Design Engineer, Open Source Design

Block; San Francisco (CA); Remote; USD 185,000 - 327,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking company dedicated to economic empowerment as a design engineer. This role focuses on building innovative AI-powered design tools and infrastructures that enhance creativity and efficiency across various teams. You'll have the opportunity to work remotely while collaborating with diverse teams to explore novel applications of AI in design workflows. With a commitment to inclusivity and a supportive work environment, this position offers a chance to make a significant impact in shaping the future of design at an industry leader. If you're passionate about technology and design, this is the perfect opportunity for you.

Benefits

Remote Work

Medical Insurance

Flexible Time Off

Retirement Savings Plans

Modern Family Planning

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software development experience required.
• Proficiency with front-end technologies and AI/ML APIs.
• Experience in design engineering or creative tooling roles.

Responsibilities

• Build AI-powered design tools to enhance creativity and efficiency.
• Develop design infrastructures for multiple business units.
• Collaborate to create intelligent design automation tools.

Skills

Software Development

Design Engineering

Front-end Technologies (HTML/CSS/JS/TypeScript)

AI/ML APIs

UI and Product Workflow Tools (Figma, Notion, Airtable)

Modular Infrastructure Design

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Figma

Notion

Airtable

OpenAI APIs

Job description

Block is one company built from many blocks, all united by the same purpose of economic empowerment. The blocks that form our foundational teams — People, Finance, Counsel, Hardware, Information Security, Platform Infrastructure Engineering, and more — provide support and guidance at the corporate level. They work across business groups and around the globe, spanning time zones and disciplines to develop inclusive People policies, forecast finances, give legal counsel, safeguard systems, nurture new initiatives, and more. Every challenge creates possibilities, and we need different perspectives to see them all. Bring yours to Block.

The Role

As part of a newly formed Block central design team, our mission is to reinvent the way we design, build, and govern product ecosystems, internally and externally to Block, while showing the world what open source design looks like in the process. Our team built the design systems that powers Cash App, and we are now expanding our efforts into AI-assisted tooling and open-source agent-based automation (check out our recently launched agent codename goose!).

Work from anywhere: This role can be performed remotely from any location in US.

You Will

1. Build AI-powered design tools that enhance creativity and efficiency, including open-source AI agents that automate and augment workflows.
2. Develop and maintain design infrastructures that can be leveraged by multiple business units, ensuring a modular, scalable approach to design systems.
3. Create plugins, linters, and automation tools (Figma, native apps, internal tools) that improve the design and development process.
4. Set up and refine design analytics frameworks to surface insights into design system usage, quality, and efficiency.
5. Collaborate with Customer Data Services teams to develop intelligent design automation tools, including content population, localization, and personalization.
6. Explore novel applications of AI in design workflows, from generative UI solutions to intelligent layout suggestions and predictive design patterns.

You Have

1. 8+ years of experience in software development or equivalent experience.
2. 2+ years in a design engineering, design technology, or creative tooling role.
3. Proficiency with front-end technologies (HTML/CSS/JS/TypeScript)
4. Experience working with AI/ML APIs, LLMs, or AI-assisted workflows.
5. Familiarity with open-source AI tools or agent-based automation frameworks (e.g., goose, OpenAI APIs, Claude or similar).
6. Strong use of UI and product workflow tools (Figma, Notion, Airtable, etc.).
7. Experience designing and implementing modular infrastructures that supported multiple teams and products.
8. A track record of defining major workstreams, setting clear success measures, and driving execution.

Even Better

1. Experience collaborating with creative & art directors, motion designers, audio designers, and illustrators, as well as product designers, engineers, and product managers.
2. A portfolio showcasing experimental tooling and infrastructure projects, particularly those that leverage automation.
3. Experience building static or dynamic documentation sites with headless CMS solutions.

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 an equal opportunity employer evaluating all employees and job applicants without regard to identity or any legally protected class. We will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and "fair chance" ordinances.

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 .

While there is no specific deadline to apply for this role, U.S. roles are typically open for an average of 55 days before being filled by a successful candidate. Please refer to the date listed at the top of this job page for when this role was first posted.

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.

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.

Zone A:

$217,800 — $326,800 USD

Zone B:

$207,000 — $310,400 USD

Zone C:

$196,100 — $294,100 USD

Zone D:

$185,200 — $277,800 USD

Every benefit we offer is designed with one goal: empowering you to do the best work of your career while building the life you want. Remote work, medical insurance, flexible time off, retirement savings plans, and modern family planning are just some of our offering.Check out our other benefits at Block.

Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ) builds technology to increase access to the global economy. Each of our brands unlocks different aspects of the economy for more people.Squaremakes commerce and financial services accessible to sellers.Cash Appis the easy way to spend, send, and store money.Afterpayis transforming the way customers manage their spending over time.TIDALis a music platform that empowers artists to thrive as entrepreneurs.Bitkeyis a simple self-custody wallet built for bitcoin.Protois a suite of bitcoin mining products and services. Together, we’re helping build a financial system that is open to everyone.