The first team of highly skilled employees to be based at the new Qantas Product Innovation Centre have begun, with hundreds more jobs to be created at the Centre.
The Innovation Centre is Qantas' first outside of Sydney and will focus on developing and improving the airline's digital products, including the Qantas App, as well as tools for frontline staff to help customers manage their journey.
Upon completion in the middle of the year, the Innovation Centre will eventually be home to more than 400 technology roles which will bring together product managers, designers, software engineers, data and AI specialists.
This initiative, made possible through a landmark commercial agreement between the Malinauskas Labor Government and Qantas, marks a significant step forward in South Australia's digital leadership, demonstrated through the state's leading tech research, thriving innovation and growing workforce.
The initial team of 12 has begun in a temporary space and are designing and building new digital features that will be used by Qantas customers every day.
The investment from Qantas in its Adelaide base further strengthens South Australia's position as a national leader in digital innovation and is a strong vote of confidence in SA's workforce pathways.
Qantas will partner with Adelaide University to create graduate pathways into the Centre, helping develop the next generation of Australian technology talent. This includes a new research collaboration with Adelaide University's Australian Institute for Machine Learning, providing scholarships for PhD and Honours students in the Institute's Industrial AI program.
The Centre will also play a key role in attracting and developing top graduate talent, building a strong pipeline of professionals with advanced AI and digital skillsets.
The State Government is partnering with Qantas to support workforce attraction and development activities and will continue to build the talent pipeline of highly skilled tech workforce in South Australia.
As put by Chris Picton
This is a significant milestone in an important project that will add hundreds of highly skilled local jobs.
Qantas choosing Adelaide for its Product Innovation Centre highlights the strength and capability of our local workforce and education pathways.
Our state's been a leader in AI and this investment will help position SA at the forefront of innovation.
As put by Rachel Yangoyan, Qantas Group Chief Technology, AI and Transformation Officer
South Australia has a thriving technology community and world-class universities that are focusing on AI, which makes it a great place to grow our team.
We're already hiring close to 40 roles ahead of the centre opening in another few months and are on track to hire hundreds more over the next few years.
The Centre will be the foundation of our AI first way of working to help us turn ideas into reality faster to that we can continually improve the journey from the booking process through to picking up your bags.
