In biotech, at least back in the day, bureaucracy depended on company size and nationality, and there never seemed to be enough hackers for all the random tech stuff that needed doing. I'm sure it's changed a whole lot since then but as a general point, it was a lot more diverse along any vector you like than the software world.

Maybe you should find a startup with no layers of bureaucracy and no cost centers yet? This being HN, there are plenty of them around.