San Francisco Fed is Hiring Crypto Architect for CBDC Project

San Francisco’s Federal Reserve is hiring a crypto architect for its upcoming central bank digital currency (CBDC) project. The person who shall be hired will focus on the research and development of the central bank’s current digital project. The full-time hybrid position offers a handsome salary of $139,900 to $215,400 and is open for over 30 days.

San Francisco Fed is Hiring CBDC Architect

The hired architect will focus on security, distributed protocols, and cryptographic protocols. The Federal Reserve Bank is looking for a Lead Application Developer whose expertise will be used to implement an example system related to the CBDC. The person will have direct exposure to the management and other developers on the team.

The architect will be in touch with the team for the development of operations, along with other developers in the group and vendors. This exposure shall ensure that the Federal Reserve has the driving wheel of design, development, and implementation of technology that will support the project.

The Board of Governors will oversee the development and can ask for data anytime.

On February 18, 2023, the Federal Reserve of San Francisco opened positions for three jobs. The list included:

A project software developer
A senior application developer
A lead application developer
A senior application architect for the proposed centralized digital currency

United States Digital Dollar and Different Perspectives Surrounding it

The possibilities for the upgradation of the United States dollar into the digital dollar have received a mixed review. Some feel that it is a step in the right direction as the fiat can leverage the prowess of blockchain technology, while others say that it is a tool for financial surveillance against the citizens.

Former Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics in the administration of Joe Biden, Daleep Singh, shared his views on centralized digital currency. Singh spoke at a Senate Banking Committee hearing on February 28, 2023.

Sharing his views, he asserted that the launch of the centralized digital currency would overcrowd the broader cryptocurrency space. He also feels that this would safeguard the United States’ national security. Singh also claimed that digital currencies are often used for ransomware activities and bad actors exploit them to evade sanctions.

Crowding out is an economic term used to explain the decline in investment and consumption of private entities as the government’s investment pile up. This scenario eventually results in employment shrinkage and slows economic growth. However, crowding out in the crypto arena would benefit national interest, say experts.

Many countries around the world are exploring the possibilities of CBDC, and some are even in the advanced testing stages while the United States is far behind in the race and is still researching the technology. In December 2022, the U.S. Federal Reserve released a white paper for the project dubbed Project Cedar.

Project Cedar would explore blockchain technology and its possibility for processing secure and fast international transactions. A senior official shared glimpses of the project during the Singapore FinTech Festival in November 2022.

On July 17, 2023, the current Florida governor and GOP presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis said that if elected President, he would ban central bank digital currency in the United States. He has forbidden the centralized digital currency in Florida by bringing in special legislation.

Despite such diverse reactions from the crypto community, experts think the digital dollar could be the next big thing. At the same time, there is speculation that the regulatory actions by the authorities on the crypto industry were probably groundwork for upcoming central bank digital currency. However, it cannot be said if such is the case or not.