China digital currency institute to hire tech lead as e-CNY trial expands

The digital currency institute under the People’s Bank of China is offering up to 100,000 yuan a month for a technology director

The central bank aims to expand the trial of China’s sovereign digital currency to Chongqing, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Guangzhou

Reading Time:2 minutes

A staff demonstrates how to pay with e-CNY at a cafe in Beijing. China’s central bank is hiring a tech director to lead its digital currency initiative. Photo: Simon Song

Published: 7:30pm, 26 Apr 2022Updated: 8:40pm, 26 Apr 2022

The digital currency institute under the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is speeding up the recruitment of tech talent, including a technology director, as it accelerates trials of the e-CNY.

The technology director will be responsible for overseeing the technical direction and big-picture planning of China’s digital currency, optimising and regulating the research and development process, and leading the team to make breakthroughs on technical barriers, according to the job description.

The right candidate will be offered a monthly salary of between 80,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan (US$12,207 to US$15,259), according to an advertisement on the hiring website Boss Zhipin.

The central bank’s digital arm kicked off a hiring spree earlier this year, the Post had reported, opening hundreds of positions, most of them related to technological development, such as data engineering.

The move comes as PBOC aims to extend the trial of the sovereign digital currency to a number of Chinese cities, including Chongqing, Tianjin, Hangzhou and Guangzhou. Other cities such as Shenzhen and Suzhou have already been involved since late 2019. Trials are also taking place in Beijing, Xiongan, Chengdu, Shanghai, Hainan, Changsha, Xian, Qingdao and Dalian.