Examples herein describe techniques for transferring data between data processing engines in an array using shared memory. In one embodiment, certain engines in the array have connections to the memory in neighboring engines. For example, each engine may have its own assigned memory module which can be accessed directly (e.g., without using a streaming or memory mapped interconnect). In addition, the surrounding engines (referred to herein as the neighboring engines) may also include direct connections to the memory module. Using these direct connections, the cores can load and/or store data in the neighboring memory modules.