Cancer affects nearly two million new people in the United States each year. And while many medical research companies are racing to find a long-term solution, there are still critical pieces of the cancer care enigma that need to be resolved. 

Flatiron Health partners with more than 280 community cancer clinics across the United States, seven major academic cancer centers and 20+ top developers of oncology therapeutics, as well as the National Cancer Institute, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and others.

The healthcare technology and services company got its start in 2012 and has seen incredible growth as it pursues its mission “to improve lives by learning from the experience of every cancer patient.” 

While this sentiment is widely shared, research doesn’t actually capture the experiences of every patient. And while it’s undeniable that innovating cancer care and collecting the relevant patient data to do so is a priority, Flatiron aims to do even better. The medical tech company’s mission is to ensure the data collected are truly representative of every patient receiving treatment. That, on its own, is a pretty monumental task. 

To tackle this head first, Flatiron employs its two main objectives, which inform and work in tandem: providing support to medical care providers and making patient data accessible for medical research.

      • Flatiron HC: Flatiron’s electronic health record (EHR) is a best-in-class solution for nearly 300 oncology practices to track and coordinate patient care. Physicians and clinic staff spend their entire day using the application. Having tools that are reliable, simple, safe and smart are crucial to both the patient experience and keeping the practice financially healthy.

      • Research: In order to provide valuable research insights, patient data must be aggregated, harmonized, cleaned and structured. Flatiron has built a platform for turning raw data into information, letting patient experiences fuel the cancer innovations of tomorrow.

To solve these big, important problems, Flatiron needs a team of top-notch technologists who can work creatively and collaboratively in a cross-functional environment. In looking beyond traditional computer science backgrounds, Flatiron is casting a wider net to recruit individuals who combine software skills with a wealth of diverse experiences and backgrounds, making the team stronger and more creative.

To meet this goal, Flatiron launched its Software Engineer Apprenticeship program in 2019, aiming to attract those non-traditional candidates — and candidates of color specifically. The initiative seeks to create mentorship and growth opportunities for aspiring engineers from non-computer science backgrounds, while aiming to expand the pool of traditionally underrepresented talent rather than fight over the statistically low number of professionals currently employed in the industry. 

This unique program recognizes the need to address the underrepresentation of candidates of color in tech and prioritizes providing competitive pay throughout the career development process. This is a welcome change from the traditional internship structure, which often creates achievement gaps for hopeful interns who can’t afford to field months of work essentially for free. 

Candidates looking to develop their technical skills, gain industry experience and grow their software engineering careers are welcome. During the six-month program, apprentices are embedded as integral parts within experienced engineering teams across the company. They’ll contribute code to Flatiron’s software products meant to improve lives by learning from every cancer patient’s experience. 

Flatiron offers formal learning, mentorship and networking opportunities to help apprentices advance their engineering careers, and the company intends to offer full-time positions to apprentices who successfully complete the six-month program. 

If you’re interested in learning more about Flatiron Health’s mission or job opportunities, check out additional information here.