Used Tools & Technologies
GenAIRequired Skills & Competences
Tag name is followed by "@" symbol and proficiency level value.
About proficiency levels:
- 1-2 — basic awareness. Minimal hands-on experience, and a rudimentary understanding of the technology's purpose;
- 3-6 — daily use. Comfortable and regular usage, capable of handling common tasks and challenges related to the technology;
- 7-9 — you are an expert, you can teach others, you know all the pitfalls and tricks;
- 10 — exceptional knowledge, comprehensive understanding, and adeptness in all aspects of the technology, including advanced problem-solving. Think twice before claiming or demanding such level.
Security @ 4
Go @ 7
Distributed Systems @ 7
Leadership @ 4
Networking @ 7
Rust @ 7
FinTech @ 4
Technical Leadership @ 4
Ethereum @ 3
Observability @ 7
Generative AI @ 4
Blockchain @ 4
AI @ 4
- 1-2 — basic awareness. Minimal hands-on experience, and a rudimentary understanding of the technology's purpose;
- 3-6 — daily use. Comfortable and regular usage, capable of handling common tasks and challenges related to the technology;
- 7-9 — you are an expert, you can teach others, you know all the pitfalls and tricks;
- 10 — exceptional knowledge, comprehensive understanding, and adeptness in all aspects of the technology, including advanced problem-solving. Think twice before claiming or demanding such level.
Details
At Coinbase, our mission is to increase economic freedom in the world. Staking is central to that mission — it enables anyone to participate in securing blockchain networks and earn rewards for doing so. Coinbase operates one of the largest Solana staking operations in the world, managing a validator fleet that represents approximately 9.25% of all staked SOL. This role will serve as Coinbase's Solana Staking Protocol CTO — the definitive technical authority on all things Solana staking across the company. You will combine deep Solana protocol mastery with strategic technical leadership to shape Coinbase's Solana staking trajectory for years to come.
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; attendance is expected and supported.
Responsibilities
- Define Solana staking technical strategy across validator performance, protocol participation, and product integration; connect engineering decisions to business outcomes (yield optimization, cost efficiency, customer growth).
- Lead engineering efforts to maximize validator performance: vote accuracy, block production, MEV strategies, commission tuning, and stake distribution.
- Build systems and tooling for validator operations, monitoring, automation, and reliability to give Coinbase a durable performance edge.
- Serve as the internal technical authority on the Solana runtime, consensus, staking economics, and validator client landscape (Agave, Firedancer, etc.). Evaluate protocol upgrades and assess risks.
- Partner with Retail Staking and Institutional Staking product and engineering teams to architect scalable staking integrations across Coinbase's product surface area.
- Represent Coinbase externally: maintain relationships with the Solana Foundation, core teams, major validators; speak at conferences; contribute to protocol governance.
- Write production code and set technical standards (code reviews, architecture decisions, incident response).
- Advise on non-staking Solana initiatives that require deep protocol knowledge (e.g., tax infrastructure, token programs, new Solana products).
- Mentor and scale a team of engineers (IC4-IC5), providing architectural guidance and raising Solana domain expertise.
Requirements
- Extensive, hands-on experience with Solana's architecture: runtime, validator mechanics, staking economics, consensus (Tower BFT), turbine, Gulf Stream, and validator client ecosystem. Knowledge at the source-code level is required.
- Strong IC7-caliber engineer: design and build complex distributed systems; write production code in Rust and/or Go.
- Deep experience with infrastructure at scale: bare metal, cloud, networking, and observability.
- Ability to define long-range technical strategy, break down large ambiguous problems into executable plans with measurable milestones, and connect strategy to business outcomes.
- Proven ecosystem presence and ability to engage with the Solana community, Solana Foundation, core contributors, and other major validators.
- Cross-functional leadership: partner with product, business, and executives; translate protocol dynamics for non-technical audiences and drive alignment.
- Passion for Solana and staking: follow protocol developments closely and maintain a strong thesis on where Solana staking is headed.
- Demonstrated ability to responsibly use generative AI tools and copilots in daily workflows and apply human-in-the-loop practices.
Nice to Have
- Core contributor to Solana validator clients (Agave, Firedancer) or significant Solana ecosystem projects.
- Experience operating in highly regulated industries or security-first cultures.
- Background in financial services, fintech, or crypto custody.
- Track record of publishing technical content (blog posts, research, conference talks) on Solana or blockchain.
- Experience with evolving staking landscape: liquid staking, stake pools, restaking protocols.
- Familiarity with other PoS staking operations (Ethereum, Cosmos) for comparative perspective.
Pay & Benefits
- Annual base salary range (excluding equity and bonus): 253895 — 298700 USD.
- Total compensation may also include equity, bonus eligibility, and benefits (including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k)).
Additional Notes
- Coinbase participates in E-Verify in certain locations as required by law.
- Coinbase is an Equal Opportunity Employer and offers reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities.