Senior Software Engineer, Bitcoin Platform - job 1 of 2

Block is one company built from many blocks, all united by the same purpose of economic empowerment. The blocks that form our foundational teams — People, Finance, Counsel, Hardware, Information Security, Platform Infrastructure Engineering, and more — provide support and guidance at the corporate level. They work across business groups and around the globe, spanning time zones and disciplines to develop inclusive People policies, forecast finances, give legal counsel, safeguard systems, nurture new initiatives, and more. Every challenge creates possibilities, and we need different perspectives to see them all. Bring yours to Block.

Bitcoin Platform 

The Bitcoin Platform team develops infrastructure for Block to send, receive and custody bitcoin by operating a stack for both cold, hot, and lightning wallets. Our goal is to bring bitcoin to people around the world, unlocking previously impossible use cases to accelerate a world built on better money. The team is composed of engineers that specialize in backend, security, and blockchain engineering.

Bitcoin Platform Engineering is composed of two teams: Custody and Trading Engineering. We're responsible for managing and improving our hot and cold Bitcoin wallets, handling transfers in and out of our wallets, and working on next generation Bitcoin technology and features like running a Lightning network node. You will be responsible for designing, building, troubleshooting and improving Bitcoin platform features, services, and infrastructure. 

Just like Bitcoin, we are decentralized with team members across the U.S. and Australia working together to shape the future. We're scaling quickly and are excited to continue to grow the team this year! 

You have:

• 5+ years of relevant experience

• A strong motivation to contribute to a meaningful product that will fundamentally change the way people interact with financial institution

• Experience working with Bitcoin/Lightning or the desire to learn.

• Experience working across teams and disciplines.

• Experience building backend systems at scale, involving modern eventing, database, and infrastructure tooling

• A pragmatic approach with a focus on delivery.

• Ability to excel in macro and micro elements of software design.

• Willingness to contribute to the growth of those around you.

• Demonstrated technical initiative and leadership on previous projects.

You will:

• Help enable instant cross-border payments by helping design, build, and deploy a self-custody Lightning solution for the wallet

• Work with other experts at Block to improve Bitcoin Development Kit and Lightning Development Kit to benefit the broader bitcoin ecosystem and community

• Influence and define the future blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies leveraged in the wallet, Block and the broader industry

• Help guide and write code that we can share between our mobile application and backend services

• Make key architecture and platform choices, leveraging existing Block infrastructure and best practices where appropriate and and forging a new path when our unique needs require it

• Collaborate with mobile and firmware engineers, product managers, and infrastructure and service teams throughout the company

• Own testing, observability, and maintenance for the solutions you and the team create

Technologies we use and teach:

• Java, Kotlin

• Go

• Docker, Kubernetes

• Jaeger, Prometheus, Datadog

• JUnit

• Hibernate, Vitess, Guice

• Bitcoin, Lightning

Block takes a market-based approach to pay, and pay may vary depending on your location. U.S. locations are categorized into one of four zones based on a cost of labor index for that geographic area. The successful candidate’s starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future.

Zone A: USD $198,000 - USD $297,000
Zone B: USD $188,100 - USD $282,100
Zone C: USD $178,200 - USD $267,400
Zone D: USD $168,300 - USD $252,500

To find a location’s zone designation, please refer to this resource. If a location of interest is not listed, please speak with a recruiter for additional information. 

Full-time employee benefits include the following:

• Healthcare coverage (Medical, Vision and Dental insurance)
• Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account
• Retirement Plans including company match 
• Employee Stock Purchase Program
• Wellness programs, including access to mental health, 1:1 financial planners, and a monthly wellness allowance 
• Paid parental and caregiving leave
• Paid time off (including 12 paid holidays)
• Paid sick leave (1 hour per 26 hours worked (max 80 hours per calendar year to the extent legally permissible) for non-exempt employees and covered by our Flexible Time Off policy for exempt employees) 
• Learning and Development resources
• Paid Life insurance, AD&D, and disability benefits 

These benefits are further detailed in Block's policies. This role is also eligible to participate in Block's equity plan subject to the terms of the applicable plans and policies, and may be eligible for a sign-on bonus. Sales roles may be eligible to participate in a commission plan subject to the terms of the applicable plans and policies. Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefit plans.

We’re working to build a more inclusive economy where our customers have equal access to opportunity, and we strive to live by these same values in building our workplace. Block is a proud equal opportunity employer. We work hard to evaluate all employees and job applicants consistently, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class. 

We believe in being fair, and are committed to an inclusive interview experience, including providing reasonable accommodations to disabled applicants throughout the recruitment process. We encourage applicants to share any needed accommodations with their recruiter, who will treat these requests as confidentially as possible. Want to learn more about what we’re doing to build a workplace that is fair and square? Check out our I+D page.

Block will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and “fair chance” ordinances. Because the material duties of this role involve direct or indirect access to sensitive personal or financial data, a criminal background check is required following a contingent offer of employment.

Block, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) is a global technology company with a focus on financial services. Made up of Square, Cash App, Spiral, TIDAL, and TBD, we build tools to help more people access the economy. Square helps sellers run and grow their businesses with its integrated ecosystem of commerce solutions, business software, and banking services. With Cash App, anyone can easily send, spend, or invest their money in stocks or Bitcoin. Spiral (formerly Square Crypto) builds and funds free, open-source Bitcoin projects. Artists use TIDAL to help them succeed as entrepreneurs and connect more deeply with fans. TBD is building an open developer platform to make it easier to access Bitcoin and other blockchain technologies without having to go through an institution.

While there is no specific deadline to apply for this role, on average, U.S. open roles are posted for 70 days before being filled by a successful candidate.