Payward - the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services and CF Benchmarks - has spent the last 15 years building one of the most modern and globally accessible financial infrastructure platforms in the industry, built to advance an open, global financial system.
Before you apply, we encourage you to explore our culture page to understand what drives us and how we work.
Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the world's longest-standing crypto platforms, trusted by over 10 million individuals and institutions across the globe. It offers spot trading, margin, futures, staking, and OTC services, with products built for both individual investors and institutional clients.
The Agent Systems team is a 0→1 engineering group building internal AI-powered agents that interact directly with company systems. The mandate is to dramatically increase internal speed of execution through automation, intelligent inference, and workflow orchestration.
This team operates at the intersection of AI, backend systems, and applied product engineering. The work is pragmatic and fast-moving — prototypes are expected, but the bar for production reliability remains high. Engineers on this team move fluidly between experimentation and shipping, building systems that reason over user interactions and take meaningful action across internal tools.
You’ll work closely with cross-functional partners across product, infrastructure, and internal operations to deploy agent-driven capabilities that compound leverage across the organization.
Own and evolve streaming data pipelines that power live inference and real-time model serving across Kraken's AI infrastructure
Design and build feature stores that serve low-latency, high-reliability features to production ML models
Implement and maintain streaming systems using RisingWave, Apache Flink, or Kafka Streams, selecting the right tool for the workload
Partner with ML engineers and AI infra teams to define data contracts, feature schemas, and pipeline SLAs
Drive pipelines toward real-time where batch exists today reducing latency from hours to seconds
Ensure data quality, observability, and auditability across all streaming and feature engineering systems
Contribute to inference pipeline tooling where data engineering and model serving intersect
Evaluate emerging streaming and feature store technologies and shape the team's technical roadmap
5+ years in data engineering with at least 2 years focused on streaming systems in production
Hands-on experience with RisingWave, Apache Flink, Kafka Streams, or comparable stream processing frameworks
Strong understanding of feature store design — online/offline consistency, point-in-time correctness, low-latency serving
Experience building data pipelines that feed production ML models or inference systems
Proficiency in Python and/or Scala; SQL fluency required
Familiarity with data quality frameworks, pipeline observability, and SLA ownership
Comfortable operating in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment embedded within an AI-focused team
Direct experience with RisingWave in production
Exposure to inference pipeline architecture or model serving infrastructure
Experience with feature platforms
Crypto or fintech domain experience
Unless a specific application deadline is stated in the job posting, applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.
Please note, applicants are permitted to redact or remove information on their resume that identifies age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution.
We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.
Our commitmentPayward is powered by people from around the world and we celebrate the diverse talents, backgrounds, contributions, and unique perspectives that everyone brings to the table. We hire based on merit, seeking out people with the right abilities, knowledge, and skills for the job. We encourage you to apply for roles where you don't fully meet the listed requirements, especially if you're passionate or knowledgeable about crypto.
We may ask candidates to complete job-related skills or work-style assessments as part of our hiring process. These assessments evaluate competencies relevant to the role and are applied consistently across candidates for similar positions. Results are considered alongside experience and interviews, and are not the sole basis for any employment decision.
As an equal opportunity employer, we don't tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind, whether based on race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, citizenship, religion, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.
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Skills Required
- 5+ years in data engineering with at least 2 years focused on streaming systems in production.
- Hands-on experience with RisingWave, Apache Flink, Kafka Streams, or comparable stream processing frameworks.
- Strong understanding of feature store design (online/offline consistency, point-in-time correctness, low-latency serving).
- Experience building data pipelines that feed production ML models or inference systems.
- Proficiency in Python and/or Scala; SQL fluency required.
- Familiarity with data quality frameworks, pipeline observability, and SLA ownership.
- Comfortable operating in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment embedded within an AI-focused team.
- Direct experience with RisingWave in production.
- Exposure to inference pipeline architecture or model serving infrastructure.
- Experience with feature platforms.
- Crypto or fintech domain experience.
Kraken Digital Asset Exchange Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Kraken Digital Asset Exchange and has not been reviewed or approved by Kraken Digital Asset Exchange.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered competitive for many roles, with strong total compensation reported for in‑demand technical and senior positions. Market‑aligned packages are highlighted across key functions, indicating the ability to reach top‑of‑market for certain hires.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity grants are available for most roles, complemented by bonus programs and the option to receive a portion of pay in crypto. This ownership‑oriented design is positioned as part of the standard total compensation approach.
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Flexible Benefits — A remote‑first operating model, flexible time off, and a remote‑workstation setup bonus emphasize autonomy and location flexibility. Core benefits are framed to support distributed work across multiple regions.
Kraken Digital Asset Exchange Insights
What We Do
Kraken is one of the world’s longest-standing and most secure crypto platforms. Our mission is to accelerate the global adoption of crypto, so that everyone can achieve financial freedom and inclusion. Globally, Kraken clients trade more than 200 digital assets and 6 different national currencies, including GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, CHF, and AUD. Kraken was founded in 2011 and was one of the first platforms to offer spot trading with margin,, staking, regulated derivatives and index services. Trusted by over 10 million individuals, traders and institutions around the world, Kraken offers professional 24/7/365 client support along with one of the fastest, most performant trading platforms available. Kraken has set the industry standard for transparency and client trust, and was the first crypto platform to conduct Proof of Reserves. In 2024, Kraken ranked 12th in Newsweek's Global Top 100 list of Most Loved Workplaces. This recognition reflects our ongoing commitment to providing a flexible workplace that prioritizes wellbeing and career development. Kraken prioritizes client-centricity, security, and superior products, valuing merit and encouraging bold ideas within a transparent communication framework. Kraken offers a flexible, asynchronous, and globally remote work culture, allowing its employees (aka Krakenites) to balance team and personal needs. Kraken provides diverse learning and development programs, enabling Krakenites to chart their own professional paths in the crypto industry. Benefits include globally competitive compensation (with crypto payment options), flexible time off, wellness perks, and annual team retreats. Kraken's collaborative culture promotes authenticity, humility, and respect, encouraging candid interactions and valuing diverse perspectives from its global team. Crypto conviction is central to Kraken's ethos, driving product and service development. The company views challenges as opportunities for creative problem-solving, remaining adaptable in the fast-paced crypto industry. Kraken seeks individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit and a curious, self-starting approach to complex problems. The company fosters a culture of accountability and clear communication, valuing critical feedback for continuous improvement. Overall, Kraken's EVP reflects its commitment to building a bridge from traditional finance to crypto, both in its broader mission and in supporting employees transitioning to crypto careers.
Why Work With Us
Work at Kraken to be part of a mission-driven crypto revolution. Enjoy a flexible, remote-first culture that values bold ideas. Grow your career with competitive benefits and diverse learning opportunities. Join a collaborative team that embraces innovation, accountability, and globally inclusive perspectives.
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