Design Engineer

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.
The Role
We're laying the groundwork for a new era of design intelligence at Block by building foundational infrastructure, adaptive systems, and agent-driven workflows that elevate how teams think, build, and ship. Our mission is to turn design intent into a programmable resource: tools, agents, and capabilities that accelerate exploration, sharpen workflows, and open entirely new creative surfaces. And we're doing it in a way that democratizes craft by making advanced design capability accessible to anyone with an idea, not just those with specialized skills or privileged tools.
We treat AI as a new medium, not a bolt-on. The strongest builders here instinctively integrate it into their process, see where it reshapes workflows, and explore the creative surfaces it unlocks. We value mindset over skillset where curiosity, systems thinking, and people who push past symptoms to uncover the actual problem worth solving. And we thrive with people who collaborate by default, treating shared momentum and joint problem-solving as part of their craft.
This role is for curious builders who thrive on experimentation, adopt emerging technologies early, and aren't afraid to push the boundaries of design × AI in ways that scale across Block and beyond.
You Will

• Experiment, build, and maintain AI-assisted design and development tooling that empowers makers and amplifies creativity.
• Encode design intent and brand expression into adaptive, programmable agents.
• Explore and prototype new interface paradigms. Multimodal, agentic, and generative.
• Create flexible infrastructures (plugins, automation tools, agent-based workflows) that scale across teams and foster community adoption.
• Partner with design and engineering leadership to define the future of design × engineering x AI mind melding.

You Have
We don't optimize for resumes, diplomas, or perfect portfolios. We look for people with evidence of capability, curiosity, and momentum. Builders who've pushed themselves even when their environment didn't.
You might show this through:

• Significant experience shipping software and solving real problems regardless of where or how you learned.
• Hands-on work in design engineering, design technology, creative tooling, or adjacent hybrid spaces.
• Strong proficiency in front-end technologies.
• Experience with AI/ML APIs, LLMs, or agent-based workflows.
• Familiarity with open-source AI tools, libraries, and frameworks for automation or generative systems.
• Fluency with UI and product workflow tools.
• A track record of building empowering, maker-focused tools that push beyond the status quo.

If you bring any of these, they'll amplify our combined impact even further:

• Experience collaborating with creative and art directors, motion designers, audio designers, or illustrators.
• Experience and stories featuring open-source, agentic, generative, or automation-driven projects.
• Familiarity with multimodal interfaces (voice, gesture, vision, AI-driven interactions).
• Experience building for mobile platforms, especially iOS with Swift and modern development practices.

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 an equal opportunity employer evaluating all employees and job applicants without regard to identity or any legally protected class. We will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and "fair chance" ordinances.
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 .
While there is no specific deadline to apply for this role, U.S. roles are typically open for an average of 55 days before being filled by a successful candidate. Please refer to the date listed at the top of this job page for when this role was first posted.
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.
Zone A:
$217,800 - $326,800 USD
Zone B:
$207,000 - $310,400 USD
Zone C:
$196,100 - $294,100 USD
Zone D:
$185,200 - $277,800 USD
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 at [email protected] 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.