CBA is set to swell the ranks of software engineering corps with more than 600 new hires over the next year, as the big four bank looks to hypercharge its digital CX capability.

Australia’s biggest consumer bank will add at least 50 new engineers each month “for the foreseeable future” across a number of its key tech disciplines, including software, systems, data and testing, committing itself to deliver “a best-in-class, global-leading customer service experience”.

The recruitment drive represents “one of the biggest intakes of engineers” in the bank’s recent history, it said.

CBA currently employs a force of around 5,000 engineers, noting in its 2021 half-year report its intention to “build [a] world-class engineering capability”.

Year on year, between 1H20 and 1H21, CBA’s dedicated tech and digital experience spend jumped more than 25 per cent, from $639 million to $856 million.

In addition to its recruitment drive, CBA will also establish three new leadership roles to support its engineering corps, known as the ‘Distinguished Engineers’.

The engineering triumvirate will be responsible for influencing strategic planning processes and prioritising transformation of CBA’s digital experiences.

“The bank’s Distinguished Engineers represent the pinnacle of the engineering profession and will be responsible for helping Commonwealth Bank deliver against its strategy of becoming a global leader in technology,” CBA said in a statement.

CommBank’s chief information officer for technology, and the first of the three newly appointed ‘Distinguished Engineers’, Brendan Hopper, noted his fellow Distinguished team would work “across the enterprise and empower our engineering community by advocating for better resources and increased change velocity”.

He said CBA’s robust and growing network of engineers would work to solve complex customer problems that support the bank’s push to become a “best-in-class, global-leading customer service experience”.

“Our network of engineers will help the bank in its ambition to be not only a leading digital player in the banking industry, but deliver digital experiences for our customers that are leading against a global peer set,” Hopper said.

“Technology is at the forefront of every organisation around the world. No longer is technology part of a business, it is the business,” he said.

“The pace of change is accelerating and we want to be in front of the curve. Our customers will benchmark us not against the other banks, but against best digital experiences full stop.

“Of course, to deliver global-best experiences, we need to have the support of a world-class engineering network, which is why we are looking to appoint in excess of two new engineers every day from a variety of disciplines.”

“I am excited about the future and look forward to creating a world-class engineering ecosystem that will help the bank to drive change and improve customer experiences.”