The Radiation Oncologist's Advocate^™.

Northgate™ represents radiation oncologists across proton therapy, SBRT and SRS, brachytherapy, CNS, breast and thoracic, and pediatric. Bespoke representation and permanent placement. Personal, from first private call to signed offer.

We represent the radiation oncologist.

Most firms in this category work for the cancer center. They are paid by the buyer to fill the linac block, the disease-site team, the new proton center. Fast. We invert that. Northgate™ works for the radiation oncologist, who is the rarer asset and the one whose career carries the longest tail.

Radiation oncology has been reshaped by hypofractionation, by alternative payment models, and by the slow buildout of proton therapy. A senior CNS radiation oncologist at a comprehensive cancer center is in a different conversation than a community-based generalist evaluating a private group acquisition. A brachytherapy specialist evaluating an academic move is in a different conversation than a proton center director evaluating a leadership role. We treat the disease site and the technology platform as the unit of the conversation.

A partner leads the conversation from the first private call to the signed offer. Your name does not leave this office without your written sign-off. Not in a pitch. Not on a shortlist.

The first conversation is private. There is no obligation on either side.

The work within radiation oncology.

We are deliberate about the disease site and the technology platform behind it. The market for a CNS-focused radiation oncologist with SRS volume is not the market for a community generalist evaluating a Mid-Atlantic group acquisition. The six sub-disciplines below are where the bulk of our radiation oncology work has lived.

Proton Therapy: Proton-center leadership and disease-site coverage. A small senior pool tied to the ~40 operating proton centers; case mix and clinical-research expectations decide most conversations.
SBRT & SRS: Stereotactic body radiation therapy and stereotactic radiosurgery. Team integration with neurosurgery and pulmonology often defines fit at high-volume centers.
Brachytherapy: Prostate, GYN, breast, and skin brachytherapy. A specialized procedural skill set; senior brachytherapists command premium offers and tend to anchor disease-site teams.
CNS & Pediatric: Pediatric and adult CNS, often overlapping. Almost exclusively academic and quaternary; tumor board leadership and clinical trial participation are the negotiated terms.
Breast & Thoracic: The largest disease-site sub-disciplines by volume. Hypofractionation protocols and disease-site team leadership drive most senior moves.
Disease-site Generalist: Community-based comprehensive practice covering breast, lung, prostate, GI, and palliative. The anchor of community radiation oncology; ownership posture defines economics.

The radiation oncologist we represent.

We are most useful to radiation oncologists who are seven to twenty years into practice, board-certified by the ABR, and at a real inflection point. A center medical directorship opening at a place you have followed for a decade. A proton center adding senior leadership. A community group preparing for a sale to a hospital system or a national platform. An academic appointment opening at an NCI-designated center.

The conversation tends to work less well for trainees, for early-career generalists building practice patterns, and for searches where the institution will not discuss disease-site assignment, technology platform commitment, or call structure up front.

Tenure: Seven to twenty years post-residency, with at least four years at the current practice. Earlier-career radiation oncologists better served by their training network.
Disease-site depth: A clear primary disease site or two. Mixed-bag generalists workable for community searches but rarely fit academic disease-site team leadership.
Technology platform fluency: Proton, SBRT, SRS, MR-Linac, brachytherapy. The platform of the next institution often decides whether a move is worth pursuing.
Practice-model preference: Academic, hospital-employed, IDN-employed, or independent community group. The four shape the offer architecture more than the disease site does.
Reason for the conversation: A specific reason this season, not general curiosity. The reason itself usually shapes the right next role.

What we are seeing.

Radiation oncology compensation has compressed under hypofractionation, CMS rate pressure, and increasing employment of community practices by hospital systems. Senior leadership roles at proton centers, comprehensive cancer centers, and NCI-designated programs continue to clear well above the academic median. Community practice economics are increasingly tied to the acquisition cycle.

Comprehensive cancer center: Disease-site team leadership packages typically include protected research FTE, clinical trial enrollment authority, and named-program affiliation.
Proton center leadership: Senior proton roles command premium offers; the conversation includes clinical research expectations, disease-site mix, and technology investment commitment.
Community, hospital-employed: Base packages tracking with regional wRVU schedules; the negotiated terms are typically call coverage rates and protected non-clinical time.
Community, independent: Increasingly rare; senior partners in mature groups evaluating acquisition by hospital systems or national radiation oncology platforms.
Pediatric & CNS: Compensation typically below the radiation oncology median; offer construction usually requires academic title and protected research FTE.
Outside engagements: Industry consulting, courseware, and CME leadership on the table for senior radiation oncologists at academic and quaternary centers.

More detail in The 2026 Compensation Notes, the firm’s annual specialty-by-specialty supplement on offers we have seen close.

Read the Radiation Oncology notes

The rooms we work in.

The institutions that engage Northgate™ for radiation oncology searches. Each has hired at this level before, knows what the seat costs when it is wrong, and comes to the firm precisely because the conversation stays quiet.

i NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers
ii Academic Medical Centers
iii Proton Therapy Centers
iv Integrated Delivery Networks
v Children’s Hospitals
vi Community Radiation Oncology Groups
vii Cancer Hospital Networks
viii Faculty Practice Plans

When you are ready to make a move,
you need the right people in your corner.

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