Staff Software Engineer, Data Solutions at Chainalysis

New York, New York, United States

Chainalysis Logo
$165,000 – $220,000Compensation
Senior (5 to 8 years), Expert & Leadership (9+ years)Experience Level
Full TimeJob Type
UnknownVisa
Blockchain, CybersecurityIndustries

Requirements

  • Expert backend engineering experience building cloud-hosted services and data pipelines on AWS or GCP (bonus: both)
  • Deep proficiency with APIs, streaming systems, and distributed systems (e.g., microservices on Kubernetes)
  • Strong SQL skills and experience with analytical data models (e.g., lakehouse/warehouse patterns)
  • Demonstrated ownership of systems operating at scale (hundreds to thousands of RPS; TB–PB data volumes)
  • High judgment on reliability, security, and cost, with a track record of measurable improvements
  • Ability to lead without authority—mentoring, design reviews, and cross-org influence
  • Nice to have: Blockchain domain knowledge (protocol fundamentals; smart contracts/Solidity)
  • Nice to have: Databricks experience (Spark, Delta Lake, Delta Live Tables) or PySpark at scale
  • Nice to have: Multi-tenant, usage tracking, and billing systems experience
  • Nice to have: On-premises or regulated/air-gapped deployments

Responsibilities

  • Design and lead delivery of new platform capabilities that serve mission-critical investigations and monitoring workflows
  • Operate services that ingest, transform, and serve hundreds of terabytes of data with clear SLOs for latency, freshness, and availability
  • Improve the scalability, performance, and cost efficiency of our data plane and APIs
  • Raise the quality bar across reliability, security, and compliance for both cloud and on-premises deployments
  • Mentor engineers across teams and influence technical strategy beyond your immediate group
  • Own and evolve backend services powering customer-facing APIs, usage/billing, alerting, and data observability
  • Lead team and cross-team initiatives end-to-end: discovery, architecture, implementation, rollout, and post-launch learning
  • Architect event-driven and streaming workflows (e.g., Kafka) with strong data contracts and schema evolution
  • Drive operational excellence: SLOs, runbooks, on-call, incident reviews, and capacity plans for high-QPS systems
  • Partner with product, data engineering/science, and security to translate customer requirements into durable systems

Skills

Key technologies and capabilities for this role

AWSGCPKubernetesKafkaSQLAPIsmicroservicesdistributed systemsdata pipelinesstreaming workflows

Questions & Answers

Common questions about this position

What is the salary range for this Staff Software Engineer position?

The salary range is $165K - $220K.

Is this role remote or hybrid, and what's the location policy?

The position is hybrid.

What are the key skills required for this role?

Candidates need expert backend engineering experience with cloud-hosted services and data pipelines on AWS or GCP, deep proficiency with APIs, streaming systems, and distributed systems like microservices on Kubernetes, strong SQL skills with analytical data models, and demonstrated ownership of systems at scale.

What is the company culture like for the Data Solutions team?

The team runs lean and moves fast, seeking engineers hungry for ownership and responsibility who enjoy moving quickly, care deeply about customer mission requirements, and are excited to deliver real-world impact.

What makes a strong candidate for this Staff Software Engineer role?

Strong candidates demonstrate high judgment on reliability, security, and cost with measurable improvements, ability to lead without authority through mentoring and cross-org influence, and experience owning systems at massive scale with TB-PB data volumes.

Chainalysis

Cryptocurrency investigation and compliance solutions

About Chainalysis

Chainalysis provides tools and services for investigating and ensuring compliance in the cryptocurrency space. Their products help law enforcement agencies, regulators, and businesses identify and prevent illegal activities involving digital currencies. The company offers subscription-based software solutions that deliver actionable intelligence and analytics, allowing clients to maintain the integrity of their financial operations. Unlike many competitors, Chainalysis focuses specifically on building trust in blockchain technology by promoting transparency and security in cryptocurrency transactions.

New York City, New YorkHeadquarters
2014Year Founded
$522MTotal Funding
SERIES_FCompany Stage
Government & Public Sector, Fintech, Crypto & Web3Industries
501-1,000Employees

Risks

Stablecoin rise threatens traditional remittance services, impacting Chainalysis' financial sector clients.
Blockchain security vulnerabilities challenge Chainalysis' comprehensive security solutions.
Persistent use of crypto mixers complicates Chainalysis' tracking and prevention efforts.

Differentiation

Chainalysis offers comprehensive anti-money laundering software for Bitcoin businesses.
Its REACTOR tool visualizes data and identifies offenders in cryptocurrency transactions.
Chainalysis provides real-time API for transaction-based risk scoring and compliance.

Upsides

Rising stablecoin adoption increases demand for Chainalysis' blockchain analytics.
Public-private partnerships in crypto crime prevention boost Chainalysis' investigative tool demand.
Emerging markets like Syria offer new opportunities for Chainalysis' compliance services.

Land your dream remote job 3x faster with AI