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2025-10-27-coinbase-senior-internal-communications-manager-cover-letter

Sunday, October 27th, 2025

Dear Coinbase Hiring Team,

My name is Gary Sheng. I'm a software engineer, writer, and movement builder who has spent years getting technically sophisticated people aligned around transformative missions.

I'm applying for the Senior Internal Communications Manager position because I believe Coinbase's mission to increase economic freedom is one of the most important missions in the world. And I've learned firsthand that good engineering is downstream of good communication.

Why I'm the Right Fit​

I Understand What Breaks When Communications Fail​

I recently completed a consulting contract with an early-stage tech-focused school system. The organization had talented people and clear technical needs. But it was a mess. Information was scattered. Leadership assumptions weren't documented. Teams operated on different operational truths. The CEO ultimately couldn't get his executive team (and rest of the org) aligned on what needed to be done.

This experience crystallized something I've believed for years: organizations don't just fail from lack of talent. They fail from misaligned assumptions about how to operate. Strong communication from leadership isn't just nice to have. It's fundamental to whether a globally distributed, remote workforce can function at all.

That's exactly the challenge this role exists to solve. And it's a challenge I'm uniquely equipped to handle.

I've Built My Career on Creating Alignment at Scale​

I've spent years getting diverse groups of people aligned around complex, transformative ideas:

  • Democracy reform: Built a youth nonprofit that trained thousands globally in civic innovation (years before it became mainstream). Named Forbes 30 Under 30 for this work. The Rock shouted us out on Instagram.
  • Web3 ecosystems: Secured grants from Ethereum Foundation, Coinbase, and Celo for web3 education for youth, grew Gitcoin Passport's user base substantially by communicating complex crypto concepts to diverse audiences.
  • Pop-up cities: Contributed to Zuzalu. Lead organizer for a seven-day developer event alongside ETHDenver 2024 that drew 3,000+ attendees for a Zuzalu spinoff called Edge City. Average satisfaction: 4.6/5. I led designing the programming, recruiting speakers, and building the buzz through consistent, compelling communication before and throughout the week.
  • High-stakes advising: Currently advise the White House faith office and the Catholic Church in Rome. I'm comfortable operating at the highest levels with great professionalism.

The pattern is clear: I know how to take complex missions and make them crystal clear to the people who need to execute on them. I know how to create the shared operational context that lets distributed teams move fast together.

I've Developed a Framework for Exactly This Problem​

I call it truth management: the discipline of systematically documenting and evolving the foundational beliefs, operational knowledge, and decision frameworks that guide how organizations act in the world.

Think of it as version-controlled documentation for your organization's operational truth. It transforms scattered tribal knowledge into explicit, shareable, continuously improving documentation that enables aligned action across teams and AI agents.

It's the same discipline Coinbase needs: treating organizational knowledge like source code so everyone operates from the same foundation.

I Live and Breathe Technical Environments​

I started my career as a Software Engineer at Google Cloud from 2015 to 2019. I recently graduated top of my class from Gauntlet AI's coding bootcamp. I understand how engineers think. I have deep empathy for technical people. And I know how to communicate complex technical concepts in ways that inspire rather than confuse.

But I also understand that great tech organizations need more than just developers. They need communicators who can bridge between highly technical teams and the rest of the organization. They need people who can make C-suite strategy feel tangible to someone writing code in a different timezone. That's my sweet spot.

My Commitment​

I'm seeking the opportunity to help Coinbase achieve its mission by ensuring every employee has the information, context, and shared operational truth they need to build the future of finance.

Economic freedom matters. Onchain infrastructure matters. And the internal communications that keep thousands of globally distributed employees aligned around this mission matters just as much as the technology itself.

I'd love to discuss how my experience creating alignment at scale, my framework for organizational truth management, and my deep comfort in technical environments can help Coinbase communicate its way to achieving its mission.

Thank you for your consideration.

Best regards,

Gary Sheng