Staff Machine Learning Engineer (Modeling), Support
Block's Support ML Modeling team is at the forefront of enhancing customer support experiences across the company's diverse ecosystem, including Cash App, Square, and other business units. The team is dedicated to advancing intelligent, automated support through machine learning and generative AI, focusing on developing scalable systems that improve support quality, efficiency, and accessibility. The Staff Machine Learning Engineer (Modeling), Support role is pivotal in leading these initiatives, driving innovation in AI-driven support solutions.
In this role, the engineer will lead the end-to-end delivery of multiple machine learning initiatives, encompassing planning, design, rollout, documentation, and long-term maintenance. Collaboration with cross-functional teams—including risk, product, engineering, design, and operations—is essential to define and drive long-term machine learning roadmaps. The engineer will also guide the team's direction by identifying new ML/AI opportunities and advising leadership on strategic trade-offs. Additionally, the role involves driving research and development efforts exploring next-generation chatbot architectures using large language models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), fine-tuning, and real-time inference. Designing, deploying, and maintaining machine learning models that power conversational agents, including support chatbots across various Block products, is a key responsibility. Developing ML-powered tools and real-time recommendation systems to enhance support agent effectiveness and customer outcomes is also part of the role. Acting as the technical representative for the team's systems and programs, the engineer will clearly communicate work and results to stakeholders, cross-functional partners, and external audiences.
Candidates should have over 10 years of experience in machine learning, applied AI, or product ML roles, with deep technical expertise. Demonstrated leadership capabilities are essential, including the ability to influence and align cross-functional teams while directly shaping the work of peers through communication, context sharing, and technical guidance. A track record of delivering organizational-wide impact, shaping systems, frameworks, or initiatives that raise the bar across multiple teams or functions, is required. Proven ability to ship end-to-end ML features from problem framing through deployment and long-term maintenance is necessary. Experience with language models, dialog systems, or generative AI in production is essential. A strong foundation in natural language processing (NLP), deep learning, or ML infrastructure best practices is required. Excellent communication skills, with the ability to represent the team's work to leadership and stakeholders, are crucial. Enthusiasm for research and development, and pushing the boundaries of applied AI to transform conversational systems, is highly valued.
Compensation for this role is determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. The salary range varies depending on the geographic area, with specific zones designated for different locations. Additional benefits include comprehensive medical options with prescription coverage, telemedicine, gender-affirming care, dental and vision coverage, HSA support, and mental health services. Parental and family support includes fertility benefits, adoption and surrogacy support, and paid parental, medical, and caregiving leave. Leave and time-off benefits encompass flexible paid time off, paid sick time, and 12 paid holidays, alongside remote-friendly work options.
Block is committed to building a more inclusive economy where customers have equal access to opportunity. The company strives to live by these values in building its workplace, fostering a culture that encourages diverse perspectives and continuous learning. Employees have opportunities for growth and development, contributing to the company's mission of economic empowerment.