Data Engineer

About The Company

Block is a pioneering technology company committed to building an inclusive economy where individuals and businesses have equal access to financial opportunities. The company operates a diverse portfolio of brands, including Square, Cash App, Afterpay, TIDAL, Bitkey, and Proto, each designed to democratize access to financial services, entertainment, and digital assets. Block's mission is to develop innovative solutions that empower people worldwide, fostering economic growth and financial inclusion. With a focus on cutting-edge technology and a collaborative work environment, Block attracts talented professionals dedicated to transforming the future of finance and commerce on a global scale.

About The Role

The Staff Data Engineer in Compliance Engineering & Technology at Block plays a critical role in supporting the detection and reporting of suspicious financial activities across platforms such as Cash App, Square, and Afterpay. This position involves working closely with cross-functional teams—including engineering, legal, product, and compliance—to develop and maintain robust data infrastructure that underpins our anti-fraud and compliance initiatives. The ideal candidate will lead efforts in designing scalable data solutions, optimizing data models, and establishing best practices for data management across the organization. Reporting to the CET - Screening Engineering Manager, the Staff Data Engineer will be instrumental in elevating data engineering standards, ensuring high data quality, and enabling the organization to make impactful, data-driven decisions that enhance platform security and compliance.

Qualifications

• A minimum of 12 years of relevant experience with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; or 10 years with a Master's degree; or equivalent professional experience.
• High proficiency in SQL for complex data querying and analysis.
• Working experience with Python for data pipeline development and automation.
• Extensive experience designing medium-to-large scale data engineering solutions, including project lifecycle management from scoping to deployment.
• Proficiency with ETL scheduling tools such as Airflow or Prefect, with a focus on dependency management and orchestration.
• Strong understanding of schema design, dimensional data modeling, and data warehousing best practices.
• Experience implementing data quality monitoring, data lineage, and health checks.
• Knowledge of financial crimes compliance systems, technologies, and processes is highly desirable.
• Experience supporting AI initiatives or agent building projects is a plus.
• Familiarity with cloud data platforms such as Snowflake, and tools like Terraform, DbT, Github, Tableau.

Responsibilities

• Stay current with the latest data engineering best practices and guide the team in applying relevant tools and methodologies.
• Design and implement scalable, reliable data pipelines to support compliance and fraud detection initiatives.
• Lead the development and optimization of data models and schemas across various datasets, including event, customer, and process data.
• Establish monitoring systems to assess infrastructure health, data quality, and data lineage, ensuring high standards of data integrity.
• Participate in on-call rotations to monitor daily pipeline execution, diagnose issues, and resolve critical pipeline failures promptly.
• Collaborate with non-technical stakeholders and product teams to translate business needs into effective data solutions.
• Standardize definitions of business and product metrics, and develop comprehensive data documentation and dictionaries.
• Build tools and frameworks that enable other engineering teams to self-serve, promoting efficiency and scalability.
• Drive organizational adoption of best practices in data engineering, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.

Benefits

• Remote work flexibility to support work-life balance.
• Comprehensive medical insurance plans.
• Flexible time off policies to encourage rest and rejuvenation.
• Retirement savings plans to secure your financial future.
• Modern family planning benefits and parental leave policies.
• Opportunities for professional development and career growth.
• Inclusive and collaborative work environment committed to diversity and equity.

Equal Opportunity

Block is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We evaluate all employees and applicants without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other legally protected status. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process to ensure an equitable experience for all candidates.