The demand for RPA engineers, who develop and operate robotic process automation (RPA), has been growing steadily in recent years, as has the automation engineer salary, as companies seek to increase the productivity of their businesses. On the other hand, some argue that job requirements have become stricter and the barriers to becoming an RPA engineer have increased. Alcor will figure it out in this article.
What is an RPA engineer?
RPA refers to software robots that automate routine office work and related technologies and concepts. Replacing and automating routine clerical tasks that were previously performed by people and can be handled mechanically (i.e., routine tasks) with robots, will not only solve the manpower shortage that will continue in the future due to the declining population but also enable valuable human resources to be shifted and dedicated to higher value-added tasks. RPA engineers are responsible for the implementation and development of RPA.
RPA = Technology and concept to automate tasks
RPA is a technology and concept for automating tasks, and a name for software robots designed based on this technology and concept, which can perform a variety of tasks, including back-office white-collar work, in place of humans. For this reason, RPA is also called “Digital Labor” (virtual intelligent worker).
There are Class 1 to 3 stages of operations using RPA.
Class 1 (RPA = Robotic Process Automation)
Class 1 (RPA = Robotic Process Automation) is used for simple tasks that require routine operations and application integration and is used for back-office administration and expense processing.
Class 2 (EPA = Enhanced Process Automation)
Supports data collection and analysis. It is equipped with functions for processing unstructured data and knowledge and is capable of performing atypical tasks such as log analysis and sales forecasting that take into account multiple factors.
Class 3 (CA = Cognitive Automation)
RPA with autonomous decision-making capabilities: AI-powered software robots learn through deep learning, analyze big data, perform individualized optimization processing, and make decisions in a flexible manner. For example, it can make sales forecasts and give production instructions based on a variety of information, including weather, social phenomena, news, and stock prices.
RPA Engineer Job Description
RPA Consultant
- Alcor conducts interviews (surveys) with clients, isolates tasks that can be converted to RPA, and make proposals. This also includes making proposals that lead to business improvement and solutions to management issues (BPR = Business Process Re-engineering).
- RPA consultants are required to have an accurate understanding of the client’s issues and requests, and to be able to make proposals that are specific and that the client can understand and implement, backed up by experience and knowledge. The RPA consultant is responsible for a wide range of RPA implementation tasks, from interviews to implementation support, as well as expanding the scope of the application and reporting on results after implementation.
- In addition to the above, upstream RPA consultants may also perform a wide range of other tasks such as establishing governance, building project operation rules, standardizing various standards (development standards, etc.), building a CoE (Center of Excellence) system, and building a user development (EUC = End User Computing) system. Alcor may also perform a wide range of other tasks.
- Depending on the client and the scale of the project, the RPA engineer and RPA consultant may be separate, or they may serve concurrently.
Building robots/scenarios
Alcor design and build robots/scenarios using RPA development tools.
Many of our clients are facing challenges in the maintenance and operation of the robots/scenarios that were built in the early days of RPA, because they are not stable in operation, have many errors, and are difficult to use. Based on such failed introduction cases, companies newly introducing RPA are demanding more robustness. Therefore, it is necessary to create the output that the client requires while taking maintenance and operation into consideration.
The design and construction of RPA will greatly affect whether it can promote business efficiency and reduce workload as expected by the client, so it is necessary to consider the operation pattern after implementation from various aspects to determine the success or failure of the RPA implementation.
Maintenance and operation of the constructed robot/scenario
After RPA has been introduced and operation has started, one of the tasks of RPA engineers is to correct errors and problems that occur. Even after the actual operation has started, modifications may become necessary due to changes in the nature of the work or changes in the specifications of the API being used. In such cases, the RPA engineer will modify the robot/scenario to allow the automation to continue and solve any problems that arise.
Skills Required for RPA Engineers
Programming Skills
- Basic programming knowledge and skills are required to develop robots/scenarios, as RPA tools are developed on the premise of basic programming knowledge, and it is difficult to operate RPA tools if you have no knowledge at all.
- The expression “RPA is easy” which was often said in the early days of RPA is not often heard today, as RPA is a so-called low-code tool that can be developed without code implementation, but the essence of development is the same.
Experience and perspectives from business efficiency improvement using Access and Excel VBA
- Before RPA, Alcor used Access and Excel to improve business efficiency in order to streamline clerical work. These experiences and perspectives will not change as a fundamental part of business efficiency even if business efficiency is shifted to RPA, so they can be utilized as useful experience as an RPA engineer.
- It is important to have a perspective on what exactly should be prioritized for business efficiency improvement and how to reduce the burden on end users. This perspective is difficult to understand without experience, so it is significant for RPA engineers to have experience in improving business efficiency.
Expansion of the RPA Market
Aside from population decline, the RPA market is also expected to expand in line with the technological development of RPA: as RPA steps up from Class 1 to 2 and 3 and is able to handle more complex requirements than ever before, it will gradually spread to companies that have not yet adopted it. With such growth of RPA, it is expected that a variety of skills will be required, including high consulting skills for RPA implementation, RPA construction skills, broad knowledge, and communication skills. Demand for RPA engineers with these skills is expected to grow in the future.
