Who You Are

• You’re currently enrolled in a PhD program in computer science, economics, mathematics, the social sciences, or a related field. Exceptional master’s and undergraduate students will also be considered.
• You’re passionate about decentralized systems and have enough foundational knowledge to hit the ground running.
• You communicate clearly and can explain complex ideas in simple terms, making research accessible to a broader audience.
• You have a clear research vision and the drive to pursue innovative ideas aligned with Category Labs’ mission.
• You’re collaborative, self-motivated, and adaptable, eager to tackle hard problems and pick up new concepts quickly in a fast-paced environment.

Why Work with Us

• Challenging problems: You’ll work on extremely challenging problems with massive impact. See our Blogs and Publications & Talks for a flavor of the problems we are solving in the real world.
• Huge opportunity: The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) standard is ubiquitous, but existing EVM-compatible chains are very slow. Monad’s core innovations offer developers the best of both worlds (portability and performance) and are a game-changer for mass user adoption in crypto.
• The right team: You’ll be part of a small, exceptional team (engineers and researchers make up 90% of the team).
• Open by default: Our core software is public on GitHub.
• Culture: We’re a lean team working together to achieve very ambitious goals. We are united in our culture of collaboration, low ego, and high-quality output. As an early member of our team, you’ll help to shape our culture.
• Compensation: You’ll receive competitive pay, plus housing support.
• Resources and growth: We’re well-capitalized, with backing from leading venture funds like Paradigm, Electric Capital, Greenoaks, Dragonfly, and Coinbase Ventures. We keep a lean team, and this is a rare opportunity to join. You’ll learn a lot and grow as our company scales.

How We Use AI

We’re an AI-native team, and we expect researchers to use AI and adapt to the technology as it evolves. A few things we believe:

• AI is leverage, not a crutch. You must stand behind the correctness and quality of your work (including writing and presentation) even if it was produced with the help of AI.
• As part of the research process, you must understand the output from AI before sharing it with your collaborators. Any output that you were not able to review must be marked as such.

Internship Details

• The internship runs roughly 12 weeks, between May 17 and August 30.
• Residency in New York City is strongly preferred but not required.
• The anticipated rate for this role is $4,500 per week, plus a $500 per week housing stipend or corporate housing. Pay may vary based on experience and scope.

Application and timeline

Please include, in addition to the application below:

• Resume/CV
• Letters of recommendation (1-2 letters, optional but recommended).Recommenders should email their letters of support to [email protected] with the "[name of the applicant], Research Intern 2027" in the subject line.

• For full consideration, please submit applications by December 7, 2026.

Visa & Work Authorization

• We welcome international applicants and will consider visa and work authorization support on a case-by-case basis. Please note your current status and location in your application so we can discuss options early.