Process
Their recruiter reached out on LinkedIn, and then I had a phone call with her. She was very friendly and enthusiastic about my experience being such a great match for the position.
Had a pair programming phone screen a week later, which I thought went well. I managed to solve it up to three more iterations of improvements, and at the end, the interviewer said I had answered all his questions (of course, I may have misinterpreted that).
Never heard back from the recruiter or anyone on their team after that. I even reached out to the initial recruiter to say I was expecting some other offers soon and asked if they would be willing to speed up the hiring process for me (I was really interested in Square), but they never replied.
I would also like to add that all conversations with the recruiter happened over LinkedIn messages, and she never actually sent me emails, which I thought was odd.
Questions
String parsing and improvements for speed with large datasets.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the Block Senior Site Reliability Engineer role in United States.
Success Rate
Block's interview process for their Senior Site Reliability Engineer roles in the United States is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very negative feelings for Block's Senior Site Reliability Engineer interview process in United States.
Block Work Experiences
- 4.0Great people, products, and tools, but leadership is out of touchRelease Manager • Former EmployeeKansas City, KSApril 23, 2026Pros: - The people were awesome. - There was an ambiguous work environment (in a good way!). - The tooling was great, and working cross-functionally was easy while remote. - I shipped some awesome products. - Internal mobility was great, and I really grew at the company.Cons: - Leadership was out of touch. - There was a forcing of AI across everything. - The restructure was constant. The fear of layoffs was heavy, and they did eventually happen. - The work-life balance suffered. Due to Slack, you were always on, and it was necessary to continue communicating after hours.
- 2.0Good projects, but management can be toxicSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesDecember 4, 2023Pros: Block promotes a healthy work-life balance and offers engaging projects. There are opportunities to participate in "working groups" addressing specific issues and collaborate with individuals from diverse backgrounds outside your team. Despite the remote work setting limiting social interactions, this may be preferable for some.Cons: Compensation is relatively low, with a significant portion tied to stock, which has tanked. This impacts the overall compensation compared to other companies that offer a higher cash percentage. The pace of progress for engineers can be slow, with an emphasis on extensive documentation and numerous stakeholder meetings, deviating from a "ship fast" culture. Some instances of toxic behavior have been observed in middle management, including micromanagement, public criticism, and fostering a blame culture. The quality of management appears to be inconsistent across teams. Additionally, it's worth noting that Block has announced plans to reduce headcount and implement layoffs in 2024. This impending restructuring may impact job security and overall job satisfaction. Given this situation, it might not be the best time to consider joining Block.
- 3.0Strong engineering culture but layoffs create uncertaintySenior Data Engineer • Former EmployeeToronto, ONMay 28, 2026Pros: Good engineering culture and great WLB.Cons: AI pushes, layoffs, and uncertainty.
Block Interview Questions
