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.

Job Description

Dessa specializes in audacious deep learning moonshots at Block. We choose projects that are impactful and transformative, not projects that are incremental improvements over the status quo. We have a strong focus on open source and are committed to sharing our work. Our mission is to push the boundaries of what’s possible with AI in order to benefit humanity.

We are seeking a Deep Learning Research Scientist who is passionate about expanding the limits of deep learning capabilities. As a Research Scientist at Dessa, you will create novel deep learning systems with the capability to perform tasks that were once considered unattainable.  You will be fully remote and report into our Dessa AI Research Lead.

You Will:

• Help design and develop novel generative AI systems within Block
• Develop new ideas to improve existing deep learning systems
• Advance the research agenda of the team by building deep learning systems
• Create things that will be open to the world, allowing you to share your work with a global community through open source

Qualifications

You Have:

• Minimum master’s degree in Computer Science or other quantitative fields; or equivalent experience working in an AI research lab
• Publications or a demo page to share that highlight a proven track record of exploratory research/work in the field of deep learning.
• 5+ years of hands on deep learning experience
• Strong background in deep learning theory and techniques, with hands-on experience in developing and training neural networks using frameworks such as PyTorch, JAX or TensorFlow
• Experience writing performant code and implementing high-performance deep learning algorithms
• Proficiency with Python
• Experience utilizing theoretical and empirical research to solve problems

We are excited about individuals who have made notable contributions in the following areas:

• LLMs
• Audio/Image/Video generation
• Multimodal models
• Agents/RAGs 
• CUDA

Additional Information

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 $239,600 - USD $359,400
Zone B: USD $239,600 - USD $359,400
Zone C: USD $239,600 - USD $359,400
Zone D: USD $239,600 - USD $359,400

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.

Full-time employee benefits include the following:

• Healthcare coverage (Medical, Vision and Dental insurance)
• Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account
• 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 (including 12 paid holidays)
• Paid sick leave (1 hour per 26 hours worked (max 80 hours per calendar year to the extent legally permissible) for non-exempt employees and covered by our Flexible Time Off policy for exempt employees) 
• Learning and Development resources
• Paid Life insurance, AD&D, and disability benefits 

These benefits are further detailed in Block's policies. 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.

We’ve noticed a rise in recruiting impersonations across the industry, where individuals are sending fake job offer emails. Contact from any of our recruiters or employees will always come from an email address ending with @block.xyz, @squareup.com, @tidal.com, or @afterpay.com, @clearpay.co.uk.

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.

While there is no specific deadline to apply for this role, on average, U.S. open roles are posted for 70 days before being filled by a successful candidate.