This! In fact, I know a couple of researchers who started as programmers in research groups and research labs, and slowly transitioned into PhDs and later, faculty positions. Especially if you have specific skills. I think the kind of labs that would hire you would be: biomedical research, energy research, some national labs. You will even be a coauthor if your contributions are important and substantial. Though admittedly, in some fields, nth coauthor with n != 1 or N where there are N authors doesn't mean much.
Edit:
To make it explicit, here are some ideas:
1. Medical research institutes: Weil Cornell, Salk Institute, Mayo Clinic, U Texas-MD Anderson, Cleveland Clinic, UCSF, U Pittsburgh Medical Center, Oregon Health & Science, U Wash Medical Center, U Minn Medical Center, University of Penn, Harvard/MGH, etc.
2. Energy-related labs: Argonne, Oakridge, Pacific Northwest, Lawrence Livermore, Lawrence Berkeley, Los Alamos National Lab.
3. Other national labs: Defence research labs, Army Research Labs, AFRL, Office of Naval Research, Woods Hole Oceanographic, Naval Research Applied Research Labs Austin, TX/Penn State, Georgia Tech Research Institute.
