What’s your background and when did you become interested in research software engineering?

I did an integrated master’s in geophysics at Oxford and couple of things in that led me towards the programming and software engineering side. My fourth-year project was quite programming heavy, I analysed a lot of seismic data. Every time I did some programming as part of my degree I really enjoyed it.

I then took a PhD at Imperial and was interested in natural disasters – extreme events – specifically tsunamis. Because they are rare, one of the ways to analyse and learn more about them is through modelling. So, I ended up doing a very programming and software heavy PhD as well. And that’s kind of how I became a research software engineer (RSE).

After university I worked as an RSE looking at energy grids.

What brought you into health data research?

I saw that this role was available at HDR UK. I wanted to do something that would be beneficial for the world and health is obviously a good domain for that. And the aims of HDR UK sounded useful, I felt I could contribute something.

What are you doing day-to-day?

I’m mainly working on the search functionality for the Gateway – enabling people to find the resources that they are looking for. We have a metadata catalogue that describes lots of health datasets and I am working on using various techniques to augment that catalogue and improve the signposting and the ability of people to find datasets that they’re interested in. We’re using some natural language processing, to do that.

"At various stages of my career I have noticed the difference it makes when there are visible senior women there. It’s much nicer to have that – not necessarily for them to be your direct line manager – just visible. Joining HDR UK, I was very happy when I discovered that the CTO is a woman."

Can RSEs easily shift between disciplines?

Domain knowledge is always valuable but lots of RSEs shift into different research topics, and software skills are very transferable.

Is it a predominantly male area and do women face additional challenges?

Yes, it’s still predominantly male and there are additional challenges for women. Sometimes you notice that you are a minority, and it’s a little bit uncomfortable. In my previous job there were times when I would join a meeting of 10 people and would be the only woman. It’s not necessarily a problem in itself, but it’s something you notice.

At various stages of my career I have noticed the difference it makes when there are visible senior women there. It’s much nicer to have that – not necessarily for them to be your direct line manager – just visible.

Joining HDR UK, I was very happy when I discovered that the CTO is a woman (Emily Jefferson). And when I logged on for my interview the panel had a 50/50 gender ratio, whereas the panel for my previous role was all men.

Are there things that would attract more women into your career?

It’s a chicken and egg problem – having more women in your organisation will attract more women to your organisation. Visibility matters. It’s helpful to see women in leadership roles. And it’s pretty well established that diversity helps – a diversity of voices and experience. It makes for more creative research.

How can we better support the success of women in RSE roles?

Something that helped me was recognising that I am part of an underrepresented group – acknowledging that the issue exists, it’s not just in your head. It really is a little bit more difficult – it’s not just you.

But there are a lot of things that help. I would say, take note of your female role models and look for the senior women in your organisation. Then, if you’re picking between places to apply, look up what the makeup is. It might be easier somewhere with female role models.

A lot of organisations are aware that mentorship can help people. So, there’s the possibility that your organisation would hook you up with a mentor.

There’s also sponsorship, where senior people lift up the names of the of junior people who are underrepresented. That may involve asking them if they want to lead a project or be a tech lead on a small piece of work, or even just mentioning their work.

In my last job I had a female mentor external to the organisation, someone 8-10 years ahead of me in her career. I met with her on a regular basis and that was really useful.

"Women may be underrepresented in software, but they have been doing these things as long as men have. It’s heartening to remember that."

How would you sell being an RSE to others interested in this career path?

I’d sell it on its merits. It’s interesting because you’re doing research and you can be in a sector that’s beneficial. There are lots of opportunities because software is needed in a lot of places. So, it’s a good transferable skillset and a reliable career.

Have you been given any particularly good advice?

It’s good to contribute to an open-source project. Apart from it being of value in itself it’s a great way to raise your visibility and get your name seen by people outside your own organisation.

Do you have any female role models?

Yes, some historical ones. There’s Ada Lovelace. She was a Victorian woman who worked with Charles Babbage and was arguably the first computer programmer. Then there were the women at Bletchley Park in World War II, who were effectively programmers. They programmed the machines that broke the German codes.

So, women may be underrepresented in software, but they have been doing these things as long as men have. It’s heartening to remember that.