Ten years after their profession got its name, research software engineers seek to swell their ranks.
In March 2012, a group of like-minded software developers gathered at the University of Oxford, UK, for what they called the Collaborations Workshop. They had a common vocation — building code to support scientific research — but different job titles. And they had no clear career path. The attendees coined a term to describe their line of work: research software engineer .
A decade later, RSE societies have sprung up in the United Kingdom, mainland Europe, Australia and the United States. In the United Kingdom, at least 31 universities have their own RSE groups, a sign of the growing importance of the profession, says Paul Richmond, an RSE group leader at the University of Sheffield and a past president of the country’s Society of Research Software Engineering.
Most RSEs have a PhD — I have a PhD in computer graphics — but that’s not necessarily a requirement. Some RSEs end up on the tenure track; I was recently promoted to professor. Many others work as laboratory technicians or service staff. I would encourage any experienced developers with an interest in research to consider RSE as a career. I would also love to see more people from under-represented groups join the field. We need more diversity going forward.