Automation programming roles

Hi Everyone,

I have a few programming roles where I have been told what to program but would now like a job deciding what I want to program (and maybe control of what programming language I want to use).

I have a number of temporary jobs where I have identified processes that could be improved by automating tasks through coding.
I am interested to know if jobs like this are out there as a permanent role?

I am guessing that software consultancy businesses may be a close match.
I have also thought about setting up my own business doing this but I am not really a client facing person so would find this difficult.

I hope someone can give me some advice on how I can achieve my aims.

Thanks
Andrew