Since we first opened our doors in 2009, the world of commerce has evolved immensely – and so has Square. After enabling anyone to take a payment 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, run a busy kitchen, book appointments, engage loyal buyers, and hire and pay staff. And 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 all in one place.

Today, we’re a partner to sellers of all sizes – large, enterprise-scale businesses with complex commerce operations, sellers just starting out, as well as merchants who began selling with Square and have grown larger over time. As our sellers scale, so do our solutions. We all grow together. 

There is a massive opportunity in front of us. We’re building a business that is big, meaningful, and lasting. And we are helping sellers around the world do the same.

The Risk Engineering team is part of Square’s Risk team that manages fraud, credit and chargeback risk and is responsible for building seller-facing products that helps sellers manage their own risk. As the Global Head of Risk Engineering and Machine Learning Engineering you will be on Square’s Risk Leadership team. You will be responsible for leading a team of ~100 folks including Engineering leads and Engineers in building capabilities that enable safe, responsible, and value-accretive growth for Square and our sellers. You will ship solutions that improve the lives of Square’s sellers/customers and the agents that serve them every day. 

We’re looking for an inquisitive, principles first, metrics-driven, empathetic leader who challenges assumptions, dives in the data, double checks results and can deal with ambiguity and influence across the spectrum to chart a path forward. The focus of this role is organizational and company leadership, with a deep connection to the work to inspire and motivate Risk as an organization. This role also calls for active collaboration and partnerships with senior Engineering and ML leaders across the company, GMs, Marketing, Sales, Account Management, AI/Machine Learning, and more.

In this role, you will:

• Lead a team of Engineering leaders (managers and directors) and scale through them to build technological/ engineering solutions. Through the development of these solutions, you lead Risk in improving key input metrics that help enhance the ecosystem wide loss rate and profitability, product level loss rates and risk experience metrics to ensure success of Square.

• Influence senior management (including C-level suite) regarding matters of significance for Risk and help align investment direction to meet broader ecosystem goals. You will work with senior leadership and/or the executive team (Core) to align Risk’s vision, mission, and strategy with Square as a whole.

• Stay aware of changes around the company to anticipate and prevent obstacles from hindering performance of Risk as an organization. You also drive change across Risk and Square to proactively design organization structures that maximize impact and respond to the changing needs of the business.

• Oversee activities that ensure alignment with Risk and business-wide vision and strategies. You will mentor and coach leads within the organization and across Square to be effective people managers.

• Drive planning, staffing, budgeting, managing expense priorities and recommending and implementing critical changes (including organizational structures) for the growth of Square and Risk as a team.

• Recognize, influence, and/or resolve critical issues that may affect the company directly and require alignment from many teams, work across organizations to ensure risk strategies are aligned. In addition, you will be expected to initiate product &/or platform features or strategic shifts which have cross organizational impacts and allow Square to improve risk loss while improving seller and customer experience.

• Represent Risk across other Engineering teams within Square, and collaborate with AI/Machine Learning, Policy, Operations, UX/Design, Product management and other organizations across Risk and Square. 

• Be the spokesperson for Risk and serve as a trusted advisor and member of the Risk leadership team in the creation and deployment of useful insights that inform and activate strategies across the business. 

• 15+ years of experience in leading Engineering and risk related functions or 12+ years of leading Engineering and risk related functions and PhD in Computer Science/Machine learning

• You can manage organizational ambiguity and have demonstrated good judgment in making decisions during such situations.

• You are a strategic thinker who can influence the strategy and investment of Risk and Square. You have the ability to build narratives that define reality, give hope and inspire confidence (across levels) that have helped shape the investment portfolio of a company or organization.

• You are an empathetic leader who earns trust. At the same time you are relentless in pursuit of the better to improve yourself, your team members and your partners.

• You thrive in driving and managing change that makes the ecosystem better. You are not afraid of making difficult decisions that are for the long term good but may have perceived short term negative consequences

• Experience leading organizations that work across product, design, engineering, Program management to prioritize, scope, design. 

• Experience building and leading a high-performing Engineering and/or Machine Learning organization.

• You can hire and retain the best talent in the industry and be an inspirational leader at Square.

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.

Zone A: USD $326,300 - USD $398,800
Zone B: USD $326,300 - USD $398,800
Zone C: USD $326,300 - USD $398,800
Zone D: USD $326,300 - USD $398,800

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. 

Benefits include the following:

• Healthcare coverage
• Retirement Plans including company match 
• Employee Stock Purchase Program
• Wellness programs, including access to mental health, 1:1 financial planners, and a monthly wellness allowance 
• Paid parental and caregiving leave
• Paid time off
• Learning and Development resources
• Paid Life insurance, AD&D. and disability benefits 
• Perks such as WFH reimbursements and free access to caregiving, legal, and discounted resources 

This role is also eligible to participate in Block's equity plan subject to the terms of the applicable plans and policies, and may be eligible for a sign-on bonus. Sales roles may be eligible to participate in a commission plan subject to the terms of the applicable plans and policies. Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefit plans.

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 a proud equal opportunity employer. We work hard to evaluate all employees and job applicants consistently, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class. 

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. 

Additionally, we consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

Block, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) is a global technology company with a focus on financial services. Made up of Square, Cash App, Spiral, TIDAL, and TBD, we build tools to help more people access the economy. Square helps sellers run and grow their businesses with its integrated ecosystem of commerce solutions, business software, and banking services. With Cash App, anyone can easily send, spend, or invest their money in stocks or Bitcoin. Spiral (formerly Square Crypto) builds and funds free, open-source Bitcoin projects. Artists use TIDAL to help them succeed as entrepreneurs and connect more deeply with fans. TBD is building an open developer platform to make it easier to access Bitcoin and other blockchain technologies without having to go through an institution.