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Team Structure

Internship program by the CryptOS team (cryptos.com)

Overview

The internship program consists of ~40 interns working across multiple parallel projects. Interns are organized into teams of 5–6 members, each working on a distinct project.

Team Composition

Standard Team

  • 5–6 interns per team
  • 1 Communicator (intern) per team
  • Multiple teams working in parallel
  • Independent projects per team

Team Assignment

  • Teams are assigned at the start of the program
  • Teams work on different projects simultaneously
  • Team membership is generally fixed for the duration

Communicator Role

What Communicators Do

Communicators are interns who facilitate communication and manage team processes:

  • Bridge communication — Relay information between team and program administrators
  • Set up team communication — Decide how the team communicates (channels, standups, updates)
  • Manage task workflow — Organize how the team tracks and manages tasks
  • Coordinate team activities — Organize syncs and planning sessions
  • Help with process questions — Point teammates to the right resources

Lightweight management: Communicators manage processes, not people. They organize how the team works together—this is part of the learning experience. You're still peers, just with a bit more organizational responsibility.

What Communicators Do NOT Do

Communicators manage processes, but they do NOT:

  • ❌ Evaluate team members' performance
  • ❌ Provide performance feedback or reviews
  • ❌ Make decisions about participation or removal
  • ❌ Have special privileges in evaluation
  • ❌ Have authority over people—they're still peers

Bottom line: You organize how the team works, but you don't manage people or evaluate performance. It's lightweight—focus on keeping things flowing smoothly.

Communicator Selection

  • Initial selection: Communicators are selected randomly because we don't know team abilities yet
  • Future projects: Communicators will be chosen based on performance
  • You can always decline: If selected, you can choose not to be a Communicator—we'll select someone else
  • Communicators are interns, not staff
  • It's not overwhelming: The role is lightweight—you're organizing processes, not managing people

Team Dynamics

Collaboration

Teams are expected to:

  • Ship together — Build features as a team
  • Review PRs quickly — Don't block each other
  • Help when stuck — Ask and answer questions fast
  • Communicate progress — Keep everyone unblocked
  • Share knowledge — Help teammates level up

Independence

Teams work independently:

  • Separate repositories per team/project
  • Independent backlogs and issue management
  • Team-specific channels for communication
  • Autonomous decision-making on implementation

Inter-Team Interaction

  • Teams may share:
    • Best practices and learnings
    • Common tools and resources
    • General discussions in program-wide channels
  • Teams generally work independently on their projects

Team Responsibilities

Individual Responsibilities

Each team member is responsible for:

  • Shipping assigned work — Complete issues you grab
  • Reviewing PRs — Review teammates' code promptly
  • Communicating progress — Keep team unblocked
  • Asking for help — Don't sit stuck, ask immediately
  • Documenting as you build — Keep docs current

Team Responsibilities

Teams are collectively responsible for:

  • Shipping features — Get things done
  • Code that works — Ship, iterate, improve
  • Documentation — Keep docs updated as you build
  • Knowledge sharing — Help everyone ship faster
  • Active communication — Keep channels moving

Communicator Responsibilities

Communicators handle lightweight management of team processes:

  • Communication structure — Set up how the team communicates (channels, standups, updates)
  • Task management — Organize how tasks are tracked and managed
  • Information relay — Bridge communication between team and program administrators
  • Team coordination — Organize syncs and planning (optional, as needed)
  • Process guidance — Help teammates find the right resources

Keep it simple: You're organizing how things work, not managing people. Focus on making communication smooth and tasks manageable. This is a learning opportunity—don't overthink it.

Team Communication

Channels

  • Team channel — Primary communication for each team
  • General channel — Program-wide discussions
  • GitHub — Work-related discussions in Issues and PRs

Communication Expectations

  • Daily updates — Share progress and blockers
  • Code review participation — Review PRs promptly
  • Proactive communication — Don't wait to be asked
  • Respectful interaction — Professional communication always

Team Workflow

Planning

  • Grab issues that interest you
  • Communicators determine how the team plans and manages tasks
  • Track work in GitHub Issues (or method chosen by Communicator)

Execution

  • Ship code on assigned issues
  • Submit PRs for review
  • Review teammates' PRs quickly
  • Merge and move to the next issue

Coordination

  • Communicators determine team communication structure and coordination approach
  • Regular syncs (if scheduled by Communicator) keep momentum
  • Issues track progress—update them
  • Team channels for quick coordination (structure determined by Communicator)

See WORKFLOW.md for detailed workflow guidelines.

Conflict Resolution

Within Teams

If conflicts arise within a team:

  1. Address directly — Have a respectful conversation
  2. Focus on issues — Not personalities
  3. Seek help if needed — Escalate to program administrators
  4. Document if necessary — Keep records of important discussions

With Communicators

Remember: Communicators are peers who organize processes. If you have concerns:

  • Discuss directly — Have a conversation
  • Escalate if needed — Contact program administrators
  • Focus on process — Not personal issues

Communicators manage processes, not people. They're here to help things run smoothly, not to evaluate or manage you.

Questions?

  • About team structure? → Read this document
  • About Communicator role? → Ask your Communicator or program administrators
  • About team dynamics? → Discuss in team channel
  • About conflicts? → Escalate to program administrators

Remember: Teams ship when everyone contributes. Grab issues, ship code, review PRs, help teammates. Communicators facilitate communication, but everyone builds equally.