Qa/Test Software Engineer, Bitcoin Mining

Company 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 bitcoin mining team comprises the ASIC, EE, software, and mechanical teams. We handle the in-house development of mining ASICs, mining hardware, and mining software. The project is in the very early stages so the team will support experimentation and prototyping in all disciplines. The team is small so the candidate will be expected to work in all areas of software development, including build, test and deployment on both embedded and Linux platforms in an open source environment.
The QA/Test software developer will be responsible for creating the systems by which the ASIC, miner and software components will be tested and verified in isolation and as a system. As the team grows, dedicated QA personnel will be added to the team to operate the system and the developer may shift focus to other tasks.
You will:

• Project is at its early stage and has room to grow
• Be responsible for the technical architecture of features that go into our products
• Champion and define team best practices
• Participate in reviewing and finalizing technical decisions
• This role is working directly with both application engineers and developers to help choose the best way to implement test features spread across hardware and software. Working with prototyping hardware requires the developer to have especially good instincts when debugging as the problem could be in the ASIC, the PCB or the software, or any combination of them
• Guide the team in judgment calls
• Scope and evaluate new technologies/architectures/practices to solve new problems on our roadmap
• Work with the team to help develop features; debug and guide engineers through problems

Qualifications
Required Skills:

• Firmware / Embedded software development experience
• Expertise in C software development, tools, and debugging
• Experience with Linux or Unix development
• 3+ years of relevant professional experience

Preferred Skills:

• Experience using Python (or similar scripting languages) in automated testing, build systems, or device firmware communication
• Understanding of common communications protocols (e.g. Ethernet, SPI, UART, I2C, USB), debugging practices (e.g. JTAG and associated GDB integrations), and basic electrical design principles
• Experience with real-time operating systems
• Degree in CS, CE, EE, or equivalent practical experience
• Experience shipping consumer electronics products

Additional Information
US and Canada EEOC Statement
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, 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, and always assess candidates on an individualized basis.
Perks
We want you to be well and thrive. Our global benefits package includes:

• Healthcare coverage
• Paid parental leave
• Employee Stock Purchase Program
• Retirement Plans
• Wellness perks
• Paid time off
• Learning and Development resources

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.