Senior Staff Software Engineer, Solana Staking Protocol

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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. 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. We are committed to delivering industry-leading, risk-adjusted yield with world-class security, compliance, and reliability.

The Role

We are looking for a Senior Staff Software Engineer to serve as Coinbase's Solana Staking Protocol CTO — the definitive technical authority on all things Solana staking across the company.This is not a typical engineering role. You will combine deep Solana protocol mastery with strategic technical leadership to shape Coinbase's Solana staking trajectory for years to come. You will own the technical strategy across validator operations, staking integrations, and protocol evolution — partnering directly with engineering leadership, product teams, and external ecosystem players including the Solana Foundation. You will represent Coinbase on the world stage as a recognized Solana expert, speaking at conferences, engaging with the validator community, and influencing protocol direction. Internally, you will be the go-to expert for any Solana staking technical decision, from runtime-level optimizations to cross-product integration strategy.

What You'll Do

• Define Solana Staking Strategy: Own and drive Coinbase's multi-year technical strategy for Solana staking across validator performance, protocol participation, and product integration. Connect engineering decisions to business outcomes including yield optimization, cost efficiency, and customer growth.
• Maximize Validator Performance: Lead the engineering effort to achieve industry-leading APY through validator optimization — including vote accuracy, block production, MEV strategies, commission tuning, and stake distribution. Build systems and tooling that give Coinbase a durable performance edge.
• Own Protocol Expertise: Serve as Coinbase's foremost authority on the Solana runtime, consensus mechanism, staking economics, and validator client landscape (Agave, Firedancer,etc.). Evaluate protocol upgrades (e.g., SIMD proposals), assess risks,and proactively position Coinbase for changes before they land.
• Drive Cross-Product Integration: Partner with Retail Staking and Institutional Staking product and engineering teams to architect scalable staking integrations across Coinbase's product surface area. Ensure Solana staking is deeply embedded and differentiated in every Coinbase staking product.
• Build External Presence & Influence: Represent Coinbase in the Solana ecosystem. Maintain deep relationships with the Solana Foundation,core development teams,other major validators,and ecosystem partners.Speak at major conferences (Breakpoint,etc.)and contribute to protocol governance.Be Coinbase's voice on Solana staking.
• Lead Technical Execution: Write production code.Designand build critical infrastructure for validator operations,monitoring,automation,and reliability.Setthe technical bar forthe team — code reviews,architecture decisions,incident response.
• Expand Beyond Staking: Serve as a technical advisor on non-staking Solana initiatives where deep protocol knowledge is required (e.g., Solana tax infrastructure,token programs,

newased products).

• Mentor and Scalethe Team: Elevate a team of strong engineers (IC4-IC5) through mentorship,architectural guidance,and raisingthe bar onSolana-specific domain expertise.Define what greatSolana engineering looks like at Coinbase.

What We Look For

• Deep Solana Protocol Expertise: You have extensive hands-on experience with Solana's architecture — Eg: the runtime,validator mechanics,staking economics,consensus (Tower BFT),turbine,Gulf Stream,andthe validator client ecosystem.You understandSolana atthe source-code level—not just API level.
• Technical Authority & Execution: You are a strong IC7-caliber engineer.You designand build complex distributed systems.You write production code in Rustand/or Go.You have deep experience with infrastructure at scale — bare metal cloud networking observability.
• Strategic Vision: You can define year-long technical strategies connected to business goals; break down ambiguous large-scope problems into executable plans with measurable milestones; think in terms of competitive advantage.
• Ecosystem Presence & Influence: Known figure in Solana ecosystem; existing relationships with Solana Foundation core contributor teams major validators; track record of public speaking community engagement or protocol governance participation.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Partner effectively with product business executive stakeholders; translate complex protocol dynamics into business-relevant terms for non-technical audiences; drive alignment across multiple teams/functions.
• Passion for Solana: Genuine passion about Solana ecosystem; follow protocol developments closely; strong thesis on where Solana staking is headed.
• Demonstrates ability to responsibly use generative AI tools/copilots (e.g., LibreChat Gemini Glean) in daily workflows; continuously learn as tools evolve; apply human-in-the-loop practices for business-ready outputs driving measurable improvements.

Nice to Have

• Core contributor to Solana validator clients (Agave Firedancer) or significant ecosystem projects.
• Experience operating in highly regulated industries or security-first cultures.
• Background in financial services fintech or crypto custody.
• Track record publishing technical content (blog posts research conference talks) on Solana or Blockchain generally.
• Experience with evolving staking landscape — liquid staking stake pools restaking protocols.
• Familiarity with other PoS protocol staking operations (Ethereum Cosmos ecosystem) for comparative perspective.

Pay Transparency Notice: Depending on your work location target annual base salary range: $253895—$298700 USD (excluding equity bonus). Total compensation may include equity bonus eligibility benefits (medical dental vision 401(k)). Please be advised each candidate may submit max four applications within any 30-day period.

Commitment to Equal Opportunity

Coinbase is an Equal Opportunity Employer: all qualified applicants receive consideration without regard race color religion creed gender national origin age disability veteran status sex gender expression identity sexual orientation or other protected basis by law. Coinbase considers qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with applicable laws. US applicants may view Employee Rights Know Your Rights notices via links. Coinbase participates E-Verify program where required by law. Reasonable accommodations provided upon request via accommodations[at]coinbase.com

Global Data Privacy Notice for Job Candidates and Applicants

GDPR CCPA may regulate data management of job applicants depending on location. Full notice available online. By submitting application you agree use/processing data as required. US applicants agree arbitration of disputes as outlined online.

AI Disclosure

For select roles Coinbase pilots AI tools based on machine learning technologies for initial screening interviews. Human recruiters review interview responses. AI interview intelligence platform transcribes summarizes notes. AI not used for employment decisions. Reasonable accommodation requests due disability: accommodations[at]coinbase.com Benefits at Coinbase:

• Medical Plan Dental Vision Plan generous employee contributions
• Health Savings Account company contributions each pay period
• Disability Life Insurance
• 401(k) plan company match
• Wellness Stipend
• Mobile/Internet Reimbursement
• Volunteer Time Off
• Fertility Counseling Benefits
• Generous Time off/Leave Policy
• Option of getting paid in digital currency