Electrical Engineer - Proto

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

Reporting to the Head of Electrical Engineering, you will have ownership of one or more projects and their bring up through all phases of the product design lifecycle. The team is looking for an experienced EE who has experience designing complex electronic systems. The primary focus for this role will be electrical design for bitcoin mining systems, including electrical system architecture, schematic capture, working closely with PCB designers, board-level bringup/validation, and supporting manufacturing of the product. In addition, you will work with the ASIC design team on defining system-facing specifications and establish the prototyping systems required for verification of custom ASICs. You will also interface with the mechanical and firmware teams to develop cohesive mining systems. Experience with high density interconnect PCB design, high power systems (> 1kW), and a working knowledge of thermal design techniques will be helpful for this role. Experience with designing bitcoin mining systems is strongly preferred.

Qualifications

You will:

• Design circuits and electrical systems for Block's Bitcoin hardware products


• Collaborate with firmware, mechanical, and factory test engineers, developing cohesive, elegant solutions


• Work with customers to understand their electrical infrastructure and requirements


• Travel 10~20% to support manufacturing

You have:

• 10+ years experience as an electrical engineer in embedded systems


• Experience designing electrical systems for bitcoin mining


• Experience with electrical system architecture


• Expertise in the hardware lab with test, measurement, and prototyping


• Expertise in developing schematics and leading PCB layout activities


• Experience working with high-power PSUs (> 1kW)


• Familiar with standard communication interfaces such as SPI, USB, I2C, RS232, Ethernet, etc.


• Hands-on experience designing for EMC and debugging associated issues


• Extensive on-site factory experience with contract manufacturers


• BS in electrical engineering or related field


• Experience with electrical simulation (i.e. SPICE, electro-magnetic, etc.)

Even Better:

• Familiarity with Altium Designer


• Experience in board-level analog design


• Experience with thermal management


• Experience with immersion and hydro cooling


• Experience writing embedded firmware in C


• Ability to automate lab instruments with Python


• Familiarity using AI to accelerate everyday workflows

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.