Foundational Competencies and Responsibilities of a Research Software Engineer [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]
The term Research Software Engineer, or RSE, emerged a little over 10 years ago as a way to represent individuals working in the research community but focusing on software development. The term has been widely adopted and there are a number of high-level definitions of what an RSE is. However, the...
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| Language: | English |
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F1000 Research Ltd
2024-11-01
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| Online Access: | https://f1000research.com/articles/13-1429/v1 |
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| author | Simon Christ Gerasimos Chourdakis Matthias Braun Florian Goth Renato Alves Jean-Noël Grad Jan Linxweiler Leyla Jael Castro Samantha Wittke Harald von Waldow Jan Philipp Thiele Heidi Seibold Guido Juckeland Frank Löffler Moritz Schwarzmeier Michele Martone Anna-Lena Lamprecht Dominic Kempf Toby Hodges Magnus Hagdorn Fredo Erxleben Stephan Druskat Jeremy Cohen |
| author_facet | Simon Christ Gerasimos Chourdakis Matthias Braun Florian Goth Renato Alves Jean-Noël Grad Jan Linxweiler Leyla Jael Castro Samantha Wittke Harald von Waldow Jan Philipp Thiele Heidi Seibold Guido Juckeland Frank Löffler Moritz Schwarzmeier Michele Martone Anna-Lena Lamprecht Dominic Kempf Toby Hodges Magnus Hagdorn Fredo Erxleben Stephan Druskat Jeremy Cohen |
| author_sort | Simon Christ |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The term Research Software Engineer, or RSE, emerged a little over 10 years ago as a way to represent individuals working in the research community but focusing on software development. The term has been widely adopted and there are a number of high-level definitions of what an RSE is. However, the roles of RSEs vary depending on the institutional context they work in. At one end of the spectrum, RSE roles may look similar to a traditional research role. At the other extreme, they resemble that of a software engineer in industry. Most RSE roles inhabit the space between these two extremes. Therefore, providing a straightforward, comprehensive definition of what an RSE does and what experience, skills and competencies are required to become one is challenging. In this community paper we define the broad notion of what an RSE is, explore the different types of work they undertake, and define a list of foundational competencies as well as values that outline the general profile of an RSE. Further research and training can build upon this foundation of skills and focus on various aspects in greater detail. We expect that graduates and practitioners will have a larger and more diverse set of skills than outlined here. On this basis, we elaborate on the progression of these skills along different dimensions. We look at specific types of RSE roles, propose recommendations for organisations, give examples of future specialisations, and detail how existing curricula fit into this framework. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2bc3ee490cfa498eb1c31cbe7102e5ff |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2046-1402 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | F1000 Research Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | F1000Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-2bc3ee490cfa498eb1c31cbe7102e5ff2024-12-27T01:00:05ZengF1000 Research LtdF1000Research2046-14022024-11-0113173278Foundational Competencies and Responsibilities of a Research Software Engineer [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]Simon Christ0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5866-1472Gerasimos Chourdakis1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3977-1385Matthias Braun2Florian Goth3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2707-4790Renato Alves4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7212-0234Jean-Noël Grad5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5821-4912Jan Linxweiler6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2755-5087Leyla Jael Castro7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3986-0510Samantha Wittke8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9625-7235Harald von Waldow9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4800-2833Jan Philipp Thiele10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8901-6660Heidi Seibold11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8960-9642Guido Juckeland12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9935-4428Frank Löffler13https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6643-6323Moritz Schwarzmeier14https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8992-6245Michele Martone15https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3239-8554Anna-Lena Lamprecht16https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1953-5606Dominic Kempf17https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6140-2332Toby Hodges18Magnus Hagdorn19https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5076-4864Fredo Erxleben20Stephan Druskat21https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4925-7248Jeremy Cohen22https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4312-2537Leibniz University