Staff Machine Learning Engineer - Expansion ML

Since we opened our doors in 2009, the world of commerce has evolved immensely, and so has Square. After enabling anyone to take payments and never miss a sale, we saw sellers stymied by disparate, outmoded products and tools that wouldn't work together.
So we expanded into software and started building integrated, omnichannel solutions - to help sellers sell online, manage inventory, offer buy now, pay later functionality, book appointments, engage loyal buyers, and hire and pay staff. Across it all, we've embedded financial services tools at the point of sale, so merchants can access a business loan and manage their cash flow in one place. Afterpay furthers our goal to provide omnichannel tools that unlock meaningful value and growth, enabling sellers to capture the next generation shopper, increase order sizes, and compete at a larger scale.
Today, we are a partner to sellers of all sizes - large, enterprise-scale businesses with complex operations, sellers just starting, as well as merchants who began selling with Square and have grown larger over time. As our sellers grow, so do our solutions. There is a massive opportunity in front of us. We're building a significant, meaningful, and lasting business, and we are helping sellers worldwide do the same.
The Role
We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Staff Machine Learning Engineer with a specialization in Modeling to join our Go-To-Market (GTM) Expansion ML team at Square. Our team is dedicated to developing machine learning solutions that drive Square Seller growth by focusing on three key areas: Churn & Retention, Product Recommendations, and Customer Engagement Enrichment. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in shaping and executing our long-term strategy, enhancing seller retention, growth, and support. You will lead the development and maintenance of predictive models that power our GTM efforts and collaborate closely with stakeholders to align solutions with our campaigns and outreach strategies. As both a visionary leader and an executor, you will drive business and team growth.
You Will

• Develop and implement machine learning and deep learning models for churn risk assessment and product recommendations, analyzing seller activity across Square's ecosystem of payments, banking, and SaaS products.
• Design and build systems that utilize Generative AI, such as Large Language Models (LLMs), to address critical GTM and Customer Support business challenges and enhance interactions with Square sellers.
• Advocate for engineering best practices, and contribute to the upskilling of the team.
• Lead end-to-end cross-functional machine learning projects: build relationships with partner teams, frame problem statements, collect and analyze data, research and build prototypes, and productionize ML solutions by designing and developing their full pipelines.
• Set the standard for engineering quality, providing mentorship and technical guidance to the team.
• Collaborate with business leaders, subject matter experts, and decision-makers to establish success criteria and develop new ML & data products, features, and procedures.

You Have

• 8+ years of experience in ML software development.
• Strong understanding of and experience with the entire ML development lifecycle, including project setup, data pipelines, model training/serving, and monitoring.
• Proven track record of designing and maintaining production-level machine learning systems.
• Experience with large language models and generative AI.
• Expertise in recommendation systems and practical experience in developing and applying them.
• Strong grasp of computer science fundamentals.
• Proficient coding skills and comfort with coding in production systems.
• Commitment to writing clean and maintainable code.
• Interest in shaping the mission and roadmap of the team and rallying others to join you.
• Effective communication skills with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Eagerness to share your own ideas and openness to considering those of others

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 also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, and always assess candidates on an individualized basis.
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.
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:
$228,700 - $343,100 USD
Zone B:
$217,300 - $325,900 USD
Zone C:
$205,900 - $308,900 USD
Zone D:
$194,500 - $291,700 USD
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.