What are the responsibilities and job description for the Software Developer – Lab Automation & Systems position at Transparent Testing, LLC?
Don't spend your first software job maintaining someone else's code.
The entry-level software market is brutal right now. Thousands of talented graduates are competing for roles that amount to fixing bugs in systems someone else designed a decade ago. Here's a different path.
WHO WE ARE
Transparent Testing is an ISO 17025 accredited, OMMA-licensed cannabis testing laboratory in Tulsa. The science is real analytical chemistry. The technology side is a blank canvas: we're systematically replacing every manual process in the lab with software, automation, and AI — and we're hiring one developer to help build it from the ground up working with our experienced team.
You'll work directly under our Director of Systems Development, who built our custom lab management software from scratch (and 3D-printed his own lab instruments when the commercial ones didn't cut it), with regular access to the founder. Your ideas won't disappear into layers of management. If they're good, we build them.
HOW THE ROLE WORKS
Your first six months are spent inside the operation: sample receiving, chain-of-custody verification, sample accessioning, customer communication. This isn't busy work — it's product research. You can't automate a process you've never run, and every inefficiency you document becomes your future build list.
From there, the role is intentionally designed to grow. Our expectation is that the right person spends less and less time performing manual processes and more and more time designing the software that replaces them:
• Laboratory workflow automation
• Mobile apps and a customer portal
• AI-powered reporting tools
• Barcode, inventory, and dashboard systems
• Future customer-facing products
STRAIGHT TALK ON PAY
Starting pay is $19–21/hour — the same starting pay as our degreed lab scientists, because that's what our pay structure currently supports. We know that's below typical developer salaries, and we'd rather tell you up front than surprise you in an interview. What we offer instead: a ground-up build, founder-level mentorship, and a formal six-month review with real advancement as your role transitions into software development. If you're optimizing for salary right now, no hard feelings — this isn't your job. If you're optimizing for ownership and what you'll have built two years from now, we should talk.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
Recent graduates encouraged to apply.
• Bachelor's degree (or graduating soon) in Computer Science, Software Engineering, MIS, or related — or self-taught with a portfolio that PROVES it
• Experience with some of: Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, React, Flutter, SQL, APIs, AI tools
• A builder's mindset, curiosity about how businesses operate, and high standards
• Ability to obtain an OMMA Cannabis Employee credential (required by Oklahoma law — we'll guide you through it)
• No laboratory experience required. We'll teach you the science.
HOW TO APPLY
Include a link to your GitHub, portfolio, or something you've built. If you've ever looked at a process and thought "there has to be a better way to do this" — we'd like to meet you.
Salary : $19 - $21