Block

Software Engineering Interview Experience

March 10, 2013

Neutral ExperienceNo Offer

Process

First, an online test: solve two problems in 1 hour. The questions are simple, but you should carefully consider the time and space constraints.

Then, a Skype interview: write on a shared board, and the interviewer will run your code in their compiler. If there is a bug, they will paste it to you and ask you to solve it.

Questions

The interviewer compiles your code written in the shared document.

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 24 interview experiences for the Block Software Engineering role in United States.

Success Rate

29%

Pass Rate

Block's interview process for their Software Engineering roles in the United States is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.

Experience Rating

Positive75%

Neutral21%

Negative4%

Candidates reported having very good feelings for Block's Software Engineering interview process in United States.

Block Work Experiences

Smart Coworkers, Terrible Manager

Mobile Engineer • Former Employee

New York, New York, United States

Pros: I had very kind and smart coworkers, who I learned a lot from.

Cons: My manager made me dread my job every day. I felt set up for failure, and there was no remediation for my manager's documented incompetence. Canadian salary was insanely low; they paid me less in CAD than the USD equivalent for the same tier city.

Smart Coworkers, Terrible Manager

Mobile Engineer • Former Employee

New York, New York, United States

Pros: I had very kind and smart coworkers, who I learned a lot from.

Cons: My manager made me dread my job every day. I felt set up for failure, and there was no remediation for my manager's documented incompetence. Canadian salary was insanely low; they paid me less in CAD than the USD equivalent for the same tier city.

Fun, challenging, and rewarding

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: It's great getting to work with a very talented team. I love learning something new and getting challenged each and every day. The company is incredibly transparent internally, which is really refreshing. I love building products that empower local merchants. Compared to big tech companies that I've worked at, I feel like Square is a great place where we can win as a team.

Cons: Growing fast and having many offices around the world has come with challenges. The amount of internal communication can be mind-boggling if you don't quickly figure out a system for managing it. If you are the kind of person that needs to know exactly what you'll be working on in two months, then Square isn't for you.

Fun, challenging, and rewarding

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: It's great getting to work with a very talented team. I love learning something new and getting challenged each and every day. The company is incredibly transparent internally, which is really refreshing. I love building products that empower local merchants. Compared to big tech companies that I've worked at, I feel like Square is a great place where we can win as a team.

Cons: Growing fast and having many offices around the world has come with challenges. The amount of internal communication can be mind-boggling if you don't quickly figure out a system for managing it. If you are the kind of person that needs to know exactly what you'll be working on in two months, then Square isn't for you.

Has the potential to be great

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Oakland, California, United States

Pros: Good work-life balance, passable pay, full remote.

Cons: Leadership doesn't really know what they're doing.

Has the potential to be great

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Oakland, California, United States

Pros: Good work-life balance, passable pay, full remote.

Cons: Leadership doesn't really know what they're doing.

Smart Coworkers, Terrible Manager

Mobile Engineer • Former Employee

New York, New York, United States

Pros: I had very kind and smart coworkers, who I learned a lot from.

Cons: My manager made me dread my job every day. I felt set up for failure, and there was no remediation for my manager's documented incompetence. Canadian salary was insanely low; they paid me less in CAD than the USD equivalent for the same tier city.

2.0
Smart Coworkers, Terrible Manager
Mobile Engineer • Former Employee
New York, New York, United States
March 31, 2025
Pros: I had very kind and smart coworkers, who I learned a lot from.
Cons: My manager made me dread my job every day. I felt set up for failure, and there was no remediation for my manager's documented incompetence. Canadian salary was insanely low; they paid me less in CAD than the USD equivalent for the same tier city.

Fun, challenging, and rewarding

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: It's great getting to work with a very talented team. I love learning something new and getting challenged each and every day. The company is incredibly transparent internally, which is really refreshing. I love building products that empower local merchants. Compared to big tech companies that I've worked at, I feel like Square is a great place where we can win as a team.

Cons: Growing fast and having many offices around the world has come with challenges. The amount of internal communication can be mind-boggling if you don't quickly figure out a system for managing it. If you are the kind of person that needs to know exactly what you'll be working on in two months, then Square isn't for you.

5.0
Fun, challenging, and rewarding
Software Engineer • Current Employee
May 10, 2014
Pros: It's great getting to work with a very talented team. I love learning something new and getting challenged each and every day. The company is incredibly transparent internally, which is really refreshing. I love building products that empower local merchants. Compared to big tech companies that I've worked at, I feel like Square is a great place where we can win as a team.
Cons: Growing fast and having many offices around the world has come with challenges. The amount of internal communication can be mind-boggling if you don't quickly figure out a system for managing it. If you are the kind of person that needs to know exactly what you'll be working on in two months, then Square isn't for you.

Has the potential to be great

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Oakland, California, United States

Pros: Good work-life balance, passable pay, full remote.

Cons: Leadership doesn't really know what they're doing.

3.0
Has the potential to be great
Software Engineer • Former Employee
Oakland, California, United States
April 15, 2025
Pros: Good work-life balance, passable pay, full remote.
Cons: Leadership doesn't really know what they're doing.

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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