IT Software Developer

Company: Cansford Laboratories (part of Phenna Group)

Location: Cardiff, fully onsite

Contract: Permanent, full-time

Reports to: Head of Laboratory Operations

Cansford Laboratories is a specialist drug and alcohol testing laboratory based in Cardiff. Accredited to ISO/IEC 17025, we provide toxicology testing that people rely on to make important decisions in family law, social care and the workplace, so accuracy, impartiality and service are at the heart of everything we do. Cansford is part of Phenna Group, a leading testing, inspection and certification group, which gives us the backing of a larger organisation with the pace and personality of a growing SME.

Cansford Laboratories is looking for an IT Software Developer to maintain and improve the business-critical software that runs our laboratory. Your main focus will be the resilience, maintenance and controlled modernisation of our Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), alongside new APIs, integrations and software improvements.

The direction is clear: stabilise, simplify, decouple and modernise. Rather than adding more to a legacy system, you will help move functions onto fit-for-purpose platforms and reduce our reliance on legacy architecture. You will work as a peer to our IT Technical Lead.

• Maintain the reliability of our LIMS and other applications, resolving defects and delivering controlled maintenance
• Deliver approved software development, APIs, integrations and automation to clear requirements
• Work with users and business owners to understand the problem and agree acceptance criteria before building
• Design, code, test, document and deploy changes through proper change-control and release processes
• Simplify and decouple legacy components and integrate fit-for-purpose systems with the LIMS
• Improve resilience through maintainable code, documentation and reduced key-person dependency
• Provide application-level continuity and recovery support for the LIMS
• Align development with architecture, security and integration standards alongside the IT Technical Lead

• Demonstrable software development experience maintaining and improving business-critical applications and integrations
• Practical experience with a LIMS or comparable operational system
• Strong engineering fundamentals: requirements, coding, testing, debugging, version control, documentation and deployment
• The ability to build and support APIs and integrations, and to decouple legacy functionality safely
• A constructive, solution-focused approach, disciplined about testing and documentation

• Red Rock experience, or experience modernising long-lived legacy applications
• Microsoft Access/VBA and/or C++, plus modern API and integration technologies
• Experience migrating functions out of monolithic legacy systems
• Experience in laboratory, scientific, healthcare or regulated environments
• Experience improving development governance

This is a genuine opportunity to join Cansford at an important point in its growth, in a role that has been shaped around where the business is heading. You will have real ownership, a visible impact on how the business performs, and the support of Phenna Group behind you.

Cansford Laboratories and Phenna Group are equal opportunities employers and welcome applications from all backgrounds.

Phenna Group is an Equal Opportunities Employer