Team Q&A: Michael Hamilton – QA Manager

Michael Hamilton is more than just our QA Manager, but a believer in the power of conservation and renewable energies! Michael’s work is dedicated to ensuring that all of our software solutions are optimized to help our utility partners realize their decarbonization goals while lowering energy spending and strengthening the grid. Please join me in welcoming Michael to the Virtual Peaker team!

How did your previous life prepare you for Virtual Peaker?

The company I worked for before coming to Virtual Peaker provided battery systems for solar plants. I was the Software Test Engineer for the control software for those systems. I was hired there to create the testing processes, test the software, and support the installation of the systems.

I’ve taken a circuitous route to Virtual Peaker by not always taking the job that paid the most or would advance me up the corporate ladder. I focused on companies and jobs that challenged me mentally while providing a culture that allowed me to explore my interests and grow in directions that fulfilled me. I feel like I’ve found everything I could want here at Virtual Peaker.

Tell us about your role at Virtual Peaker.

I’m the QA Manager. I was hired in April of this year to create a new team focused on testing our software and helping define processes that increase the quality of our products. It’s been a good challenge to learn a new product, develop processes, decide on the direction our testing will take, and help our QA Engineers develop their careers. 

I love the culture that has been established at Virtual Peaker. The team was allowed to establish the tools that would work well with our software products, and processes that will allow us to test more efficiently and allow the new QA engineers to learn without undue pressure to have immediate results. Because of this the team, processes, and tools are further along than they would have been otherwise.

How do you personally engage in sustainability efforts?

At my house, we recycle, employ conservation tactics like reducing heating in the winter months or using less water consumption, and take public transit wherever possible. We’re looking into ways to further our conservation efforts, such as reducing water consumption by planting a low-water landscape.

What can you tell us about yourself?

My wife and I have lived in the Pacific Northwest for the past 15 years. We both grew up in Montana loving the outdoors. We spend a lot of time out hiking, walking, and biking. We have two rescue dogs that are part Boxer and part German Shorthair Pointer. It makes for an interesting, fun, and neurotic type of dog. We usually get them 3-4 miles of walking a day.

The past year, I’ve supported my wife’s efforts to compete at the Ironman World Championships while raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She was given a charity slot in the competition because she has completed Ironman races before and she pledged to raise $100,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. In the end, she just finished the race at the beginning of October and we ended up raising $143,000!

About The Author

Bill is a serial entrepreneur with a PhD from UC Berkeley in Controls and Artificial Intelligence and 10 years of experience with high performance residential energy management and connected appliances. He was previously at GE as an Advanced Systems Engineer in the Connected Home Software Group, but left that role in May 2014 to pursue entrepreneurship full time.

Bill grew up in Louisville and returned with his family in 2010 after a long stint in the San Francisco Bay Area. He loves Louisville and is working to make it a better and more attractive city for high tech startups.

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