By Michael Scott
The San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank posted job opportunities for its upcoming in-house project to develop the Central bank digital currency(CBDC) system.
The San Francisco-based Fed admitted receiving 45 applications from individuals showing interest in joining the federal government.
Fed’s Job Posting for CBDC Software Engineer
The Fed announced a vacancy for a software engineer position. It seeks to recruit an engineer tasked with developing and implementing systems to facilitate CBDC. The San Francisco Fed indicated on February 18 a vacancy it desires to fill with a senior application developer.
The job posting revealed that successful individuals would oversee the system’s design and implementation towards CBDC research. In particular, the post indicated that the Fed acknowledges the essence of the digital dollar and needs to ascertain the costs and benefits of CBDC technologies. The post emphasized the Fed’s intention to understand potential technologies for the emerging CBDC field.
Mitigating Risks Inherent in CBDC Systems Design
The post outlined the primary responsibilities would involve the development of CBDC systems. Also, the successful applicant will identify improvements and mitigate the inherent risks.
The job post disclosed that the individual would work from the Fed’s office in San Francisco, California. The successful recruit would earn a base salary from $110300 to $ 176300.
The 45 applicants for the position relish the opportunity to work with the federal government’s in-house CBDC project.
The Fed clarified that the software engineer would directly interact with the management. The board of governors’ post indicated that the task is a team role involving other developers, operations teams, and vendors. The presence of multiple stakeholders ensures the Fed optimizes the designing, development, and implementation of tech viable to support CBDC in the future.
India’s Advanced CBDC Piloting
Meanwhile, the Francisco federal reserve is replicating what peer central banks are undertaking in major economies. India is within the testing phase for its CBDCs that today onboarded 50000 users. Also, the project features 5000 merchants testing the recently introduced digital rupee CBDC.
The deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Rabi Sankar, emphasized the government’s devotion to undertaking a smooth CBDC testing. He added the need to gradually execute the CBDC testing process and not expedite the stage.
Unlike the San Francisco-based Fed, India CBDC testing coverage occurs in five cities, with an additional nine set to join the pilot phase.
Japan’s CBDC Launching in April
Fed is replicating efforts undertaken by Japan as it prepares to pilot its CBDC in April. Unlike India, the Bank of Japan clarified that the CBDC project would involve a simulated phase without actual transactions.
The recent statement from the Bank of Japan conveyed on February 17 demonstrated the inclusion of private entities within the test model. In his address during the recent CBDC committee meeting, executive director Shinichi Uchida revealed plans to launch the pilot digital yen program. Its launching in April coincides with the timely conclusion of the proof-of-concept testing that started in 2021.
The pilot testing phase would assess the digital yen’s technical feasibility. Primarily, the pilot testing would also feature private entities. Nonetheless, as the pilot, actual retail transactions would rely on simulated data during the experiment.
Uchida indicated the need to create a CBDC forum featuring consultation with the private sector, providers of offline payment architectures, and alternative data models.
The executive director confirmed three mega banks confirmed their commitment to collaborate in the pilot testing of CBDC.