This happens already with mechanical and electrical engineers in my field (space physics). There are challenges, though: the engineers are paid less than they would earn in industry, and long-term employment is contingent on scientists winning new grants which call for their skills. So, the low value for expertise (in academia) is largely driven by the grant funding system.

I could see a role for staff computer scientists in areas of research where computation plays a particularly large role, but for typical grad-student data munging, the cost/benefit ratio is likely far too high.