A day in the life of Hailey Hunter
When people ask what I do at Trinitatum, I usually joke, “I’m the last line of defence between broken code and a very unhappy business.” But the reality is far more nuanced, and human.
Trinitatum specialises in automated testing and quality assurance for complex enterprise systems, primarily focused on energy trading and finance. I support one of our clients by analysing and maintaining the reliability of their energy trading platform. That might sound dry, but I love the challenge of untangling interconnected systems, diagnosing root causes, and supporting the people behind them.
8:00 AM: Morning triage
I work in a hybrid model, sometimes from my home office and sometimes on-site at the client’s office, depending on the week. I spend the first 30 minutes catching up: triaging urgent issues, reviewing pull requests, and diagnosing failures in pipelines or system integrations. It’s my time to evaluate what’s critical, what can be deferred, and how to best align fixes with the business impact.
8:30 AM – 12:30 PM: Meeting gauntlet
The next four hours are back-to-back meetings: client stand-ups, dev syncs, root-cause analysis sessions, and strategy discussions. We cover everything from environmental issues to surprise edge cases that suddenly need coverage.
I advocate hard for smarter system design and validation practices, promoting shift-left testing, lightweight TDD, and clearer “Definition of Done” standards that include unit, integration, and automated tests. These practices improve overall system integrity, not just testing outcomes. Progress can be slow, but it delivers real value.
I also spend time with my Trinitatum team: onboarding new hires, reviewing our Triangle Academy curriculum, supporting colleagues, and weighing in on company strategy. Being part of a small team means I can influence not only delivery but how we structure processes and support people as we scale.
By noon, I’ve worn six hats: analyst, strategist, mentor, tester, translator, and firefighter.
12:30 PM: Break (Ish)
Midday is usually a natural pause point, ideally for lunch, sometimes even away from my desk. Other times, I use the lull to catch up on emails or close out tasks. Hybrid and flexible work can blur boundaries, but I try to give myself a breather.
1:30 PM – 5:30 PM: Deep work
Afternoons are my focus time: analysis and design work with fewer distractions.
Some days it’s technical: analysing regressions, debugging system behaviour, or scripting automated coverage for high-risk areas. Other days it’s more architectural or strategic: drafting proposals to improve processes, refining documentation, expanding quality frameworks across dev squads, or advising on broader business and HR practices that intersect with delivery.
Recently, I’ve been championing the role of a dedicated Dev/Test Quality Manager to help embed governance, accountability, and scalability directly into the client’s delivery model. Quality shouldn’t be an afterthought; it needs to be part of the system design from day one.
5:30 PM: Wrap-up
I close the day by updating our DevOps board, logging open issues, and leaving structured notes for tomorrow. Some days end with quiet satisfaction; others with unresolved puzzles. But either way, the value is clear: we prevent million-dollar mistakes and keep mission-critical systems running smoothly.
And I get to do it with a team that truly supports one another.
Final thoughts
My role is challenging, collaborative, and deeply human. It bridges analysis, coaching, and hands-on technical work, touching every stage of the systems lifecycle.
Because businesses aren’t made of systems. They’re made of people. And the real value in this role isn’t just in catching bugs, it’s in ensuring systems align with human needs. That’s what makes the work meaningful. That’s what keeps me coming back.