[4] She has been an EPSRC Research Fellow (1994–1995), Lecturer (1995–2001), Reader (2001–2006) and Professor of Quantitative Modelling since 2006.

Hillston is a member of the Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science at Edinburgh.

[5] In 2018 she was appointed Head of the School of Informatics at Edinburgh,[6] taking over from Johanna Moore, until succeeded by Helen Hastie in 2023.

[19] She led the University of Edinburgh School of Informatics in applying for an Athena SWAN Award,[20] which they subsequently achieved silver in.

[21] The award shows that the department provides a "supportive environment" for female students.