Advancing the Workforce That Supports Computationally and Data Intensive Research

Research is increasingly dependent upon research computing and data (RCD) infrastructure, services, and most importantly, skilled professionals who can help facilitate researchers’ use of technical resources. RCD professionals regularly co-learn research problems and co-create technical solutions alongside researchers, which is essential in domains new to compute/data-intensive methods. However, the roles of RCD professionals are poorly understood (e.g., relative to traditional/enterprise IT), and recruitment and retention of RCD professionals is challenging, in part due to a lack of clear career paths. Organizations such as the Campus Research Computing Consortium and Campus Champions (among others) have recognized these needs, and are creating products and services that are addressing these challenges. We describe the challenges, some of the progress made to date, and initiatives underway to support the development of a professional RCD workforce and to advance the state of RCD support.