Staff Machine Learning Engineer

About the role

About The Company

Coinbase is a leading cryptocurrency exchange platform committed to increasing economic freedom worldwide. As a remote-first company with a global presence, Coinbase strives to create an inclusive environment that fosters innovation, integrity, and transparency. Our mission is to build an open financial system for the world, empowering individuals and institutions to participate in the digital economy securely and efficiently. We value diversity, collaboration, and a relentless pursuit of excellence, making Coinbase an ideal place for talented professionals to make a meaningful impact in the evolving landscape of finance and technology.

About The Role

We are seeking a highly skilled Staff Machine Learning Engineer to join our Identity Verification team within the Platform group. In this role, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and deploying sophisticated ML systems that verify the authenticity of identities, documents, and capture sessions. Your work will directly influence the security and integrity of millions of Coinbase accounts, ensuring that user onboarding and high-risk actions are protected against fraud and malicious activities. You will lead the technical strategy for end-to-end ML solutions, from architecture design to production enforcement, collaborating closely with cross-functional teams to maintain and enhance the robustness of our identity verification processes. This position offers an exciting opportunity to leverage cutting-edge ML techniques, including computer vision, graph neural networks, and behavioral modeling, to combat fraud and strengthen platform security.

Qualifications

8+ years of experience deploying production machine learning systems at scale

Proven technical leadership in designing and owning cross-team ML architecture from conception to deployment

Domain expertise in identity verification, biometrics, or account integrity

Deep applied knowledge in at least two of the following areas: computer vision/biometrics, graph neural networks (GNNs), sequence models, or natural language processing (NLP/LLMs)

Expert-level proficiency in Python, with hands-on experience in TensorFlow or PyTorch for model training, evaluation, and deployment infrastructure

Ability to translate KYC/AML requirements and evolving fraud trends into strategic ML roadmaps

Strong communication skills to collaborate with Product, Compliance, Risk, and Security teams, effectively conveying technical trade-offs

Experience with responsible use of generative AI, ensuring human oversight and delivering measurable workflow improvements

Responsibilities

Own the complete IDV ML stack, including models for document authenticity, face matching (1:1 and 1:N), liveness detection, presentation-attack detection, and deepfake/injection detection from feature extraction to production enforcement

Develop and maintain identity-graph systems utilizing GNNs to identify synthetic-identity rings and coordinated fraud during onboarding

Build behavioral and device intelligence models for anomaly detection, bot-vs-human classification, and risk scoring with real-time latency constraints

Benchmark external ML models against internal evaluation sets, designing dynamic routing logic across vendors and geographies to optimize performance

Lead and mentor senior and mid-level engineers within the team, fostering technical growth and best practices

Collaborate with ML Platform and Risk ML teams to align system design, ensuring scalable, reliable, and secure ML solutions

Continuously monitor, evaluate, and improve ML models and systems to adapt to emerging fraud tactics and maintain platform integrity

Benefits

Competitive salary aligned with experience and location

Comprehensive health insurance (medical, dental, vision)

401(k) retirement plan with company matching

Equity and bonus opportunities based on performance

Flexible remote work arrangements with quarterly in-person team gatherings

Generous paid time off and holidays

Professional development and learning opportunities

Inclusive and collaborative work environment

Equal Opportunity

Coinbase is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. Applicants with criminal histories will be considered in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.