November 7, 2024 A Day in The Life of a Copilot

A Copilot is an elite member of the Topcoder community who has a proven track record of excellence in past challenges. They are responsible for managing projects and challenges, and play a key role in orchestrating work with the community. Specifically, Copilots handle game planning, spec writing, communication with community members, and deliverable management. The Copilot role is community-facing and outcome-based, and serves as a bridge between community members and project managers.

In this article we’re meeting two copilots to learn more about their work and day-to-day at Topcoder. We’re excited to introduce PereViki and dimkadimon!

Please tell me a few things about your background and where you are from.

PereViki: I am a designer based out of Budapest, Hungary, with over 10 years of experience and an original background in business.

dimkadimon: I was born in Russia and grew up in Australia. I am a researcher in AI.

How did you hear about Topcoder and when did you become a member?

PereViki: I found out about Topcoder through a Google search for design challenges in 2018, as I was in the hiring process for an Interaction Designer role, where I knew I would get a task like this to solve. This was when I found out about the great opportunities Topcoder offered in form of design challenges.

dimkadimon: I heard about Topcoder from a friend and I joined straight away. That was back in April 2002.

What do you remember from your first Topcoder challenge/s?

PereViki: I remember that it took some time to get used to the process. Earlier I participated in design competitions on other platforms, but this was different, as Topcoder helps its clients manage the challenges, and it made a difference in my opinion. Also, I was very happy, as I qualified to TCO18 in my first 3 months.

dimkadimon: I remember they were super fun. I thought I was good at coding, but I quickly realised this is not true when I joined Topcoder. I loved competing in SRM. Back then you could still win room prizes even in Division 2. So that was exciting.

When did you become a copilot and why?

PereViki: I was really interested in the background of the projects, so I became a copilot later that year already.

dimkadimon: I became a copilot in January 2019. I had many ideas for MM, so when I heard a call for some MM writers I quickly took the opportunity. Before that I met Nickolas who was the long term writer in MM. I really enjoyed solving her problems.

What is the best part about being a copilot?

PereViki: I really enjoyed that I could contribute to the project management aspect of the challenges and that I had a chance to engage with the clients directly.

dimkadimon: The best part is working with talented people and creating something completely original that people will enjoy.

What is the hardest part about being a copilot?

PereViki: Compared to competing, the copilot role has more responsibilities. One must allocate the right time to the tasks, must be accessible, and responsive as well. While one can drop a challenge as a competitor whenever they like, a copilot is expected to manage a challenge end to end. I wouldn’t even say it is difficult, it is just different.

dimkadimon: The hardest part is trying to catch all the bugs, working with people in different time zones, getting frustrated when the system is not working

What does a typical assignment look like?

PereViki: Once a copilot gets assigned to a project, they need to make sure that they understand the clients’ requirements through calls and/or regular correspondence. We may also be a part of scoping in terms of suggesting single or multiple challenges. Based on the gathered information the copilot writes the challenge specification and gets all necessary inputs (e.g., design system, wireframes) from the client if that applies.

Once the specification has been approved by the client, the copilot launches the challenge with accordance to the clients’ availability and certain standards. We then reach out to the community to invite them to compete in the challenge, as well as we manage the challenge forum, where we are available for answering questions, posting client feedbacks and eventually announcing winners. For design challenges we also manage access to the prototyping tool called Marvelapp, where the designers must upload their designs for the client review.

In the review phases we share the prototype links with the clients, and in certain cases we also provide them with initial design critique, so that even more technical teams can make better decisions. In some cases, we present the results to the client as well. After the client selected winners, they may ask for final fixes to the designs, that is also managed by us, copilots. When everything is ready and in accordance with the clients’ expectations, we hand over the designs.

dimkadimon: A typical MM starts with a simple idea. Then I write a paragraph about it and share it with my tester who then gives me some pointers. If there is nothing majorly wrong with the idea then we proceed. Then I write a local visualiser and a basic example solution. We keep testing and refining the code until we are happy with it. Then I write the final problem statement and upload everything to the server. It is a long, but very rewarding process.

What advice would you give someone who wants to become a copilot?

PereViki: If you are a curious person, have high attention to details, enjoy taking responsibility and engage with clients and your English is good enough to keep a professional conversation, then go for it.

dimkadimon: Don’t be afraid and give it a shot. You will learn many new skills and will have an opportunity to reach many talented members.

How do you push yourself to become a better developer/designer?

PereViki: I’m a lifelong learner, so I make sure I keep on improving myself. For instance, I am pursuing an MA in Interaction Design currently at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design. Thanks to the well-designed curriculum, I have a chance to learn new methods and different aspects of design. This semester is about experimental design, with projects in the speculative design area for instance.

dimkadimon: When I have time I try to compete myself, either on Topcoder or on other platforms. This sharpens my coding skills and gives me novel ideas for my problems. I also like to come up with puzzles. Some of the puzzles I end up converting to MM.

How would you describe the developer/designer community at Topcoder?

PereViki: The community is an amazing part of Topcoder. People help each other learn and thrive. Thankfully, I had a chance to meet many members in person over the years, and I can say that I made real friends in the Topcoder community, which I am always grateful for.

dimkadimon: The community is very talented and supportive. We have many great people.

How to become a Topcoder copilot

Right now (November 2024) we’re not accepting applications. Becoming a copilot is by invitation only. However, we do open up for applications from time to time and there are a couple of requirements we want you to meet. So if you are interested in becoming a copilot, here’s what you have to do:

To be eligible to join our Copilot Pool, you must meet some criteria –

• Experienced Topcoder competitors must have won at least 12-15 challenges in their respective track (Design, Development, Data Science, QA). This information will be verified through your Topcoder profile
• Current professionals with at least 5 years of experience who are looking to join our global community to deliver global challenges are also eligible
• You must be able to communicate with clients and guide competitors to deliver the desired outcome
• An interview with the Internal Topcoder Team will be required
• When the volume of work requires it, we post Copilot requirements on the Topcoder portal
• Onboarding and training

Copilots are a big part of the team at Topcoder, and a crucial resource to get work done. Thanks to everyone who has ever been or currently are copilots – we couldn’t do this without you!