---
title: "How We Enable Our Interns to Make an Impact"
description: "Shopify describes an internship model in which interns work on projects affecting merchants, partners, and developers, including merchant pain points such as selling across channels. The program combines autonomy comparable to that of full-time employees with mentorship, regular pair programming, unfamiliar challenges, and cross-team collaboration. Examples include launching the Amazon Channel, changing an Android app design pattern across multiple codebases while limiting effects on third-party developers, backfilling affiliate data with Elasticsearch and Ruby on Rails, and generating Java and Swift models from a strongly typed GraphQL schema. Interns are encouraged to investigate open-ended problems, consult documentation and stakeholders, and develop informed recommendations with mentor support. Returning interns can change teams or roles, while tools such as Slack enable direct communication across the organization; the stated result is practical experience, deeper technical knowledge, and potential full-time opportunities."
---

# How We Enable Our Interns to Make an Impact

[Shopify](https://yomu.fyi/company/shopify) · Toni Akinwumi · Nov 1, 2017

**Type:** Explainer

## Summary

Shopify describes an internship model in which interns work on projects affecting merchants, partners, and developers, including merchant pain points such as selling across channels. The program combines autonomy comparable to that of full-time employees with mentorship, regular pair programming, unfamiliar challenges, and cross-team collaboration. Examples include launching the Amazon Channel, changing an Android app design pattern across multiple codebases while limiting effects on third-party developers, backfilling affiliate data with Elasticsearch and Ruby on Rails, and generating Java and Swift models from a strongly typed GraphQL schema. Interns are encouraged to investigate open-ended problems, consult documentation and stakeholders, and develop informed recommendations with mentor support. Returning interns can change teams or roles, while tools such as Slack enable direct communication across the organization; the stated result is practical experience, deeper technical knowledge, and potential full-time opportunities.

## Context

The post explains how Shopify structures internships around meaningful project work and four recurring themes: autonomy, mentorship, new challenges, and cross-collaboration. Intern examples show how this model applies across mobile, partnerships, API, and trust-related work.

## Approach / What changed

Interns receive autonomy similar to full-time employees, work with assigned mentors through regular pairing, and can pursue unfamiliar projects or move between teams and roles. They are expected to investigate problems, use internal documentation and online resources, consult stakeholders, and collaborate through systems such as Slack.

## Takeaways

- Interns may receive open-ended technical problems that span multiple codebases and affect third-party developers, requiring stakeholder discussions and a transition plan.
- Mentors supplement intern autonomy through regular pair programming, shared project work, additional resources, and alternative perspectives when documentation and independent research are insufficient.
- Returning interns can switch teams or roles, such as moving from iOS development to API work involving GraphQL-based generation of Java and Swift models.

## FAQ

### How do interns balance autonomy with support when they encounter unfamiliar work?

They are given autonomy comparable to full-time employees and are encouraged to investigate problems independently. Assigned mentors provide pairing, project collaboration, resources, and different perspectives when interns need clarification.

### Can returning interns change their technical focus?

Yes. Returning interns can move to a different team or take on a different role, and one example describes a developer moving from iOS work to API development on the same mobile team.

### What kinds of projects do interns work on?

Examples include launching the Amazon Channel, improving Android app design patterns, backfilling affiliate data with Elasticsearch and Ruby on Rails, generating Java and Swift models from GraphQL schemas, and improving privacy-compliance detection.

**Tags:** [Mentorship](https://yomu.fyi/topic/mentorship), [Teamwork](https://yomu.fyi/topic/teamwork)

- Source: [Shopify](https://shopify.engineering/intern-blog-post)
- Source URL: https://shopify.engineering/intern-blog-post
- Ingested by Yomu: 2026-09-17T14:13:08.933Z

[Read original post](https://shopify.engineering/intern-blog-post)