Senior Software Engineer, Developer Experience
Description
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.
About the role
More and more of our engineering work now runs through autonomous agents, and those agents can only be as effective as the tools, context, and codebase around them. As a Developer Experience Engineer, you'll build the tooling and agent workflows that let humans and agents change our largest monorepos quickly and safely.
You'll own the interfaces engineers use to observe, steer, and give context to the agents working on our code. You'll also build the guardrails that keep complexity in check as those agents take on bigger changes. Large-scale work like framework upgrades, language migrations, and dependency health is still part of the job, but you'll do it by building and steering agents rather than making the changes by hand. This is a high-leverage role. Every improvement you ship multiplies across the whole engineering organization.
What you’ll do
- Build and ship the tools engineers and their agents use every day, such as CLIs, desktop integrations, and interfaces for observing, unblocking, and steering autonomous agents, and own their adoption, distribution, and support
- Design and evolve agentic loops (the plan, act, verify, and iterate cycles) and the harnesses, skills, and context that let agents do real engineering work reliably
- Build agent workflows that drive large-scale changes across the codebase, including framework upgrades, language migrations, and dependency updates, with minimal disruption to product teams
- Build the guardrails, tests, and automation that make large, agent-authored changes safe to land, and track the leading indicators of growing complexity
- Find friction in the development workflow for both humans and agents, and fix the root causes
- Partner with builders inside and outside of engineering to understand their pain points, and measure the adoption and impact of what you ship
- Set technical direction and mentor other engineers on agent design, tooling, and codebase health
What we’re looking for
We care more about what you've done than about which specific technologies you used to do it.
Required
- Shipping developer tooling at scale: You've shipped tools that engineers use daily, such as CLIs, desktop integrations, configuration management, or internal platforms. You understand what it takes to drive adoption, debug problems, and support users.
- Scaling work with agents: You've built agent workflows that finished work that would normally take a team weeks. Examples include generating codebase summaries or world models, writing skills and loops, or orchestrating a team of semi-deterministic agents. You have a deep understanding of agentic loops (tool use, context management, verification, failure handling) and are eager to keep evolving them as the field changes.
- Evolving frameworks and large codebases: You have deep experience with application or platform frameworks, including upgrading them and managing their evolution over time. You also have a track record of leading migrations or large refactors from planning through rollout.
- Significant experience (typically 10+ years for Staff, 7+ for Senior) working in large, complex codebases
- Strong communication skills and the ability to build trust with teams by owning the outcomes of your work
Nice to have
- Experience with harness engineering or context engineering
- Experience with agent observability, for example through OpenTelemetry
- Experience distributing internal tools (versioning, release channels, auto-update) and measuring adoption with telemetry or surveys
- Background in developer productivity metrics, test infrastructure, or CI/CD
- A passion for intuitive user experience and good taste in elegant solutions
- Open source contributions to developer tooling or agent frameworks
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.
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.
Application Guidelines
Candidates may submit up to 9 active applications within a 60-day period. Reapplications to the same role are accepted 90 days after a previous application has been reviewed.
Use of AI in Our Hiring Process
We may use automated AI tools to evaluate job applications for efficiency and consistency. These tools comply with local regulations, including bias audits, and we handle all personal data in accordance with state and local privacy laws.
Contact us here with hiring practice or data usage questions.
Every benefit we offer is designed with one goal: empowering you to do the best work of your career while building the life you want. Remote work, medical insurance, flexible time off, retirement savings plans, and modern family planning are just some of our offering. Check out our other benefits at Block.
Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ) builds technology to increase access to the global economy. Each of our brands unlocks different aspects of the economy for more people. Square makes commerce and financial services accessible to sellers. Cash App is the easy way to spend, send, and store money. Afterpay is transforming the way customers manage their spending over time. TIDAL is a music platform that empowers artists to thrive as entrepreneurs. Bitkey is a simple self-custody wallet built for bitcoin. Proto is a suite of bitcoin mining products and services. Together, we’re helping build a financial system that is open to everyone.
Privacy Policy
Skills
As published by greenhouse · 16 questions · 2 written answers
Basics
First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Resume/CV, Cover Letter, Location
Short answers (7)
- LinkedIn Profile optional
- Additional profiles (e.g. GitHub, Stack Overflow) optional
- If you answered "Yes" to the question above, please enter your dates of employment. Note that your performance history may be reviewed as part of the application process. optional
- If you answered "Yes" to the question above, please enter your dates of contract engagement or work through agency. optional
- I certify that all of the information I have provided is correct and complete and realize that falsification or misrepresentation, including omission, on this or any other personnel record, or in the hiring process, may be grounds for refusal of employment, or if hired, may lead to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. By signing this Electronic Signature Acknowledgment Online Form, I agree that my electronic signature is the legally binding equivalent to my handwritten signature. Whenever I execute an electronic signature, it has the same validity and meaning as my handwritten signature. I will not, at any time in the future, repudiate the meaning of my electronic signature or claim that my electronic signature is not legally binding. Please sign by typing your Full Legal First, Middle Initial, and Last Name.
- What is your Legal First Name?
- What is your Legal Last Name?
Pick from a list (7)
- Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for work authorization? (This information will not be used in assessing your qualifications for any position.)
- Are you authorized to work lawfully in the location posted for this position?
- Have you ever been employed full-time at Block or its subsidiaries?
- Have you ever provided any contract work for Block, Inc. or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates (whether in the U.S. or internationally)?
- By clicking “accept,” you agree that any disputes related to your application, including those related to Block’s selection process, hiring decision, and your background check, shall be submitted to binding arbitration with the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. (JAMS) on an individual basis only in San Francisco, before a single arbitrator according to the applicable JAMS Rules then in effect, with Block bearing all costs unique to arbitration. To the extent permitted by law, you and Block each waive the right to initiate or participate in any class, collective, or representative action against the other in any forum (including court and arbitration). If any provision of this agreement is deemed unenforceable, the remainder shall remain in effect, except that, notwithstanding the above, under no circumstances shall class or collective, or representative proceedings be permitted in arbitration.
- How we interview: Our hiring process prioritizes authenticity and fairness, and we ask all candidates to adhere to a few key expectations. Acceptable use of AI may differ depending on the role, so we encourage you to confirm with your recruiter what is or isn’t permitted during the process. Recording any part of the interview without consent is prohibited. However, if you need recording as an accommodation, please notify your recruiter before your scheduled interview. During virtual interviews, keep your video on to foster meaningful engagement; if you require accommodations, please inform our team in advance. Lastly, maintain confidentiality by refraining from sharing any proprietary or trade secret information from previous employers or other sources throughout the interview process.
- With your permission, we may use AI transcription software to transcribe and summarize your interview to help us capture accurate notes. Participation is entirely voluntary, and your decision will not affect the outcome of your application. You can withdraw consent at any time. Do you consent to us using AI to transcribe and summarize your interview?
Written answers (2)
- Tell us a bit about why you're applying to work here. What excited you about this role? optional
- Block's purpose is economic empowerment. Briefly tell us about what that purpose means to you. optional