I can't comment on the situation prior, but post-covid it's pretty common afaik. I've been entirely remote since last March, in both software developer and grad student roles, and although word is students will be back in the office/classroom this fall at my institution I think there is likely a lot of flexibility w.r.t. software-oriented positions

I know a few people who work outside of academia, e.g. agtech companies under the Flagship Pioneering umbrella (Inari etc, same parent as Moderna and various other ag/biotech) and the software teams are very remote friendly I believe

If you're interested in a staff position at a university there's a chance my PI might be hiring for full time dev positions later this year (dependent on luck with grant applications), lmk if interested