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.
We are looking for a Principal Data Architect to join our Compliance Product, Strategic Programs, and Data organization. In this high-impact, highly motivated individual contributor, you will be the lead architect for Compliance data. You won't just be managing a program; you will be onboarding data contracts on the Data quality platform, and identify sources of truths for compliance reporting that connect our technical producers with our compliance consumers.
You will sit at the intersection of Engineering, Product, and Compliance, serving as the strategic architect who ensures our data is "fit for purpose." From defining "proximate source" lineage to quantifying the impact of data quality on false-positive alerts, your work will directly influence how Coinbase manages risk in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.
What you’ll be doing (ie. job duties):
- Architect Data Governance Frameworks: Define and implement the end-to-end Compliance data risk framework, specifically addressing Data Quality (DQ), Usage Risk, and Lineage Risk for Compliance data.
- Design & Enforce Data Contracts: Act as the primary architect for formal data contracts between Producers (Eng) and Consumers (Compliance, CX, IOS), defining content structure, control requirements, and change management protocols.
- Map System-of-Capture Lineage: Work with systems owners to establish and maintain data lineage to satisfy regulatory requirements, ensuring full visibility from the point of data generation to regulatory reporting.
- Quantify Data Impact: Develop metrics to measure the impact of poor data quality (e.g., false alerts, false negatives) to prioritize remediation efforts and technical debt.
- Drive Cross-Functional Roadmap: Serve as the strategic bridge between Compliance SMEs, Platform Engineering, Data Engineering and Data Analytics to ensure data "fit for purpose" is baked into the technical design, not added as an afterthought.
- Drive Targeted Wins: Eschew a "boil the ocean" approach in favor of a risk-based strategy, focusing on high-materiality data elements and processes that drive cultural change toward data ownership.
What we look for in you (ie. job requirements):
- 10+ years of experience in Data Architecture, Data Engineering, or Technical Program Management within a regulated Financial Services or FinTech environment.
- Deep SME in Compliance Data: Direct experience with the nuances of AML, KYC, Sanctions, and/or Transaction Monitoring data structures.
- Technical Design Literacy: Ability to navigate ETL pipelines, SQL, and data modeling discussions with Engineering teams while maintaining a non-technical reporting line.
- Mastery of Data Lineage: Proven track record of mapping complex data flows across distributed systems to meet regulatory standards (e.g., BCBS 239 or similar).
- Influence without Authority: Exceptional ability to align competing priorities between "speed to market" (Product) and "data integrity" (Compliance).
- Risk-Based Thinker: Ability to design "compensating controls" to manage residual risk when perfect technical solutions are not immediately available.
- Strategic Communicator: Experience presenting data risk profiles and remediation progress to senior leadership and/or external regulators.
- Modern Data Stack Experience: Familiarity with cloud-native data environments (Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery) and how they handle lineage.
- Technical Toolkit: Proficiency with SQL, Looker/Tableau, and metadata management tools (e.g., Collibra, Alation).
Nice to haves:
- Advanced Certifications: CAMS (Anti-Money Laundering Specialist) or CDMP (Certified Data Management Professional).
Job #: P75991
#LI-Remote
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 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. For US applicants only, by submitting your application you are agreeing to arbitration of disputes as outlined here.
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
