There is huge need for these skills in astronomy, but it can be tricky to find the right way to plug in.
There is plenty of opportunity to contribute to open-source —-astropy is one of the most active projects, as a starting point.
Deeper (volunteer) engagement probably requires finding a willing scientist to plug you in to a project. That can be tricky get going and to make mutually beneficial.
There are full time research software engineer positions—these will pay less than industry, of course; for some folks the subject matter and environment make that trade worthwhile.
There is plenty of opportunity to contribute to open-source —-astropy is one of the most active projects, as a starting point.
Deeper (volunteer) engagement probably requires finding a willing scientist to plug you in to a project. That can be tricky get going and to make mutually beneficial.
There are full time research software engineer positions—these will pay less than industry, of course; for some folks the subject matter and environment make that trade worthwhile.