It is understood that astronomy relies on research software and data engineering. From the collection of telescope proposals, the control of telescopes and their miriad instruments, to driving the archives, simulating and processing data, research software engineering underpins almost every process in the advancement of astronomy. And yet, for a large number of projects and institutes, in planning and funding conversations, the requirements of the discipline for producing the best results have at times been an afterthought, receiving little attendion or funding. Although our more enlightened institutes have always valued software engineering the community at large is slowly coming to realise that the discipline must be supported and career paths nurtured, so that the best science can be carried out.
In this talk I will discuss some of the joy and pain of pursuing a research software engineering career within astronomy, and the problems we must tackle if we wish to continue to attract excellent creative, engineering, and scientific minds to our field. Not just attract them but retain them, in an era where flexible working conditions are no longer a perk of academia, and salary disparity between our institutions and industry is larger than ever.
I will describe the AAO's Research Data & Software section's work to provide a stable career path for its research software and data engineers, and our aims to attract a portfolio of work which both satisfies the needs of the instrumentation and data projects of the community, and the needs of our team to have a challenging, creative, and fulfilling work life.