Hannover Institute of Biophysics, Hanover, Lower Saxony, GermanySchool of Computation, Information and Technology, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Bavaria, GermanyCluster of Excellence IntCDC, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, GermanyWürzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat, Julius-Maximilians-Universitat Wurzburg, Würzburg, Bavaria, GermanyEuropean Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, GermanyInstitute of Computational Physics, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, GermanyTechnische Universitat Braunschweig, Brunswick, Lower Saxony, GermanyZB MED Information Centre for Life Sciences, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, GermanyCSC IT Center for Science Ltd, Espoo, Uusimaa, FinlandCentre for Information Management, Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, GermanyScientific Computing, Leibniz University Hannover Institute of Applied Mathematics, Hanover, Lower Saxony, GermanyInstitute for Globally Distributed Open Research and Education, Gothenburg, Västra Götaland County, SwedenHelmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Saxony, GermanyMichael Stifel Center Jena, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Thuringia, GermanyMathematical Modeling and Analysis, TU Darmstadt Department of Mathematics, Darmstadt, Hesse, GermanyBavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities Leibniz Supercomputing Centre, Garching, Bavaria, GermanyInstitute of Computer Science, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Brandenburg, GermanyScientific Software Center, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, GermanyThe Carpentries, Oakland, California, USAGeschäftsbereich IT, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Berlin, GermanyHelmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Saxony, GermanyInstitute of Software Technology, German Aerospace Center DLR Berlin, Berlin, Berlin, GermanyImperial College London Department of Computing, London, England, UKThe term Research Software Engineer, or RSE, emerged a little over 10 years ago as a way to represent individuals working in the research community but focusing on software development. The term has been widely adopted and there are a number of high-level definitions of what an RSE is. However, the roles of RSEs vary depending on the institutional context they work in. At one end of the spectrum, RSE roles may look similar to a traditional research role. At the other extreme, they resemble that of a software engineer in industry. Most RSE roles inhabit the space between these two extremes. Therefore, providing a straightforward, comprehensive definition of what an RSE does and what experience, skills and competencies are required to become one is challenging. In this community paper we define the broad notion of what an RSE is, explore the different types of work they undertake, and define a list of foundational competencies as well as values that outline the general profile of an RSE. Further research and training can build upon this foundation of skills and focus on various aspects in greater detail. We expect that graduates and practitioners will have a larger and more diverse set of skills than outlined here. On this basis, we elaborate on the progression of these skills along different dimensions. We look at specific types of RSE roles, propose recommendations for organisations, give examples of future specialisations, and detail how existing curricula fit into this framework.https://f1000research.com/articles/13-1429/v1research software engineering RSE competencies curriculum design teachingeng |
| spellingShingle | Simon Christ Gerasimos Chourdakis Matthias Braun Florian Goth Renato Alves Jean-Noël Grad Jan Linxweiler Leyla Jael Castro Samantha Wittke Harald von Waldow Jan Philipp Thiele Heidi Seibold Guido Juckeland Frank Löffler Moritz Schwarzmeier Michele Martone Anna-Lena Lamprecht Dominic Kempf Toby Hodges Magnus Hagdorn Fredo Erxleben Stephan Druskat Jeremy Cohen Foundational Competencies and Responsibilities of a Research Software Engineer [version 1; peer review: 2 approved] F1000Research research software engineering RSE competencies curriculum design teaching eng |
| title | Foundational Competencies and Responsibilities of a Research Software Engineer [version 1; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_full | Foundational Competencies and Responsibilities of a Research Software Engineer [version 1; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_fullStr | Foundational Competencies and Responsibilities of a Research Software Engineer [version 1; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_full_unstemmed | Foundational Competencies and Responsibilities of a Research Software Engineer [version 1; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_short | Foundational Competencies and Responsibilities of a Research Software Engineer [version 1; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_sort | foundational competencies and responsibilities of a research software engineer version 1 peer review 2 approved |
| topic | research software engineering RSE competencies curriculum design teaching eng |
| url | https://f1000research.com/articles/13-1429/v1 |
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