Avoid PIE and ML Platforms - Machine Learning Engineer Block Employee Review

1.0
2 Apr 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Some nice people trying to move the needle. Good company overall goal. If you don't know anything about ML and want to be an ML engineer, they will hire just about anybody and give them a Sr ML Engineer title. Got a physics degree, you are a shoe in. Economics degree and one year at a "AI startup", you'll be leading ML projects and a Lead Software engineer.

Cons

Toxic middle management. No real experience in ML, but leading projects just because they've been at Square a long time (probably because no one else will hire them). Management is political, will promise new features or lie just to put up roadblocks against other more qualified teams that can deliver. The tech stack is an all inhouse nightmare, let's built it all ourselves mess. It's a bunch of engineers whose first answer to every question is , "let's build something new" or maybe if you are lucky they are like, "let's buy something new and then package a bunch of our own tech around it and call it a new project". Many of the projects are on the 4/5th iteration of just the same old tired nonsense so somebody new can be a DRI. Instead of, you know, just using open source tools and ML frameworks that ALREADY do what is needed. But there's no promotion or bonuses in making the right decisions in PIE. Maybe other parts of the company are better, but the PIE (ML Platform group) is career suicide.

Explore other reviews about Block

5.0
23 Jun 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great team culture, product, leadership, and customer centricity

Cons

Not really a con, but folks need to be able to move and pivot quickly

5.0
26 Sept 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Lots of benefits. Gym, free food, showers, Close to transit Good food Good software practices Is this twenty words yet

Cons

I would say that there aren't any cons really. I'm just trying to fill this space with 20 words

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