Neuroscience needs a career path for software engineers
In the past decade, neuroscience datasets and the scale of scientific collaborations have grown dramatically in size. With the advent of cutting-edge technologies such as Neuropixels probes , large-field-of-view microscopes , multi-omics and advanced video tracking, the amount of data acquired over the course of a project typically now reaches terabytes. These data need to be processed, distributed to multiple laboratories for analysis and shared with the wider community. Against this backdrop, a new type of position has emerged in the field of neuroscience: research software engineers (RSEs), professionals who are trained to develop data infrastructure and processing pipelines. As RSEs ourselves, leading a large-scale scientific collaboration of 22 laboratories, the International Brain Laboratory, we have witnessed how tailored engineering support can vastly improve the quality and impact of research. Our flagship project—a bra...