Published 30th October 2024

Can you tell be a bit about your role?

I specialise in GPU computing and performance optimisation, and currently lead an MSc level module on the same topic.

How did you become an RSE?

I began studying Computer Science at the University of Sheffield in 2010, after completing an integrated masters I went straight into a PhD with my former dissertation supervisor. This decision was made as I was able to walk straight into a PhD, rather than having to deal with job applications during the stress of my final year.
My original PhD supervisor left the university around the 12 month mark, and Paul Richmond took over. Around this time, Paul received an EPSRC RSE fellowship and founded the RSE team.
Around 6 months before the completion of my PhD, a role within the Sheffield RSE team to support a GPU modelling within the PRIMAGE project on a 4 year EU grant. This project required using FLAMEGPU with the intention to develop FLAMEGPU2, having used FLAMEGPU during my undergraduate dissertation and occasionally worked with it during my PhD it was a shoe-in. Sheffield’s RSEs contracts normally convert to open-ended near the end of the fixed term, hence I’m still here.

When did you first hear the term “RSE”?

As noted above, it would have been around 2016 which is my guess for when the Sheffield RSE team was founded.

What is your favourite thing about your work and being an RSE?

I first started programming in school in year 8, web development then quickly onto vb.net as was used for teaching there in 6th form. I’m not sure what else I would have chosen to study, instead of Computer Science, if I’d not began programming at that time. So I think I’ve enjoyed writing software since a relatively early age. It also helps that academia, my role atleast, is relatively relaxed compared to what I hear of the private sector. To me the position of RSE has many of the best bits of academia, without the awful politics around needing to chase publications/grants.

And what is the least favourite?

The career pathway, atleast at Sheffield, has not matured yet in terms of RSE. We’re still finding our way, and trying to remould the local academic progression model to fit our work. It requires of RSEs to meet some threshold in 6 of 7 categories, which are largely tailored to traditional academics; publications, grants, impact. As an RSE, who is largely assigned projects to work on, it can be difficult to ensure it’s possible to meet these thresholds.
We’re told that the pathway is flexible to enable this, but I’m not sure those in the team really trust that. It’s consider easier to wait for a senior position to go out to advert and apply for it.
Relatedly, there are members of the team that would prefer a technical senior position, which doesn’t currently exist. This is frequently discussed in our team, but the wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly. It took around 9 months to replace the head of our team after Paul Richmond stepped down, and often takes over 3 months to replace an RSE at my level.

What’s the most unexpected part about being a RSE?

This is a difficult question. Given my awareness of RSE came from Sheffield where the RSE group grew out of, and is still located within the school (formerly department) of computer science. I’ve become aware that Sheffield RSE is somewhat of an outlier, most are located within their equivalent of IT services or ResearchIT. We do have a partner team in our ResearchIT, “data analytics service”, that was founded after our team. They are essentially a team of RSEs and data scientists with a slightly different funding model, that instead sit on professional services contracts. We often work closely with them, but remain distinct groups despite whatever confusion that may cause.

Did you already have any interactions with the RSE Society and the RSE community? If yes, which? (e.g. member of the Society, attend events, RSE conference, active in RSE Slack, …?)

I first attended RSECon 2019, the one in Birmingham, this was only a couple of months after I had started working as an RSE. Another new starter and I were both asked if we would like to attend within a few weeks of becoming RSEs. I’m not sure how much I took in of the society at that point

#Do you see yourself as an academic, researcher, software engineer, technician…? All of it? Something else? A mix of one or two terms?

A software engineer that writes research software, I’m not particularly motivated to fight for grants. Only so far as is required to satisfy the earlier mentioned progression pathway. In the past couple of years I took over leading an MSC level module, having been a teaching assistant on the module since it’s creation, so I guess I’m a lecturer too in some sense.

What do you see as your most likely future career path from here? And what would be your ideal career path?

I’ve spent the past 18 months or so stepping out of my comfort zone, strategically overcommitting so that I can have a strong promotion case next year (only evidence from the past 2 years is counted).
Within this I’ve found some things I have enjoyed thoroughly, for example the RSECon24 organising committee and others that are a bit tedious such as working groups which seems to be committees that move at a glacial pace with there not actually being much to do in some cases.
I say this because although we currently only have senior RSE at Sheffield, with no technical or management branching, I’m still not sure which I would prefer. Had I been asked a couple of years ago, I would have strongly preferred technical but as I’ve developed as an RSE I’ve experienced more leadership experience and found it rewarding.
And I’ve not really thought beyond promotion to the next level, the next RSE only really exists as Head of RSE currently, I’m rather content to be honest. I just think I’ve been acting in many senior positions for a while and that should be reflected more than anything.

In your view, how could RSEs be better supported in their work? What do you need? What is missing?

Returning to my dislike, we require academia to catch-up and recognise that we’re a hybrid position that sits on the boundary of academic and professional services. If this were strongly understood by universities, or normalised, our career progression may look more friendly.

What advice do you have to individuals looking to start a career in Research Software Engineering?

I’ve taken part in this year’s RSE mentoring scheme, helping a current PhD student interested in bioinformatics. I’ve discussed the process of interviewing for an RSE position at Sheffield, and the emphasis strongly seems to be to have an awareness of RSE skills whether that’s; programming, version control, FAIR or even development and delivery of training. There have often been people reach interview for roles in our team that don’t understand the job, despite our interviewees being provided the questions ahead of the interview allowing them to prepare.

You said that took part in this year’s RSE mentoring scheme and the RSECon24 organising committee. What was the catalyst that led you to play an active role in SocietyRSE? What should the society be doing to encourage more people like you to take part?

As I mentioned earlier, it was around 18 months ago that I started playing an active role, after attending conference and watching the Slack but otherwise playing a passive role keeping my head down as I’m not particularly adept at networking.
I’m naturally a reluctant volunteer, willing to try most things atleast once, but I often need a personal invitation or kick from someone for me to feel that I should put myself forwards. It wasn’t until I cynically committed to building myself the strongest promotion case possible that I started signing up to these activities. In doing so I’ve discovered those which personally suit me and that I enjoy, and those that I won’t be repeating any time soon. In putting myself out there in so many ways, I have achieved the professional development that I wasn’t expecting when I cynically started out.
I can’t speak for all the different promotion pathways that RSEs sit within across the country, but reluctant volunteers will only come forwards if there’s a personal force pushing them. This is difficult for the society to achieve at scale, however if I’d had a line manager encouraging and explaining to me the benefits of taking part in some of these activities it’s likely that I would have got involved sooner. So perhaps the society should attempt a top-down professional development push via their leaders network.

It’s only now, after this journey, that I’m finding the confidence to try and build a new special interest group targeting the unaddressed research software development problem of “performance best practice”. If the society can actively engage more members, they’re likely to surface more ideas that currently only exist in the heads of people sitting in the background. These ideas may then create new avenues for others get involved, self-sustaining the growth of the society.