Staff Security Engineer, IAM

At Coinbase, identity and access controls are foundational to protecting customer funds, sensitive data, and the trust that underpins our position as the world's most trusted crypto platform. The Identity and Access Management (IAM) program, housed within Security, is a cross-functional team that designs, builds, and governs workforce identity services, privileged access controls, and automated governance across a complex and rapidly evolving technology ecosystem and regulatory landscape. This role serves as a senior technical leader within the IAM program, partnering with Engineering, IT, Platform, and business teams to architect and deliver identity solutions that balance zero-trust security with workforce enablement, reduce insider risk, and satisfy global regulatory requirements.

What you’ll be doing (ie. job duties):

• Lead the architectural vision and security engineering execution for Coinbase’s Identity and Access Management (IAM) and workforce security platforms across our multi-cloud infrastructure, extensive third-party SaaS ecosystem, and internally developed applications.
• Evaluate, design, and implement "build, buy, or hybrid" strategies for workforce Identity Governance and Administration (IGA), integrating commercial tools with custom middleware and machine learning or AI models to automate complex access lifecycles and maximize ROI.
• Write high-quality code to build scalable automation, custom integrations, and self-service guardrails that embed intelligent identity controls directly into CI/CD pipelines, SaaS provisioning workflows, and internal enterprise tooling.
• Conduct comprehensive threat modeling and security architecture reviews for foundational identity systems and critical SaaS integrations, utilizing automated threat intelligence and AI-assisted analysis to proactively identify attack vectors and design resilient mitigations.
• Partner with Engineering, IT, HR, AI/ML, and Product teams to align security initiatives with business goals, balancing robust zero-trust security with developer velocity and seamless workforce enablement.
• Act as the directly responsible individual (DRI) for complex, cross-team security initiatives, mentoring junior and mid-level engineers, and influencing senior leadership on risk tradeoffs and next-generation workforce security strategies.

What we look for in you (ie. job requirements):

• 7+ years of proven experience in software engineering, security engineering, or systems architecture, with a deep, Staff-level focus on Identity and Access Management and enterprise workforce security.
• Must be proficient in at least one programming language (e.g., Python, Go) and be able to effectively leverage AI-assisted development tools to build security tooling, automate workflows, and accelerate code review.
• Demonstrated track record of successfully implementing complex hybrid IAM infrastructures, integrating a massive footprint of third-party SaaS applications alongside internally developed microservices.
• Deep operational and architectural understanding of Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) processes, including automated provisioning/deprovisioning (JML workflows), continuous access reviews, and privileged access management (PAM) across a diverse enterprise fleet.
• Extensive expertise in modern identity protocols (SAML, OAuth2, OIDC, SCIM), cloud IAM (AWS and GCP), and dynamic access control frameworks (RBAC, ABAC, ReBAC) that adapt based on behavioral context and AI-driven risk scoring.
• Strong background in applied risk management, automated threat modeling, and zero-trust architecture principles applied to high-growth distributed systems and globally distributed workforces.
• An execution-focused mindset with the ability to navigate ambiguity, drive alignment without direct authority, and communicate highly technical risk concepts to business stakeholders.
• Experience driving security and engineering outcomes across decentralized or federated organizational structures, where the ability to build consensus, influence without direct authority, and coordinate delivery across multiple contributing teams is essential to success.
• Demonstrates the ability to responsibly use generative AI tools and copilots (e.g., LibreChat, Gemini, Glean) in daily workflows, continuously learn as tools evolve, and apply human-in-the-loop practices to deliver business-ready outputs and drive measurable improvements in efficiency, cost, and quality.

Nice to haves:

• Experience operating in a hyper-growth tech, FinTech, or crypto environment, navigating strict regulatory landscapes (e.g., SOX) specifically regarding workforce access, logging, and auditing.
• Experience governing non-FTE workforce populations (such as BPO, contractors, and M&A) at scale, including birthright access design, role-based access control for high-risk personas, and timely deprovisioning across complex identity lifecycles.
• Hands-on experience with Policy-as-Code paradigms (like Open Policy Agent) and integrating machine learning to automate policy generation, detect permission anomalies, or streamline IGA certification campaigns.
• Experience managing identity boundaries for AI/ML workloads, including securing workforce access to large language models, training data pipelines, and inference infrastructure.

Job #: P76467

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