Welcome back to our “Day in the Life” series, where we pull back the curtain to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the teams that make up HealthJoy.
For our final installment of 2022, we sat down with a few members of our Engineering team to learn all about their day-to-day. Our engineers are vital to HealthJoy’s success. The team shares a deep desire to develop software that improves people’s lives.
We spoke with Laura Gonzalez-Horwitz, Frontend Engineer, and Vlastik Walker, Software Engineer, about their day-to-day work on HealthJoy's cutting-edge Engineering team.
What does a typical day look like as an engineer at HealthJoy?
Laura Gonzalez-Horwitz, Frontend Engineer
One of the great things about working for a remote-first company is being able to connect with team members from many different places. Our team has members as far west as Los Angeles and as far east as Kyiv, so our mornings are all about collaboration and making sure we’re on the same page.
Once this communication occurs, meetings occupy the next part of the morning. We usually have agile meetings, which are hyper-focused meetings with our teams, and sync meetings with vendors during this time.
After that, we typically have an hour or two of focus time before lunch. This time is key for our team to execute on the projects we reviewed in our morning meetings.
The afternoons are more code intensive than the mornings. During a typical afternoon, we’ll spend a few hours focused on writing code. I also use this time to tackle any other outstanding tasks, whether individually or by attending one of our peer programming sessions.
Vlastik Walker, Software Engineer
I think I might have the most inconsistent sleeping schedule of anyone in the entire company, so it really depends on what I have planned for the day.
Before I log off each night, I check to see what meetings I have for the next day. If I have to coordinate something with a colleague in Europe, I get up a little earlier than usual.
6:00 a.m
When I first wake up, I like to check my phone, and take a look at social media before I start my day. Then I get ready and if I eat breakfast, I tend to eat something small.
8:00 a.m.
Focus time begins. This usually consists of me continuing work from the previous day or starting on a new ticket item that we have on our board.
9:50 a.m.
I hop into a quick sprint standup. This is a way for our team to see if we need any help on our tasks or if we have blockers that’ll slow us down.
10:00 a.m.
My calendar is open, so anyone can book a meeting with me if they need to. I also reserve this time in case the quality assurance (QA) engineers have any questions. Up until lunch, I use this time to focus and write more code. I generally like to throw on some music while I'm working too.
Afternoon
I take a break and do something around the house. Usually it's making myself some lunch, walking on the treadmill for 20 minutes, or running a quick errand. The afternoon usually slows down a bit, and most of my colleagues based in Europe are done for the day. Typically during this time I’ll fix some bugs or investigate any outstanding issues before wrapping up for the day.
What does a typical day after work look like for you?
Laura
I'm very passionate about animal welfare, so I spend a lot of time helping animals. Aside from volunteering at two local shelters, my husband and I foster orphaned kittens at home until they're old enough for adoption.
It's a challenge because these kittens are often ill, malnourished, and haven't had positive interactions with people. With patience, time, and proper veterinary care, they really blossom and become loving companions to the people lucky enough to adopt them.
Vlastik
I like to go to the gym after work and get my workout out of the way. This is also my time to get some much needed caffeine into my system.
Once I get back home from the gym, I shower and do some chores around the house. I like to end the day by playing video games.
What's your favorite part about working at HealthJoy?
Laura
I love our culture and team dynamic. Even during stressful times when deadlines are looming, someone on the team is always ready with a joke to lighten the mood or provide us with a positive outlook. This helps to remind us of the big picture and why what we do matters.
Vlastik
I love the fact that the job is remote-first andI don't have a long commute. The flexibility is excellent. Also, my colleagues are awesome, caring, and kind, which makes working at HealthJoy really enjoyable!
What makes HealthJoy's engineering team unique from other engineering teams?
Laura
The dynamic between Engineering, Product, and Design is truly special at HealthJoy. All three teams work together as one to research, design, and implement features. For example, engineers can observe the usability testing conducted by Design, which provides a great cohesiveness to our work.
Vlastik
Before working at HealthJoy, I did software consulting and worked alone for a little bit. What stands out about HealthJoy and differentiates it from other places is how knowledgeable the tech team is. I enjoy being able to collaborate with the team to produce the best work possible.
We’re looking for more talented engineers to join the team!
Thanks again to Laura and Vlastik for providing a behind-the-scenes look into the Engineering Team.
We’re currently hiring for a number of remote engineering roles, including:
If you’re passionate about developing the best product possible and collaborating with other developers to do so, we want to hear from you! Be sure to click the links above or visit our careers page for more information.
Kevin Hyland : November 16, 2022
Rick Ramos : January 9, 2019
