Bank Automation News breaks down automation-specific job postings by the nation’s biggest banks to glean current growth strategies for bank automation.

PNC is seeking to boost automation expertise in its retail banking technology group, as a recent job posting on the bank’s website revealed.

PNC, with $466.7 billion in assets, is advertising for a software automation developer within its technology infrastructure services organization. The position will be part of the automation testing team that supports the retail bank technology group, based in Pittsburgh, where PNC is headquartered.

The post seeks someone to code, test and implement software solutions, and also prepare technical and procedural documentation for the software. It did not specify technologies the developer will use, but did say competencies should include:

• Application design and architecture;
• Knowledge of a variety of application development tools;
• Ability to maintain applications; and
• Ability to design and implement testing procedures.

The requirement for applicants to have knowledge of packaged application integration — and how to integrate it with company solutions — suggests PNC is less interested in specific solutions and perhaps more so in supporting best-of-breed tools, or else is technologically agnostic.

It’s worth noting the application is open to remote workers, possibly reflecting the challenge of finding automation expertise. While automation solutions extend beyond robot process automation (RPA) technologies, a January survey by RPA vendor Automation Anywhere found that 55% of organizations cited expertise and skills as a barrier to RPA adoption.

Resources, in fact, were the chief concern cited by PNC’s Ken Stoneman during the November Banking Automation Summit. Stoneman is the intelligent automation director for the corporate and institutional banking arm of PNC.

“Where am I going to get the resources to keep up with the demand we’re getting in order to automate things?” Stoneman told BAN.

Stoneman’s team looks for technology partners with API-enabled systems in an effort to build APIs to connect with the solutions before RPA development takes place. He said his team in 2021 is focused on four core business areas: commercial lending operations, treasury management, business credit groups and real estate.

The software automation developer position advertised by PNC is in the retail bank technology group, an indicator of the bank’s broad automation strategy. PNC Enterprise CIO Ganesh Krishnan, who will give the Bank Automation Ignite fireside chat, said he’s passionate about automation in a recent email to BAN.

“In today’s disruptive technology world with RPA, artificial intelligence, machine learning and other technologies, our organizations can significantly drive operational efficiencies, accelerate cycle time, and increase productivity and straight through processing, resulting in an enhanced customer experience,” Ganesh stated.

One success story: The bank identified a use case where 89% of manual risk controls with 300-plus employees manually creating daily accounting journal entries in the finance department. A bot automated that process.

Bank Automation Ignite, on April 13-14, is the event for inspiring automation initiatives and investment in financial services. At the virtual event, financial services professionals can discover new use cases and technologies that are accelerating automation in banking. Learn more and register at www.BankAutomationIgnite.com.