Block

Software Engineer Interview Experience - San Francisco, California

May 1, 2020

Negative ExperienceNo Offer

Process

I had a really unpleasant experience with Square. I love the company and the products they are developing, so I submitted an application online.

I started the interview process, cleared the phone interview, and was scheduled to interview with two hiring managers. I don't think either of them was a good match for my next role, and since then, I have been ghosted by the recruiter.

I think it is a really unprofessional way to remove a candidate from the process.

Questions

The phone interview was about building a mini-game to test your skills in OOP.

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 59 interview experiences for the Block Software Engineer role in San Francisco, California.

Success Rate

25%

Pass Rate

Block's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in San Francisco, California is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.

Experience Rating

Positive56%

Neutral20%

Negative24%

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

Block Work Experiences

Great company and workplace

Software Engineer • Current Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

Pros: Flexible hours Positive company mission aligns with small business interests Transparent management

Cons: There's always work to do. There's always something that can be improved.

Great company and workplace

Software Engineer • Current Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

Pros: Flexible hours Positive company mission aligns with small business interests Transparent management

Cons: There's always work to do. There's always something that can be improved.

Fast Growth, Huge Impact

Software Engineer • Former Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

February 8, 2024

Pros: - Growth - Move fast - Great features to do, resulting in huge impact.

Cons: - WLB can be improved

Fast Growth, Huge Impact

Software Engineer • Former Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

February 8, 2024

Pros: - Growth - Move fast - Great features to do, resulting in huge impact.

Cons: - WLB can be improved

The company has seriously declined over the past two years

Software Engineer • Former Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

September 2, 2025

Pros: Good WLB. Interesting problems being solved day-to-day.

Cons: Low pay. Constant reorgs that make it impossible to plan work long-term. Lack of clear company direction, constantly playing catch-up with rivals like Toast in the food & beverage space. Lack of synergy between Square and Cash. Poorly planned migration projects that constantly distract from real product work. Disappointing career growth, especially in the last 2 years due to all of the above. Lack of office culture lowers already low morale.

The company has seriously declined over the past two years

Software Engineer • Former Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

September 2, 2025

Pros: Good WLB. Interesting problems being solved day-to-day.

Cons: Low pay. Constant reorgs that make it impossible to plan work long-term. Lack of clear company direction, constantly playing catch-up with rivals like Toast in the food & beverage space. Lack of synergy between Square and Cash. Poorly planned migration projects that constantly distract from real product work. Disappointing career growth, especially in the last 2 years due to all of the above. Lack of office culture lowers already low morale.

Great company and workplace

Software Engineer • Current Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

Pros: Flexible hours Positive company mission aligns with small business interests Transparent management

Cons: There's always work to do. There's always something that can be improved.

5.0
Great company and workplace
Software Engineer • Current Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
August 4, 2016
Pros: Flexible hours Positive company mission aligns with small business interests Transparent management
Cons: There's always work to do. There's always something that can be improved.

Fast Growth, Huge Impact

Software Engineer • Former Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

February 8, 2024

Pros: - Growth - Move fast - Great features to do, resulting in huge impact.

Cons: - WLB can be improved

4.0
Fast Growth, Huge Impact
Software Engineer • Former Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
February 8, 2024
Pros: - Growth - Move fast - Great features to do, resulting in huge impact.
Cons: - WLB can be improved

The company has seriously declined over the past two years

Software Engineer • Former Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

September 2, 2025

Pros: Good WLB. Interesting problems being solved day-to-day.

Cons: Low pay. Constant reorgs that make it impossible to plan work long-term. Lack of clear company direction, constantly playing catch-up with rivals like Toast in the food & beverage space. Lack of synergy between Square and Cash. Poorly planned migration projects that constantly distract from real product work. Disappointing career growth, especially in the last 2 years due to all of the above. Lack of office culture lowers already low morale.

2.0
The company has seriously declined over the past two years
Software Engineer • Former Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
September 2, 2025
Pros: Good WLB. Interesting problems being solved day-to-day.
Cons: Low pay. Constant reorgs that make it impossible to plan work long-term. Lack of clear company direction, constantly playing catch-up with rivals like Toast in the food & beverage space. Lack of synergy between Square and Cash. Poorly planned migration projects that constantly distract from real product work. Disappointing career growth, especially in the last 2 years due to all of the above. Lack of office culture lowers already low morale.

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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