Platform Product Manager, Networking

*Bay Area preferred

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.

About Block Platform Engineering
The Block Platform is the foundation of products across Square and Cash App, managed by the Product Platform Engineering (PPE) team. This platform provides a highly opinionated abstraction on AWS infrastructure to deliver a reliable, scalable, and secure experience—meeting the rigorous standards of a global financial platform. As the backbone of Block's engineering ecosystem, the platform enables teams to build and deploy world-class features with speed and confidence.

The Role

We are seeking a Platform Product Manager with deep expertise in AWS networking and hands-on experience with technologies such as Istio service mesh, CDN, and physical networking. This role will be pivotal in shaping Block's networking capabilities to empower internal engineering teams and ensure the platform meets the demands of our global, multi-product ecosystem. As a Technical Product Manager, you will collaborate with stakeholders across Block, including engineering leadership, technical ICs, and platform customers, to define and execute a product strategy that delivers seamless, secure, and scalable networking solutions.

What You'll Do:

• Strategic Leadership

  • Define and evolve the product vision and strategy for networking capabilities, aligning with the broader goals of Block’s engineering platform.
  • Partner with internal stakeholders and leadership to shape a long-term roadmap for networking infrastructure.

  Customer-Centric Discovery

  • Engage deeply with platform users (engineers) to identify pain points, opportunities, and needs via interviews, surveys, and metrics analysis.
  • Translate insights into actionable initiatives, ensuring alignment with the platform's overarching mission.

  Collaboration & Delivery

  • Work closely with engineering teams to design, prioritize, and deliver solutions for challenges related to AWS VPCs, Istio, CDN, and networking security controls.
  • Manage a backlog of features and enhancements, clearly articulating problems, business justifications, and success criteria.
  • Facilitate the resolution of cross-functional dependencies, collaborating with other product managers to maintain a unified roadmap.

  Metrics & Impact

  • Define and track success metrics for networking initiatives, ensuring measurable impact on reliability, scalability, and developer experience.

  Launch & Communication

  • Lead the go-to-market strategy for networking enhancements, coordinating cross-team efforts and ensuring seamless rollouts.
  • Collaborate with documentation and developer advocacy teams to promote platform usage and ensure self-service success.

  Advocacy & Awareness

  • Champion the platform’s networking capabilities by evangelizing achievements and milestones, driving adoption and awareness across Block.
  • Participate in vendor evaluations and decision-making to ensure the platform leverages best-in-class solutions.

What You Bring

Required Skills & Experience

• 8+ years of experience as a Technical Product Manager, AWS Solutions Architect, or Cloud Architect, with specialization in networking.
• Hands-on knowledge of AWS networking (e.g., VPC, security controls) and modern service mesh technologies like Istio.
• Strong understanding of content delivery networks (CDNs) and physical networking in hybrid cloud environments.
• Proven ability to derive insights from ambiguous data and create customer-centric solutions.
• Experience managing competing priorities and aligning cross-functional teams in fast-paced environments.
• Strong empathy for engineering teams and a track record of delivering products that address developer needs.

Preferred Skills

• Familiarity with globally distributed systems and their unique networking challenges.
• Experience with cloud cost optimization strategies related to networking infrastructure.
• Proven success working in globally distributed teams with asynchronous workflows.

Why You’ll Love Working Here

• Impact: Your work will influence the backbone of products like Square and Cash App, used by millions worldwide.
• Autonomy: Enjoy the flexibility to shape and drive key initiatives in a highly collaborative environment.
• Growth: Leverage Block’s innovative ecosystem to grow your career and expertise.
• Culture: Work with a passionate, diverse, and globally distributed team committed to excellence.