Square Program Manager Interview Guide

Square, founded in 2009 by tech entrepreneur Jack Dorsey, is known for revolutionizing credit card payments for small- and medium-sized businesses. With over 4 million clients worldwide, including major brands like Starbucks and Whole Foods, the financial services company aims to empower businesses economically so they can succeed on their own terms. It does this by offering a range of tools for online ordering, delivery, shipments, payroll and shift management, and more.

As a program manager, you'll play a pivotal role in this innovation. Given Square’s impressive company profile, it’s no wonder program manager jobs are highly coveted and competitive. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the Square program manager interview process, including helpful tips to prepare.

This guide was written with the help of a program manager at Square.

What does a Square Program Manager do?

Before you apply, you should know that Square operates under the parent company Block alongside other fintech services like CashApp, Afterpay, and Tidal. While program managers are generally specific to each subsidiary company, it’s possible to move between Block’s products. For instance, the program manager we spoke with focused primarily on Afterpay before later transitioning to Square.

Day-to-day work as a Square program manager will depend on which team you work with. Program manager positions are available in the following areas:

Legal
Supply chain
Technical project management
Community engagement
Product operations
International

Kick off your job hunt by searching through open positions on Square’s job board.

Regardless of the exact team, program managers support their given team in achieving its goals and streamlining processes from end to end. The main stakeholders for this role are not product users; instead, it’s the employees who are building Square’s products.

A program manager might, for example, focus on building a new tool or product to help their team plan and deliver projects more efficiently. This is a deeply collaborative role that requires constant problem-solving, communication, and creativity.

Frequent collaborators include product, data science, and policy teams, as well as niche roles specific to your team. A program manager working on the Credit Risk Policy team, for instance, often works with underwriters.

Here are a few examples of the responsibilities listed in a recent Product Operations Program Manager role at Square International:

Drive delivery and own successful coordination of cross-functional product initiatives
Help gain alignment on important issues using a large toolkit including structure, logic, and data
Plan and facilitate meetings such as project kick-offs, weekly check-ins, and testing to make communication easy and transparent
Improve product delivery, execution, and processes

Employees at Square speak highly of its culture of work-life balance. Remote work is available for most roles and employees are offered unlimited paid time off as well as a generous benefits package.

Salary is dependent on a candidate’s experience, qualifications, location, and market conditions. Generally, salaries are divided according to Block’s location-based zone system. Below are a few sample salaries for reference.

Community Engagement Program Manager:

Zone A: USD $111,700 - USD $167,500
Zone B: USD $103,800 - USD $155,800
Zone C: USD $98,200 - USD $147,400
Zone D: USD $89,400 - USD $134,000

Product Operations Program Manager, Square International:

Zone A: USD $142,000 - USD $213,000
Zone B: USD $132,100 - USD $198,100
Zone C: USD $124,900 - USD $187,300
Zone D: USD $113,600 - USD $170,400

What are the typical job requirements for a Square Program Manager?

Applicants to a program manager position at Square are expected to have at least 5 years of experience in product operations or program management. A background in financial technology is helpful but not required.

Looking at Square’s job listings, a university degree is not necessary for the program manager role. Instead, experience is the most important criterion.

Don’t be afraid to apply if you’ve only worked as a product manager in the past. The Square program manager we spoke with previously worked as a product manager, and explained that their PM skills were highly transferable to the program manager role.

According to recent job listings, here are some other qualities Square looks for:

A solid cross-platform (web/mobile/platform) technical foundation
Ability to make clear recommendations/decisions using logic and data analysis
Ability to collaborate with designers, product managers, engineering teams and key partners from different departments
A proven track record of creating and implementing process/operational improvements across diverse teams and disciplines
Experience gathering quantitative and qualitative data, and distilling it into thoughtful opportunity areas and recommended solutions that have clear scope and deliverables

Recommendations before you apply for Square Program Manager roles

Learn more about Square’s mission: economic empowerment. Square’s mission is deeply intertwined with its values of diversity, inclusion, and social impact. Prepare to talk about why these mission values are important to you and how you would incorporate them into your work as a program manager. According to our insider, hiring teams at Square are specifically looking for candidates who are excited about working at the company—not just looking for a job. For starters, consult Square’s YouTube channel for inspirational videos on how merchants use Square to grow their businesses, or its “For Every Dream” short films on economic empowerment success stories.
Prepare to drill down into your past experiences. Past Square candidates report that interviewers ask a lot about your professional background. Prepare tangible insights, lessons learned, and takeaways specific to your experience in advance.
Browse Square’s career website. This resource is a goldmine for interviewing advice directly from the source. The website’s interview section outlines each interview stage and provides resources to help prepare.
Practice with mock interviews. Take advantage of Exponent’s library of practice interview questions, mock interviews, and coaching services that offer advice from people who have gone through the process.

Interview Process

Compared to similar roles, Square’s interview process tends to be relatively short and is usually completed within 4 to 6 weeks. The process is fully remote and divided into 4 stages:

A 30-minute recruiter screen to learn about your general background and interest in Square
A take-home assessment that assesses your critical thinking and approach to strategy
A hiring manager screen (30-45 minutes) to uncover more detail about your background and expertise
An interview loop with 4-5 rounds that each last 30-45 minutes

According to Square, its interview process is “a true reflection of our culture: transparent, mindful, and collaborative.”

