Meet Carrum’s Tech Team: Sarah Cringle, Data Engineering Manager
At Carrum Health, we’re changing healthcare—and we couldn’t do it without the incredible team of people we’ve put together. In our new blog series, Meet Carrum, we’re featuring some of our incredible Carrumites. In this Q&A, learn more about Sarah Cringle, manager of Data Engineering.
Describe your position at Carrum.
As an engineering manager, my main focus is twofold: ensuring our engineers are engaged in meaningful, enjoyable work and aligning that work with the broader needs of the company.
I started on this team as an engineer myself, so I still stay pretty hands-on, contributing code and helping to move projects forward. Our team lays the groundwork for data systems, creating strong technical foundations that the Data Analytics and Business Intelligence teams can build on to produce the reporting and insights the business needs.
You began as an office manager, transitioned into data analytics, and now you’re an engineering manager. Can you share how that journey unfolded?
You know, it didn’t feel like a dramatic jump to me—it felt like a natural progression.
I started out as a receptionist in a medical office, answering phones and checking patients in and out. But I kept asking, “How can we do this better?” And that led me to explore how our EHR (electronic health record) system could improve our workflows. So, I began building reports, customizing tools, and working with the EHR team to make the day-to-day smoother for everyone. I loved helping lessen my colleagues’ mental load by creating systems so they didn’t have to rely on their memory to do their jobs well. That instinct to streamline and constantly improve drew me into data.
Eventually, I was managing our quality reporting, diving deep into how to measure and report outcomes accurately within the EHR. That experience led me to an account management position at a quality reporting company, and the transition was pretty seamless—because of the quality work I ended up doing at the medical office, I understood exactly what our clients were navigating because I had lived on the other side of it, just like them.
Once again, I saw an opportunity to go even deeper. I knew that if I could get access to my company’s database, I could better service our clients. That curiosity led me into database engineering. I found myself bridging the gap between technical teams and healthcare professionals, translating complex requirements and eventually writing the code myself.
Each step of the way, I just followed the path where I thought I could be most helpful—and for me, data has always been a way to empower others to do their best work.
What led to your decision to join Carrum?
Right before I joined Carrum, I was working for a company where I really liked my immediate team, but the organization had started to feel a bit too big and siloed. I started looking around for new opportunities, and a recruiter reached out about Carrum. I had a conversation with the person who was Carrum’s director of Data, and I immediately knew he was the type of person I wanted to work with. He had deep experience in data science and engineering, and I saw a big opportunity to learn from him.
At the time, Carrum didn’t have a data engineer yet, so the role felt like a blank slate. I liked that I’d be the only person doing that work in the beginning. It meant I had ownership and the freedom to decide how to structure things, how to prioritize, and how to build the foundation. Every day was different, never boring or repetitive. That sense of newness, combined with the chance to grow and change the role, was incredibly exciting. It was the kind of challenge I love.
What is your favorite thing about your role?
I really enjoy being able to work across multiple teams and departments—it keeps things dynamic and meaningful. I love interacting with others and learning what matters most to them in their day-to-day work. Sometimes we’re deep in the weeds, building a process, and someone from the Care Operations team will say, “This saves us so much time,” or they tell us how much their provider partners love the new provider list we’ve created. That’s the kind of feedback that reminds you how much the work really matters.
These provider lists, for example, are refreshed throughout the day and equip our providers with up-to-date information about patients who have engaged with their services and also support more transparent billing. It’s neat to think that, on the other side of this job, is a patient who was able to access care more quickly at a Carrum COE as a result of this work.
It can be easy in data or engineering to finish something and just move on to the next task. But hearing how our work is actually being used—and how it makes things better for people—is really rewarding. That connection to impact is my favorite part of the job.
I also enjoy working with our tech stack. We use a variety of AWS services to orchestrate our mostly Python jobs, so there’s been lots to learn and explore there. Plus, I’ve had the opportunity to beef up my Bash skills, which we use for tooling and automation.
I easily get lost in the weeds of the day-to-day, but our pipelines are ingesting millions of records each month, and we have hundreds of jobs that run daily to make sure folks around the organization as well as our external partners have the data they need for analysis, reporting, and improving the quality of care for our patients. While we don’t directly interact with patients, it’s incredibly rewarding to hear a patient testimonial and know we played a role in their experience by supporting all the Carrum teams that made sure that patient received the best possible care.
Can you share an experience that you think is a good example of Carrum’s culture?
What stands out to me at Carrum are the moments when cross-team collaboration really shines.
For example, I recently had a conversation with one of our colleagues on the Partnerships team. She had requested a project from us, and the turnaround time wasn’t as fast as she needed. Our team was doing our best, but we constantly had to prioritize urgent requests over hers. She and I had a quick meeting to talk it over, and I expected it to be a hard conversation. But instead, she just asked me to walk her through how our team prioritizes action items. When I explained our process, she said, “That makes so much sense. I’m going to share this with my team.” It completely changed the tone of the conversation—from pressure and frustration to understanding and partnership.
That kind of interaction has happened a lot. When we actually talk and connect as people, there’s this shared sense of purpose. Carrumites often say, “Wow, thank you for what you are doing—how can we help make it easier for you?” To me, those are the moments that reflect Carrum’s culture. It’s the realization that we’re all trying to do great work, and once we see the person behind the Slack message, it becomes easier to collaborate and support one another.
What do you like most about working in healthcare?
I really appreciate that the work feels meaningful. I’d have a hard time working in an industry where I didn’t feel like I was making a difference. I want to help make the world a better place.
I always come back to this: In healthcare, we get to hear real stories about real patients and their families. For the people who use Carrum, we are making their health journey (and thus their lives) better. Being even a small part of that is something I imagine I wouldn’t find in many other industries.
What do you think are some important qualities for an engineering manager to have?
First and foremost, being a good listener. That’s true for any manager, but in engineering especially, it means being attuned to what both your stakeholders and your team need. And sometimes, it’s not just about what people say, but about what they’re not saying, too. You need to listen for the silences and dig into them to make sure you can really help your team members.
Being organized is also essential. There are constant requests coming in, and if I don’t carve out focused time for different kinds of work, I’d spend my whole day just reacting to those requests. I use blocks of time to stay on track and make sure nothing falls through the cracks for myself or my team.
Another piece, especially at Carrum, is staying connected across the organization. I like to keep my “tendrils” in lots of different places. That way, I can make sure everyone’s in the loop to keep things moving and prevent gaps and overlaps. Cross-visibility is a big part of how I add value.
What do you like doing outside of work?
I spend most of my time outside of work with my husband and my kids. We’re lucky to live in a place where we can step out the door and be surrounded by nature. We have woods to explore, and a yard with fruit trees and bushes—apples, pears, serviceberries, plums, blueberries, and strawberries!
We go for walks, listen to the birds, play together. It’s simple, but it feels grounding. It’s about just being human—present, connected, and enjoying each other and the space we’re in. That’s what fills me up.
And, because Carrum is a remote-first organization, I’m able to take walks on my property during the day, too. I love the flexibility remote work offers. The idea of being in one place for eight hours a day makes me feel stir-crazy, and I definitely cannot maintain peak productivity, creativity, and general positive energy for such a solid block of time. Being able to break up the work day and go on walks in a space I love helps me clear my head, think through problems, and prioritize. When I get back to my desk, I feel reenergized!
