edge blockchain protocols - Publish blogs and give talks (internal and external) on newfound vulnerabilities, incident investigations, unique integration risks, and related topics What we look for in you (ie. job requirements): To be completed by all business teams except Eng. - Strong understanding of blockchains (particularly EVM chains) and highly “crypto forward” - 4+ years of experience in security engineering, with significant focus on blockchain, distributed systems, or cryptographic infrastructure security - Extensive experience in architecture and threat modeling of security-critical backend crypto systems - Expertise in Application Security and cryptography, including applied knowledge of cryptographic primitives used in blockchain protocols (signing schemes, hash functions, zero-knowledge proofs, MPC) - Familiar with all the fundamentals of onchain activity – blockchain explorers, funds tracing, bridging, DEXs, NFTs, smart contracts - Familiar with recent innovations such as restaking and the various EIPs currently being considered - Ability to provide leadership and mentorship to coworkers - Experience in a highly cross-functional role and/or leading a team - Excellence in clear, direct, and kind communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders, including the ability to translate complex security risks into actionable guidance for leadership - Experience with using AI/agentic tooling (Claude Code, Cursor, GPT Codex, etc.) - Demonstrates the ability to responsibly use generative AI tools and copilots (e.g., LibreChat, Gemini, Glean) in daily workflows, continuously learn as tools evolve, and apply human-in-the-loop practices to deliver business-ready outputs and drive measurable improvements in efficiency, cost, and quality. Nice to haves: - Knowledge of security architecture of non-EVM based blockchains - Deep understanding of cryptography such as zk-SNARKs, FHE and MPC - Experience in at least one of: MongoDB, Snowflake, Databricks, Dune Position ID: P76182 #LI-Remote Pay Transparency Notice: Depending on your work location, the target annual base salary for this position can range as detailed below. Total compensation may also include equity and bonus eligibility and benefits (including medical, dental, vision and 401(k)). Annual base salary range (excluding equity and bonus): $186,065—$218,900 USD 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 OpportunityCoinbase 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 ApplicantsDepending 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. For US applicants only, by submitting your application you are agreeing to arbitration of disputes as outlined here. AI DisclosureFor 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

• Deploy, configure, and manage blockchain networks (e.g., Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana) • Design and implement cloud infrastructure on AWS in line with best practices. • Administer and scale Kubernetes clusters (EKS) for deploying blockchain nodes and related services. • Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines using tools such as GitHub Actions, ArgoCD, and AWS CodeBuild. • Automate infrastructure provisioning and management using tools like Terraform and Helm.