Staff Machine Learning Engineer (Platform - Risk AI/ML) at Coinbase

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. About the Role We are looking for a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to join our Risk AI/ML team. We are dedicated to building the sophisticated models that protect our customers and make Coinbase the most trusted platform in crypto. Your work will directly prevent fraud, account takeovers, and scams, while enabling future products like instant guest checkout and Coinbase Cards. This is a hands-on technical role where you will leverage our cutting-edge, self-service ML platform to rapidly design, deploy, and iterate on the models that defend millions of users. What you’ll be doing: • Own a Critical Risk Domain: Take full technical ownership of a core problem space, such as Scams or Account Takeover. You will design, build, and lead the strategy for all models in this domain. • Architect and Design Systems: Lead the system design and architecture for new, complex, cross-team risk detection models. This includes everything from feature pipeline design to model selection (e.g., GNNs, LSTMs, LLMs) and high-performance serving. • Drive the Technical Roadmap: You will be the primary technical voice influencing at an organizational level. Work with Product, Ops, and other stakeholders to translate ambiguous business needs into a clear technical roadmap. You will be the primary technical voice defining the "how." • Mentor and Lead: Act as a senior technical leader and mentor for other senior (IC5), mid-level, and junior engineers on the team. • Apply Advanced ML: Apply modern methodologies (e.g., deep learning, NLP, Graph Neural Networks (GNNs), sequence modeling, and LLMs for NLP and conversational agents) to solve complex, crypto-native challenges. • Build Context-Aware Risk Systems: Architect the adaptive logic that decides which friction (a quiz, an LLM agent, a human review) to apply to which user, balancing security with user experience. What we look for: • 8+ years of professional experience in software engineering and/or AI/ML, with experience deploying AI/ML systems into production. • Proven track record of technical leadership, including leading small teams or pods and designing and deploying large-scale, cross-team ML systems from scratch. • A commitment to building an open financial system and a strong desire to protect users from fraud and scams. • You embody our core cultural values: add positive energy, communicate clearly, be curious, and be a builder. • Deep expertise in applied AI/ML techniques (e.g., Risk ML, deep learning, NLP, recommender systems, anomaly detection); with required prior domain experience in Payment Risk, Credit Risk, or Identity Risk / Account Takeover / Scams. • Expert-level coding skills (e.g., Python) and deep experience with AI/ML frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch). Experience in building backend systems with a focus on data processing or analytics is a plus. • Ability to work collaboratively on technical initiatives and contribute to impactful AI/ML solutions. • Strong communication skills, with the ability to convey technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences. Nice to Haves: • Master’s / Ph.D in Computer Science, AI/ML, Data Science, or a related field. • Familiarity with modern data and AI/ML infrastructure (e.g., Feature Stores like Tecton, Model Serving like RayServe, Apache Airflow, Spark, Kafka). • Experience with Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) or Sequential Models (like LSTMs). • Experience with LLMs (NLP, fine-tuning, agentic systems) or Reinforcement Learning. • Understanding of MLOps best practices, including monitoring and improving production models. • Experience with data analysis and visualization tools. Job #: P75020 Pay Transparency Notice: Depending on your work location, the target annual base salary for this position can range as detailed below. Full time offers from Coinbase also include bonus eligibility + equity eligibility + benefits (including medical, dental, vision and 401(k)). Base salary range shown. Total compensation also includes equity and bonus eligibility and benefits:$218,025—$256,500 USDPlease 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