Ben Johnson

About Ben Johnson

Backend and data-focused engineer with a strong track record of designing and operating production systems at the intersection of software, data, and real-world operations.Most recently, I co-founded and built the core platform for Standard Orchid Company, where I designed and implemented a customer-facing, cloud-hosted application to manage inventory, production workflows, and reporting in a high-precision environment. I architected a Python/Flask application backed by Azure SQL and containerized on Azure, supporting real-time operational updates and traceability across more than units of production inventory.My work spanned system architecture, data modeling, backend development, and cloud infrastructure, with a strong emphasis on efficient data onboarding, correctness, observability, and practical decision-making. I used operational data to drive forecasting, pricing, capacity planning, and capital investment decisions, and to analyze production efficiency, quality metrics, and process experiments.While the venture ultimately did not scale due to capital-to-return constraints, the technical platform and underlying systems performed reliably and reinforced my interest in building robust, data-driven applications that support complex workflows and business-critical decisions.I’m now looking to return to a technology-focused role where I can apply this experience to backend, database, and data-intensive systems—working on problems where thoughtful architecture, clean data models, and operational rigor matter.

Experience

1. Co-founder

   Standard Orchid Company, Llc

   May 2024 — Present · Seattle, WA, US

   Standard Orchid Company, LLC · Self-employedMay 2024 – Present · Seattle, WACo-founded and operated a specialized tissue culture business, designing and building the core software platform used to manage customers, inventory, and production workflows from intake through fulfillment.Architected and developed a customer-facing Flask application in Python, deployed as a containerized Azure application with an Azure SQL backend. The system onboarded customers, tracked submission of plant material, and managed end-to-end lifecycle events including sowing, germination, contamination, invoicing, and shipment.Designed a high-volume inventory and event-tracking data model, supporting real-time operational updates throughout the workday and traceability across units of production inventory. Enabled self-service customer access for order status, reporting, and visual inspection via securely exposed assets stored in Azure Blob Storage.Built reporting capabilities for customers and internal operations, including invoicing, germination milestones, and production status. Used operational data to drive forecasting, pricing strategy, capacity planning, and capital investment decisions.Applied data analysis to evaluate production efficiency by category, contamination rates, maturation timelines, and A/B testing of process variables. Modeled growth scenarios, space utilization, and CAPEX requirements to inform scaling decisions.Led all technical and operational aspects of the business, including cloud infrastructure, database design, application development, production execution, and customer communication. Ultimately chose not to scale beyond a defined capacity due to unfavorable capital-to-return dynamics, concluding the venture intentionally.

Education

• University of Washington

  Bachelors, Sociology

  1995 — 2000

• Modeling Agency

  Machine Learning

  2013 — 2013

Skills

• Royalties
• Business Intelligence
• Business Process Design
• Business Analysis
• Vendor Management
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Stored Procedures
• Teradata
• Program Management
• Sdlc
• Project Management
• Data Visualization
• Data Mining
• Requirements Analysis
• Analytics
• Data Modeling
• Requirements Gathering
• Process Improvement
• Sql
• Visio
• Data Warehousing
• Business Requirements
• Quality Assurance
• Databases
• Leadership
• Database Design
• Data Analysis
• Microstrategy
• Analysis