Meet the team: Kohdy Nicholson | Varian

Please tell us how long you’ve been with the company and what a typical workday looks like.

I’ve been here for about a year and eight months. A typical day for me begins with a scrum session where I’ll meet my teammates. We’ll collaborate on what we’ve been working on and also discuss what we plan to work on going forward. There’s a session for knowledge sharing too. Once we’re done with the daily scrum, we all get coffee to invigorate ourselves. Then we get to work on the tasks that we’ve planned!

My team is super supportive and we’re very helpful to one another. We make sure everyone is comfortable with the tasks they’re working on, so nobody feels lost or stuck in any way.

Why did you choose to apply for a job at Varian?

It may sound a little corny, but the reason is that the job ad I saw highlighted how you can help to save people’s lives. As intimidating as that was, I also found it very appealing. I really wanted a job that I could be passionate about, and this was one that I felt I could fully get behind.

Has anything surprised you about working here?

One of the biggest surprises was how supportive everyone is when you first start. There’s so much pressure taken off your shoulders on the first day. You quickly understand that even though the job might seem to be quite intimidating – as you may feel that you have a lot of responsibility on your shoulders – you realise that it’s not on you as an individual. It’s on the whole team.

My team does a very good job at balancing the pressure and the responsibility. There’s a really strong sense of support. It’s such a relief after all the nerves leading up to the first day, and then realising this is a place where we work as a team. Nothing is any single person’s fault.

What three words would you use to describe your team?

One word would be supportive. They will help and support you without question in everything that you do.

Another word is knowledgeable. It’s very impressive to see how much my team members know about the domain of radiation therapy, even though their education and professional backgrounds are in software engineering. They’ve been able to learn about radiation therapy over time and are now very knowledgeable on the subject.

The last word would be diverse. Our team has many different nationalities, with people of various backgrounds coming from all over the world. This brings a diverse way of thinking and really makes you realise all the different ways to approach problems, or how people differ in their communication styles. It’s a really nice aspect to working in this team.

Sound good? Choose Varian and help us achieve our mission of a world without fear of cancer.