Head of KYC Modeling

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 Role

At Block, we are building trusted financial products at global scale. As the Head of Know Your Customer (KYC) Modeling, you will lead the strategy, development, and execution of our KYC machine learning systems that power customer onboarding, monitoring, and regulatory compliance across Cash App and Square. This is a highly visible leadership role, shaping the foundation of how we manage customer risk, protect our platform, and meet regulatory expectations worldwide.

You will partner closely with engineering, data science, compliance, product, and risk leaders to design, deploy, and continually improve advanced models and frameworks that safeguard Block's ecosystem, while enabling growth and access for millions of customers.

You Will

• Own the Customer Risk Rating Model:
  
  
  • Lead the design, development, and optimization of the core model that assesses customer risk from a KYC perspective.
  
  
  • Ensure the model informs product eligibility, transaction limits, and overall customer lifecycle decisions.
  
  
  • Drive innovation in predictive modeling while balancing business growth and regulatory obligations.
  
  


• Establish Identity Resolution Frameworks:
  
  
  • Build and scale the framework for identifying accounts belonging to the same customer, a critical regulatory focus area.
  
  
  • Partner with compliance and engineering teams to deliver a robust, explainable, and auditable identity-matching solution.
  
  


• Oversee the KYC Rules Engine:
  
  
  • Maintain and evolve the suite of KYC monitoring rules to ensure real-time detection of customer risk signals.
  
  
  • Continuously enhance rules for accuracy, coverage, and adaptability to changing fraud and regulatory landscapes.
  
  


• Innovate New KYC Controls:
  
  
  • Design and implement new machine learning and rule-based controls for customer Identity Verification (IDV) flows.
  
  
  • Develop strategies to minimize friction for good customers while preventing abuse and ensuring compliance.
  
  


• Leadership & Strategy:
  
  
  • Lead and grow a team of machine learning engineers dedicated to KYC.
  
  
  • Define long-term strategy for KYC ML across Block, aligning with Risk, Compliance, and Product roadmaps.
  
  
  • Represent Block with regulators, auditors, and external partners as the subject matter expert on KYC machine learning.
  
  

You Have

• 10+ years of experience in risk, fraud, or compliance machine learning or data science leadership


• Proven track record of driving cross-functional initiatives


• Familiarity with concepts related to know your customer (KYC) and customer due diligence


• Knowledge of leading machine learning and AI applications


• Expertise in data analytics and visualization


• Experience with risk management frameworks


• Background in designing or building compliance or risk management systems


• Experience owning operational metrics and reporting on them to management


• Managed and scaled organizations, including building and maintaining a high-performing team through hiring and coaching

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.