Recruiter Screen

The first step in Square’s interview process for the program manager role is a 30-minute phone call with a member of Square’s recruiting team. This is a standard recruiter screen where you will be asked about your qualifications, experience, and lessons you’ve learned from previous experiences.

You can expect to receive questions like:

Tell me about yourself.
Why do you want to work at Square?
What's the project you're most proud of?

The recruiter screening is also an opportunity to ask any questions about Square and the rest of the interview process.

Take-Home Assessment

The take-home assessment is a written test provided by the recruiter during or after the recruiter screen. Square describes the writing assessment as a project, case study, or portfolio of your work that will be used to evaluate your thought process, knowledge, and project management skills. It is also the most technical part of the program manager interview.

The written assessment is a test of your strategic thinking and how you would approach the program manager role. Many of the problems or questions included in the assessment are real-life scenarios that program managers deal with on a daily basis. Interviewers use this assignment to understand how you think creatively and collaboratively.

Interviewees should be prepared for recruiters and team members to reference and ask further questions about this assignment in future interview stages.

Below are some questions from a restaurant-specific case study from Square:

If you own a restaurant, what actions would you take to multiply your daily sales by 10%?
How would you lower your operating costs by 25%?
How would you weigh the options of requiring a credit card versus first come first serve reservations?

Hiring Manager Screen

The hiring manager screen is a 30-minute interview that delves deeper into your previous experience than the recruiter screen and assesses whether you’re a strong cultural fit for Square. This section therefore largely centers around behavioral questions.

Given the highly collaborative environment, culture fit is hugely important in the Square interview process. If you’re called back for this interview phase after completing the written assignment, that indicates you have the intellectual and strategic caliber to work at Square. The hiring manager screen will be used to assess how you deal with interpersonal matters and work with a team.

Sample questions include:

In what areas do you consider yourself an expert?
Do you have experience in working with [external stakeholder]?
What is an example of a time when you had to be tactical?
How do you interact with others?
How do you work with a team/in a group setting?
Describe an experience working in a cross-functional team.

The program manager we spoke with shared that their interviewer curated a team of people who are “brilliant, forward-thinking, but also love to have fun.” That kind of pragmatic but welcoming environment is what Square aims to cultivate, so be prepared to talk about how you plan to contribute to it.

Take a look through the “Life at Square” page on the company’s career site for more information about how Square cultivates communities and an inclusive environment, and be prepared to bring these values into your responses.

When answering behavioral questions—like, for example, how you work with others—start by telling a story about a past experience. Then explain how you made decisions and what you learned.

It’s easy to ramble or become lost when answering these questions. To get organized, get familiar with the STAR framework and build a story bank of 5-10 well-rehearsed anecdotes.

While you can't predict every question, having diverse examples ready ensures you're equipped for various scenarios, whether it's related to the company, team size, problem type, or emotional context. Choose stories that resonate with you, are vividly remembered, and allow you to confidently handle follow-up questions.

Interview Loop

The interview loop typically consists of 4 or 5 back-to-back rounds (30-45 minutes each) with several members of the team and leadership. Depending on the nature of the program manager role you’re applying for, you may also meet with cross-functional partners.

The interview loop usually takes place over one day, but interviewees may request to separate the rounds across multiple days.

Team members in the interview loop will delve deeper into your management abilities to assess how you would lead a team through different stages of a project, solve problems, and engage and collaborate with other teams.

The program manager we spoke with shared that their interview loop included sessions on:

Driving results
Analytical ability
Cross-functional engagement
Project management
Dealing with ambiguity
Being action-oriented
Process improvement
Operational efficiency

Team members may reference your take-home assessment and ask you specific questions about your answers and thought processes during this interview. Don’t be afraid to cite your work in response to other questions throughout the interview loop.

Our Square insider found the take-home assignment to be extremely helpful during this interview session. They used it to highlight certain skills and reference how those skills could be applied to other questions and problems commonly encountered in the role. This also helped show their excitement about the job.

When answering questions about project management and results, draw on past experiences where you’ve successfully led a project from start to finish. Touch on mistakes that were made and how they became valuable learning opportunities, and don’t forget to discuss the role of cross-functional collaboration in taking something to the finish line.

For more practice answering questions about your past experience and hypothetical scenarios, check out Exponent’s Behavioral Interviews Course.

Tips and Strategies

Emphasize any relevant fintech experience. While a background in finance or fintech is not required at Square, it can certainly work in your favor. If you have experience working in these areas, be sure to mention it and emphasize the knowledge and skills you’ve developed. It’s also possible your interviewer may have finance or fintech experience, so sharing about your experience gives you a talking point to relate on.
Learn as much as you can about Square. Square wants to hire program managers who are not only familiar with its mission of economic empowerment, but embody it. Try to incorporate that mission into your responses, show your knowledge and passion for what Square has achieved, and explain how you hope to carry out the mission in your role. Familiarizing yourself with Square via its various platforms—for instance, its blogs, YouTube, and short films—will go a long way in preparing for the interview.
Get to know Square’s products and services. Many questions in the written assessment are directly related to Square’s product. Depending on the role you're applying for, this may require some familiarity with anything from credit card processing to restaurant transactions and operations. You don’t need to be an expert on every topic, but it helps to build some basic knowledge by exploring the service and product offerings on Square’s website.
Be yourself. At Square, nothing gets done individually or independently. Everyone brings something unique to the table. Don’t pretend to be an expert on everything—being your full self with your unique perspective and experiences is enough.