Proto is accelerating the world's transition to an open economy with products that increase access and independence for everyone. We're building Bitkey, a simple and safe self-custody bitcoin wallet that will put customers in control, as well as hardware and software that will help decentralize bitcoin mining and enable new and innovative use cases for bitcoin mining. We're developing these products in the open - you can read more about them at bitkey.build and mining.build. Within Proto, our Bitcoin Products team delivers the product and go-to-market strategy, software, firmware, and custom silicon needed to make Bitkey and our ambitious mining initiatives a reality. Come build the future of money with us!
The Role
We are looking for an ASIC Validation Engineer to help bridge the gap between custom mining silicon design and real-world operation. In this highly hands-on, lab-focused role, you'll work closely with ASIC designers and system engineers to debug issues, build test infrastructure, and generate the data needed to enable rapid design iteration and system-level development.
You Will:
- Bring up new silicon on bench platforms, evaluation boards, and system hardware
- Debug issues across ASIC, board, firmware, and system interactions
- Develop bench tests, scripts, and tools to exercise silicon features and collect data
- Build and maintain test setups (lab automation, instrumentation, fixtures, scripts)
- Partner with ASIC designers to validate functionality and root-cause failures
- Work with system engineers to ensure silicon performs correctly in target system environments, including mining systems
- Generate and analyze data to support design decisions, characterization, and bring-up
- Create lightweight, reusable test workflows and documentation for the broader team
- Support early manufacturing efforts with practical validation and debug, as needed
- Travel up to 20% to the labs in Oakland, CA or Toronto, Canada
You Have:
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field
- 4+ years of experience in silicon validation, hardware test, or related roles
- Strong hands-on experience in a lab environment (bench bring-up, debugging, instrumentation)
- Solid understanding of digital systems and basic analog concepts
- Experience writing scripts or tools (Python preferred) for test and data analysis
- Comfortable debugging issues that span multiple layers (ASIC ↔ board ↔ system)
- Clear communication skills and ability to work closely with cross-functional teams
Preferred:
- Experience with ASIC or FPGA bring-up and validation
- Familiarity with common interfaces (SPI, I2C, JTAG, UART, etc.)
- Experience using lab equipment (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power supplies, etc.)
- Exposure to high-performance, power-dense systems (e.g., mining ASICs, accelerators, or similar)
- Experience building test automation or internal tooling
- Familiarity with data analysis and visualization
Nice to Have
- Experience working with early silicon / first bring-up environments
- Exposure to manufacturing test or ATE
- Experience working on systems with tight power, thermal, and performance constraints
Why This Role Matters
This role enables the team to move fast. By building the right test infrastructure and quickly turning hardware behavior into actionable data, you'll help both ASIC and system teams iterate faster and make better decisions across silicon and mining system development.
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:
$198,000—$297,000 USD
Zone B:
$188,100—$282,100 USD
Zone C:
$178,200—$267,400 USD
Zone D:
$168,300—$252,500 USD
Application Guidelines
Candidates may submit up to 9 active applications within a 60-day period. Reapplications to the same role are accepted 90 days after a previous application has been reviewed.
Use of AI in Our Hiring Process
We may use automated AI tools to evaluate job applications for efficiency and consistency. These tools comply with local regulations, including bias audits, and we handle all personal data in accordance with state and local privacy laws.
Contact us here with hiring practice or data usage questions.
_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. _Check out our other benefits at Block.
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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