Lead Software Engineer, BTH Engineering

About Bullish

Bullish is an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services. These include:  Bullish Exchange – a regulated and institutionally focused digital assets spot and derivatives exchange, integrating a high-performance central limit order book matching engine with automated market making to provide deep and predictable liquidity. Bullish Exchange is regulated in Germany, Hong Kong, and Gibraltar.  CoinDesk Indices – a collection of tradable proprietary and single-asset benchmarks and indices that track the performance of digital assets for global institutions in the digital assets and traditional finance industries.  CoinDesk Data - a broad suite of digital assets market data and analytics, providing real-time insights into prices, trends, and market dynamics.  CoinDesk Insights – a digital asset media and events provider and operator of [Coindesk.com]( a digital media platform that covers news and insights about digital assets, the underlying markets, policy, and blockchain technology.

Director, Engineering

At Bullish, we are engineering the institutional standard for the digital asset industry. Our mission is to build a platform centered on security and compliance, requiring a commitment to technical excellence that extends beyond delivering code. As a global organization, we set a high bar for those driven to do their best work alongside experienced, deeply specialized peers.

Engineers here treat development as a craft and own the outcome from concept to deployment. Our teams bring structure to ambiguity and shape the frameworks that support a global organization. We refuse to compromise on quality and seek problem solvers who thrive on complex technical challenges with real market consequences.

The Bullish Treasury (BTH) Engineering team develops the foundational infrastructure that powers the secure management and rapid expansion of our digital asset ecosystem. As stewards of the firm's digital treasury, we ensure every transaction is meticulously safeguarded through rigorous custody protocols, advanced vault architectures, and strict authorization rules. Our engineers tackle complex on-chain challenges to build automated DeFi workflows, resilient privacy structures, and transparent, real-time financial intelligence dashboards. By solving intricate blockchain integration problems with cutting-edge tooling, we deliver the operational rigor required to navigate decentralized markets and provide total data integrity from institutional exchange accounts to comprehensive treasury analytics.

• Build Full-Stack Solutions: Design and develop critical internal applications using React, TypeScript, and Python.
• Automate DeFi Operations: Architect multi-chain asset deployments, expand CLI tooling, and engineer robust "incognito" wallet structures to scale operations and minimize manual intervention.
• Own Modern Cloud Infrastructure: Deploy and manage systems end-to-end on GCP and Kubernetes, driving automated CI/CD pipelines via GitHub Actions, while leveraging tools for Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform, Config Connector).
• Drive AI-Powered Engineering: Heavily leverage AI tooling and coding agents to accelerate full-stack development.
• Elevate Engineering Standards: Raise the bar for the team through code reviews, automated testing, and technical mentorship.
• Drive the evolution of the platform’s target-state architecture, staying current with industry trends to ensure continuous improvement.

• 10+ years building production systems in financial services or other high-stakes environments.
• Proven track record of managing and mentoring high-performing engineering teams, with a focus on career development and technical guidance.
• Strong fundamentals across technologies, with the judgment to pick the right tool for the job (Typescript, Python, or otherwise).
• Cloud and DevOps fluency (e.g., GCP, Kubernetes, Docker).
• Strong PostgreSQL skills, comfort with analytical stores (BigQuery or equivalent), and a track record of designing clean schemas and data models.
• Proven delivery of fault-tolerant systems with rigorous testing, observability, and HA/DR practices.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders across global teams.
• An agile working style, with the initiative to see what's broken or missing and own the fix end to end rather than waiting for an assignment.
• A can-do attitude, with the ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment. 
• Ability to use Large Language Models (e.g., Claude, Gemini) to accelerate delivery without compromising engineering standards.

• Familiarity with the Crypto industry, DeFi protocols and a high-level understanding of various yield generation opportunities.
• Familiarity with digital asset custody solutions.

Bullish US LLC & CoinDesk Inc. are committed to offering competitive compensation and benefits. The anticipated base salary for this position is $230,000 - $280,000 + discretionary annual target bonus + performance incentives/benefits. Offered salary will be reflective of job related knowledge, skills and commensurate experience.