Staff Software Engineer, Financial Platform - Issuing

Socket.dev; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 264,000 - 395,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work

Medical insurance

Flexible time off

Retirement plans

Job summary

Block is seeking a Staff Software Engineer for the Issuing server engineering team to bring deep card-network expertise to the most complex work on our roadmap. You will build systems, work with networks, and influence outcomes for Block.

You’ll write production code, develop conformance tooling and collaborate with cross-functional teams across card networks and issuing platforms, including on-call responsibilities and a focus on reliability and correctness.

Qualifications

• Deep, current expertise with at least one major card network (e.g., Visa).
• Hands-on software engineering experience building reliable payments systems at scale.
• Experience working with card networks to land concrete outcomes and certification results.

Responsibilities

• Be a deep technical expert on global card networks and network specifications.
• Lead complex engineering problems spanning teams and domains.
• Partner with technical leads and stakeholders to shape network-related solutions.
• Stay hands-on: write production code and build certification tooling.
• Drive network certification and end-to-end release cycles.
• Establish frameworks, standards, tooling, and practices for durability.
• Mentor engineers and provide design guidance.
• Apply AI-powered tooling to improve velocity and quality.
• Share operational ownership through on-call and reliability improvements.

Skills

Card networks

Network certification

Hands-on coding

Payments systems

On-call readiness

Tools

Direct network connections

ISO 8583

Certification tooling

Job description

It all started with an idea at Block in 2013. Initially built to take the pain out of peer‑to‑peer payments, Cash App has gone from a simple product with a single purpose to a dynamic ecosystem, developing unique financial products, including Afterpay/Clearpay, to provide a better way to send, spend, invest, borrow and save to our 50+ million monthly active customers. We want to redefine the world’s relationship with money to make it more relatable, instantly available, and universally accessible. Today, Cash App has thousands of employees working globally across office and remote locations, with a culture geared toward innovation, collaboration and impact. We’ve been a distributed team since day one, and many of our roles can be done remotely from the countries where Cash App operates. No matter the location, we tailor our experience to ensure our employees are creative, productive, and happy.

The Role

At Block, we strive to build the best financial products in the world. The Financial Platform Issuing team owns the card issuing platform that serves every Block brand — powering Cash App Card, the fourth‑largest debit card program in the US, alongside Square Card and the new card programs Block launches next.

We run the full lifecycle of a card: issuance, fulfillment, and activation; real‑time transaction authorization and processing across card networks; digital wallet provisioning; 3‑D Secure authentication; clearing and settlement; and disputes. When a customer taps their card at a register, our systems decide the outcome in milliseconds, around the clock, in partnership with card networks and bank partners.

As a Staff Software Engineer on the Issuing server engineering team, you will bring deep card‑network expertise to some of the most complex technical work on our roadmap. You will work alongside technical leads and cross functional teams, going deep where our platform meets the networks: specifications, protocols, certification, mandates, conformance, and production behavior.

This is a hands‑on role. You will build systems and tooling, debug at the message level, and turn your network expertise into durable capabilities that other engineers can use. You will also work directly with the networks themselves — not only understanding what they require, but knowing where and how to influence outcomes for Block.

You Will

• Be a deep technical expert on global card networks, helping Issuing teams interpret network specifications, message flows, certification requirements, mandates, and production behavior — and working directly with the networks to influence requirements, resolve ambiguity, and secure outcomes that matter for Block.
• Lead complex, ambiguous engineering problems at the network boundary that span multiple teams, systems, or domains.
• Partner with technical leads, program DRIs, and senior stakeholders to shape solutions where card‑network requirements intersect with Block's issuing platform.
• Stay deeply hands‑on: write production code, build certification and conformance tooling, analyze network messages, review designs and code, and debug issues down to the protocol and field level.
• Drive network certification and mandatory release cycles end to end, and translate network requirements into clear, pragmatic engineering decisions.
• Establish shared frameworks, standards, tooling, and practices that make network expertise durable and enable teams to operate independently.
• Raise the technical capability of engineers around you through design guidance, code reviews, mentorship, documentation, and clear technical judgment.
• Apply AI‑powered tools throughout the engineering lifecycle to improve velocity and quality, and help establish effective patterns for broader team use.
• Share operational ownership of critical financial systems through on‑call, incident response, and continuous improvements to reliability and correctness.

You Have

• Deep, current expertise with at least one major card network, ideally Visa, including direct connectivity, ISO 8583, authorization and clearing flows, stand‑in processing, specifications, certification, and mandate cycles.
• Personally built, certified, or operated a live direct network connection — not only integrated through a processor.
• Experience working directly with card networks to land concrete outcomes, such as rulings, exceptions, extensions, configuration changes, defect fixes, or certification outcomes.
• Strong hands‑on software engineering experience building and operating highly reliable financial or payments systems at scale.
• A track record of leading technically complex, ambiguous work across team boundaries and influencing technical direction beyond your immediate area of ownership.
• Experience creating durable technical leverage — frameworks, standards, tooling, architecture, or practices that other engineers and teams adopt.
• Broad understanding of the card lifecycle, with depth in areas such as issuance and fulfillment, provisioning and activation, authorization, ledgering, clearing and settlement, reconciliation, disputes, or fraud.
• Working knowledge of Mastercard and American Express, alongside deep expertise in at least one major network.
• Fluency with AI‑assisted engineering workflows and sound judgment in evaluating and applying AI‑generated output.
• Willingness to participate in an on‑call rotation for critical financial systems.

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: $263,600 — $395,400 USD
• Zone B: $263,600 — $395,400 USD
• Zone C: $263,600 — $395,400 USD
• Zone D: $263,600 — $395,400 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.

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. Square makes commerce and financial services accessible to sellers. Cash App is the easy way to spend, send, and store money. Afterpay is transforming the way customers manage their spending over time. TIDAL is a music platform that empowers artists to thrive as entrepreneurs. Bitkey is a simple self‑custody wallet built for bitcoin. Proto is a suite of bitcoin mining products and services. Together, we’re helping build a financial system that is open to everyone.

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