A day in the life of a Senior QA Engineer at SumUp

Hi, my name is Milena Sokolova, and I'm a Senior QA Engineer based in Sofia, Bulgaria. I've been working here for 4 and a half years. Since joining SumUp, I have been part of the Payments Tribe for 2 and a half years, and after that, I moved into the Bank Tribe. Join me as I take you on a walk through a day in my life.

6:30 am

I'm a morning person, and I wake up around this time every day. Being awake early helps me prepare for the day and boosts my energy level. 

7:00 am

It's time to take my dog Roro to a park for a run or a walk, depending on the day. As my teammates like to join company running competitions, I try to be in my best-running shape. So a good workout is a must :)

8:30 am

Time for the first breakfast of the day - yes, I have two breakfasts. It's important for me to start the day with a healthy meal, and I usually split it into two parts.

9:30 am

I get to the office between 9:00 and 9:30 am, just before my second breakfast. First things first, I start the test automation runs. Then I join my colleagues on the terrace - we have breakfast together in the office every Tuesday.

10:00 am 

The daily standup with the team starts. I'm part of the Card Core Team, responsible for card issuing in the EU Merchant Bank, integrated with Mastercard. Usually, the test automation run is done by that time, and if there are any pending issues, we discuss them after the standup. 

10:30 am

I have a clear idea of what needs to be done first. We’re currently working on the virtual cards and card management lifecycle improvements, and I am preparing the automation suite for these functionalities.

12:30 pm 

Team lunch is also a must - we have plenty of great restaurants near the Sofia office.

1:30 pm 

I  have a peer programming session and tech discussion about the test automation project of the squad with one of our developers, Martina.

3:00 pm 

I check the production support channels to see if there are tickets I can resolve or investigate. The investigation usually includes:

• Looking at the clients' settings.

• Trying to reproduce the issue.

• Examining the logs.

4:30 pm 

Every two weeks, I have 1:1 meetings with my manager to get real-time status updates on key projects. 

5:00 pm 

The last check of the Kanban board. If there is nothing new ready for QA, I return to the automation project.

6:30 pm 

Heading back home.

7:00 pm 

I try to keep my social life active with improv theatre practice, gatherings with friends, yoga classes, and much more!

Thanks for coming along on a day in my life working at SumUp!