Block

Software Development Engineer Interview Experience - San Jose, California

January 22, 2026

Positive ExperienceNo Offer

Process

I applied online. The process took six weeks.

It was remote and pretty smooth. The interview started with a coding screen, and then the onsite consisted of more coding problems. It also had a round of behavioral questions as well as a project deep dive.

Questions

Deep dive into past project.

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the Block Software Development Engineer role in San Jose, California.

Success Rate

0%

Pass Rate

Block's interview process for their Software Development Engineer roles in San Jose, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.

Experience Rating

Positive100%

Neutral0%

Negative0%

Candidates reported having very good feelings for Block's Software Development Engineer interview process in San Jose, California.

Block Work Experiences

Come for the mission, stay for the tech challenges!

Software Development Engineer • Current Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

Pros: If you are mission-driven, then you would enjoy this company and its mission of Economic Empowerment. There are lots of interesting business problems to solve. These problems often translate into complex engineering challenges. Square also has scale, both in terms of product and its organization. Most recently, a lot of groups started the long journey of cloud migration.

Cons: The overall technical direction of the company is often missing, and it's left to teams to get aligned. While this meritocratic approach can lead to "best team's solution wins" situations, this is not always the case. Technical decision-making is often slow as a result of this approach.

Come for the mission, stay for the tech challenges!

Software Development Engineer • Current Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

Pros: If you are mission-driven, then you would enjoy this company and its mission of Economic Empowerment. There are lots of interesting business problems to solve. These problems often translate into complex engineering challenges. Square also has scale, both in terms of product and its organization. Most recently, a lot of groups started the long journey of cloud migration.

Cons: The overall technical direction of the company is often missing, and it's left to teams to get aligned. While this meritocratic approach can lead to "best team's solution wins" situations, this is not always the case. Technical decision-making is often slow as a result of this approach.

Amazing Company, Crazy Hours

Software Developer • Current Employee

San Jose, California, United States

Pros: Amazing company to work for.

Cons: Work hours can be crazy from time to time.

Amazing Company, Crazy Hours

Software Developer • Current Employee

San Jose, California, United States

Pros: Amazing company to work for.

Cons: Work hours can be crazy from time to time.

Good work-life balance, decent pay

Software Engineer • Former Employee

December 13, 2024

Pros: The WLB can be good, depending on the team. Some very skilled people.

Cons: The pay is not as high as other tech companies which Block tries to position itself against. Lots of instability. There are a few coasters, people who do rest-and-vest.

Good work-life balance, decent pay

Software Engineer • Former Employee

December 13, 2024

Pros: The WLB can be good, depending on the team. Some very skilled people.

Cons: The pay is not as high as other tech companies which Block tries to position itself against. Lots of instability. There are a few coasters, people who do rest-and-vest.

Come for the mission, stay for the tech challenges!

Software Development Engineer • Current Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

Pros: If you are mission-driven, then you would enjoy this company and its mission of Economic Empowerment. There are lots of interesting business problems to solve. These problems often translate into complex engineering challenges. Square also has scale, both in terms of product and its organization. Most recently, a lot of groups started the long journey of cloud migration.

Cons: The overall technical direction of the company is often missing, and it's left to teams to get aligned. While this meritocratic approach can lead to "best team's solution wins" situations, this is not always the case. Technical decision-making is often slow as a result of this approach.

5.0
Come for the mission, stay for the tech challenges!
Software Development Engineer • Current Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
June 10, 2019
Pros: If you are mission-driven, then you would enjoy this company and its mission of Economic Empowerment. There are lots of interesting business problems to solve. These problems often translate into complex engineering challenges. Square also has scale, both in terms of product and its organization. Most recently, a lot of groups started the long journey of cloud migration.
Cons: The overall technical direction of the company is often missing, and it's left to teams to get aligned. While this meritocratic approach can lead to "best team's solution wins" situations, this is not always the case. Technical decision-making is often slow as a result of this approach.

Amazing Company, Crazy Hours

Software Developer • Current Employee

San Jose, California, United States

Pros: Amazing company to work for.

Cons: Work hours can be crazy from time to time.

5.0
Amazing Company, Crazy Hours
Software Developer • Current Employee
San Jose, California, United States
April 2, 2025
Pros: Amazing company to work for.
Cons: Work hours can be crazy from time to time.

Good work-life balance, decent pay

Software Engineer • Former Employee

December 13, 2024

Pros: The WLB can be good, depending on the team. Some very skilled people.

Cons: The pay is not as high as other tech companies which Block tries to position itself against. Lots of instability. There are a few coasters, people who do rest-and-vest.

4.0
Good work-life balance, decent pay
Software Engineer • Former Employee
December 13, 2024
Pros: The WLB can be good, depending on the team. Some very skilled people.
Cons: The pay is not as high as other tech companies which Block tries to position itself against. Lots of instability. There are a few coasters, people who do rest-and-vest.

Block Interview Questions

Rotating the Box

Simulate a box tilting to the right, causing stones to fall until they hit obstacles or the floor. Re-arrange the characters in a given grid to reflect the resulting state of the box.

ArraysStringsTwo Pointers

Available Captures for Rook

On a chessboard, find how many pawns a rook can capture in one move. The rook can move horizontally or vertically until it hits an obstacle or the edge of the board.

Count Nice Pairs in an Array

You're given an array of numbers. Find how many pairs of numbers in the array satisfy a specific 'nice' property determined by reversing their digits and comparing them.

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