Interviewing Janet Evans, Software Development Manager at CfA

This November, I had a fantastic conversation with Janet Evans, Manager of the Software Development department at the Center for Astrophysics (CfA) at Harvard and Smithsonian. Janet has been in this position since 1998, contributing to the data pipeline’s code for the Chandra X-ray Space Telescope. In this interview, Janet shares with us how she discovered her passion for software, her career change, her experience working with the Chandra team, and much more

From Biology to Computer Science

Janet earned a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in computing. Her love for animals led her to choose biology but she later realized it was not for her. While taking a computer science class in her junior year, Janet realized writing programs was something she wanted to do. With only one year left, Janet decided to finish her biology degree, completing her credits with as many computer science classes as possible.

Janet recognizes that a biology degree requires a lot of memorization, something that does not come naturally to her. However, solving simple or complicated problems is something that she excels in. The opposite happened with her classmates, who were good at biology but didn’t do well in computer classes. Janet realized that her affinity was more for STEM careers.

——”So I really did learn at that point that we have an affinity to a certain area, just the way our minds work.”

At the end of her career, Janet looked for jobs in software, particularly in astronomy.

“Stick to it” attitude.

—- “I believe that hard work [that I learned from my parents] has driven much of the success in my career. Yes. And that attitude of “stick with it” and make it happen, no matter what your career is.”

Although she did not demonstrate any affinity for science and technology in her childhood, Janet feels she was very fortunate to find her path to software. Like many professionals, finishing your degree in a career as different as biology does not prevent you from starting a professional career in computer science.

However, finding her dream job took time, not necessarily because of her career choice but because sometimes that’s how things start. Janet remembers that she wanted to work as a software developer when she finished college. Still, her first job was as a data analyst. In that position, Janet supported several science projects in CfA. She worked hard and demonstrated her ability as a programmer. Her effort did not go unnoticed. After a year and a half, Janet got a position as a programmer.

——”Sometimes you start a step lower, sometimes you can start a step higher, and that’s all great, but you have to take what comes and work hard.”

From programmer to team leader

Janet went from data assistant to programmer to team leader. Her first group, although small, developed tools and the data pipeline software for the Chandra Space Telescope. However, just before the telescope was launched, Janet became the Software Development Manager. In that position, Janet managed 50 programmers on the team.

Janet recognizes that there are two critical aspects to advancing her career:
hard work and dedication
have a toolbox, as she calls it, that is as complete as possible.

Janet considers it essential to continue learning throughout one’s professional career. It can be achieved by taking classes, reading articles, reading books, or taking online courses. That is why, while working at CfA, Janet also studied Software Engineering at Harvard. Getting her degree took four years, but it gave her more tools for her work.

The importance of her work with Chandra

—— “Chandra is an X-ray space telescope. To observe this type of radiation it is necessary to have a satellite since you have to be above the radiation belts that surround the Earth. If we didn’t have radiation belts, the X-rays would reach us, and that would be a bad thing. This kind of telescopes go above the radiation belts, they go into a big elliptical orbit around the Earth, and they collect photons of light in X-rays. These are the highest energy events that happen in the universe.”

The software channeling data from the telescope is critical to science, hence Janet’s work. This software transforms the data from its raw form, as it comes packaged from the telescope, into a format that scientists can use to conduct their research.

In addition to meeting the needs of users, Janet’s team seeks to meet the needs of the current and future scientific community. All images are placed in a database or file where the astronomer who posted the observations can access their data. The team developed a format that includes metadata that describes the observations and data associated with the images. This information is stored in the database so that any scientist in the world, of this generation or generations to come, can decompress it and use it for the most useful scientific use they can find.

Teamwork

Working as a team is crucial to success in this type of project. Developing software for Chandra is a complex job that requires coordination between several teams of experts in different aspects of data processing. These teams have to follow certain coding standards and work collaboratively with X-ray scientists to build the data pipeline for the telescope.

—-“We work hard to maintain that “team mentality” because we all own a part of a very large system.”

However, getting to this point was a challenge for Janet. As the Chandra telescope’s launch approached, the work and size of the team increased. Implementing the optimal, proven processes for software development took time and a bit of ingenuity. More familiar methods had to be adapted first to identify the scientists’ needs and then start writing the software.

Over time, the team followed a formal process to ensure continuity in software maintenance. Thanks to this approach, from the 50 members Janet needed when Chandra was launched in 1999, she now only needs 20. Even with a small team, it is possible to continue maintaining the software, add new functionality, and update it with new operating systems and versions. For Janet, it is possible to do it with fewer developers if you write quality software in a way that makes sense for the group.

The manager’s job

Janet began her career at CfA writing programs, which is something she loved. However, she didn’t hesitate to first take a position as a team leader and then manage the software development department. For her, this position feels like programming more and can influence the team’s work. She can achieve much more than she could do alone.

Janet now maintains a system with 1.8 million lines of logical code instead of the code she could maintain alone, perhaps only 10,000 or 20,000 lines of code. As group manager, Janet has an overview of the project’s needs and influences the team’s success.

An example to follow

Janet has some advice for those starting a career outside of software development.

There is nothing wrong with changing careers.

—- “[When you go to college,] you originally go there with something that is in your heart and soul, and you think you want to do — you see, I thought I was going to be a veterinarian. But then you explore a little, and you realize what really fulfills you. If you can get the feeling that “that’s what you’re looking for,” then I say go for it.”

Choose a profession that is interesting and fun for you

—- “We work for many years in our career. So, if you are doing something that is interesting, that seems appropriate and fun, then you already have the golden egg and that is what we should look for.”

Find a mentor

—— “If you’re new to your career, find yourself a mentor at work. Find someone you respect, who is a little older than you, who has walked the path you think you want to follow and to work with. Be a friend to that person and see what they can teach you. It is also possible to have several mentors and they may give you [different] options to continue [in your career.]”