4. Our Roles

Roles

What is this?

Roles define how owners can contribute to Smartup Zero. Below are the role definitions and open slots.

tc_leadership_team (3_1)

Type: team_captain
Status: active
Recruitment:

Skills Required:
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SC Potential (weekly):

Description:

tc_design (3_2)

Type: team_captain
Status: active
Recruitment: OPEN

Skills Required: Crisis/Emergency UX Design, Accessibility-First Design, Offline-First Application Design, Design Systems, Information Architecture, Rapid Prototyping, Team Leadership, Design Critique Facilitation, Stakeholder Communication, Figma, Design Documentation, User Research Methods
Commitment: 40+ hrs/week
SC Potential (weekly): 500

Description: As Design Team Captain for ONLIFE, you'll guide the creation of an emergency mesh network interface that works when internet, power, and cellular networks don't. This isn't another chat app - it's a survival tool that must be instantly intuitive for someone in crisis, whether they're coordinating hurricane relief or finding family after an earthquake. You'll lead a distributed team in reimagining what emergency communication looks like: How do you design for panic? How do you convey network topology to non-technical users? How do you make peer-to-peer mesh networking as simple as sending a text? This role is perfect for a design leader who believes technology should serve humanity's most critical moments. You'll work transparently (all design decisions are public), collaboratively (no hierarchy, only expertise), and purposefully (every pixel could save a life). You'll shape not just an app, but a new model for how design teams can work - with collective ownership, radical transparency, and scientific rigor.

tc_developer (3_3)

Type: team_captain
Status: active
Recruitment: OPEN

Skills Required: Must,Mobile development experience (Android/Kotlin OR iOS/Swift - ideally both),

Shipped at least one production mobile app, Experience leading or mentoring developers, Strong architecture thinking (modular systems, clean interfaces), Security awareness (encryption, secure storage, zero-trust thinking),

Strong advantage, Cross-platform framework experience (Flutter, React Native, KMM), Networking/protocol implementation experience, P2P or mesh networking knowledge, Plugin/SDK architecture experience, Open source collaboration experience,

Bonus, Experience with Wi-Fi direct, AP/STA concurrency or similar, Disaster response tech or humanitarian tech background, Previous startup or greenfield project experience
Commitment: 40+ hrs/week
SC Potential (weekly): 1000

**Description:** The Mission

You're not just building an app. You're building Onlife - the first "browser" for a new kind of network. A network that works when everything else fails. When cell towers are down, when the internet is gone, when people need to coordinate in a crisis.

The Science Team defines the protocol. The Design Team defines the experience. You make it real.

Your job in Validation Phase isn't to write code alone. It's to build a team that can figure out the best way to implement the Onlife protocol as a cross-platform mobile app. Android AND iOS. From prototype to market-ready MVP.

Description Lead the development of Onlife browser - the first application for the Onlife mesh network.

As Development Team Captain, you will:

In Validation Phase (now → ~6 months):

Build your team: define roles, review applications, onboard developers Make foundational architecture decisions (native vs cross-platform, modular structure) Coordinate with Science Team to understand protocol implementation requirements Coordinate with Design Team on UI/UX constraints and possibilities Create initial development roadmap and task breakdown Establish code quality standards, testing requirements, documentation practices

In Design Phase:

Lead prototype development implementing the Onlife protocol Work with Design Team to validate UX concepts against technical constraints Iterate on architecture based on learnings from prototype Grow the team as needed for Production

In Production Phase:

Lead MVP development for market launch Manage cross-platform delivery (Android + iOS) Ensure security implementation (E2E encryption, secure storage) Coordinate with Ops Team on deployment and release processes

What you're building:

Protocol Service layer (implementing Onlife mesh protocol) Plugin Framework (SDK for crisis-specific tools) Card-based interaction system (Groups, Hands, Stages) Cross-platform mobile app (Android 12+, iOS)

What Makes This Role Unique 1. Greenfield architecture You're not maintaining legacy code. You're making foundational decisions that will shape how this app works for years. Native or cross-platform? Monolith or modular? These are YOUR calls.

1. Real humanitarian impact This isn't another social media app. Deckpack is designed to save lives when infrastructure fails. Emergency coordination, family reunification, resource sharing - in the moments that matter most.

2. Novel technical challenge Implementing a mesh protocol on unrooted smartphones using AP/STA concurrency. Building a plugin SDK for crisis tools. This is the kind of problem that doesn't exist in most job descriptions.

3. Build your own team You're not inheriting a team. You'll define the roles, review the applications, shape the culture. Your team, your way.

4. Meta-contribution By working in Smartup, you're also helping prove that collective ownership works. Your experience will shape how future Smartups operate.

Key Questions You'll Answer

Native or Cross-Platform?

Kotlin/Swift for performance and hardware access? Flutter/React Native for faster cross-platform delivery? Kotlin Multiplatform for shared logic? How to sandbox plugins securely?

What can plugins access? How do we prevent malicious plugins? How do users grant permissions? How to handle protocol edge cases?

What happens when the protocol spec doesn't cover a scenario? How do we test mesh behavior without 75 devices? How to ship both platforms?

Same team or split teams? Shared codebase or parallel implementations? Which platform first for MVP?

tc_business (3_4)

Type: team_captain
Status: active
Recruitment:

Skills Required:
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Description:

tc_media (3_5)

Type: team_captain
Status: active
Recruitment:

Skills Required:
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tc_science (3_6)

Type: team_captain
Status: active
Recruitment:

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Description:

tc_operational (3_7)

Type: team_captain
Status: active
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Skills Required:
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Description:

Senior App Developer (3_3)

Type: senior
Status: active
Recruitment: OPEN

Skills Required: Kotlin, Android 12+, networking fundamentals (Wi-Fi/Bluetooth), mobile app architecture, Git, ability to read C++ for protocol integration
Commitment: 20-40 hrs/week
SC Potential (weekly): 750

Description: Lead the development of the ONLIFE emergency mesh app. Architect the integration between the mesh protocol layer (from Science Team) and the Android application. Own the Plugin Framework design, establish coding patterns, and mentor junior developers. Make critical technical decisions about app architecture, data flow (Groups, Cards, Manifest), and performance under stress conditions.

Junior App Developer (3_3)

Type: junior
Status: active
Recruitment: OPEN

Skills Required: Basic Kotlin or Java, Android fundamentals, Git, eagerness to learn networking concepts
Commitment: 10-20 hrs/week
SC Potential (weekly): 100

Description: Support the development of the ONLIFE app under guidance of the Senior Developer. Learn mesh protocol concepts, implement features following established patterns, write tests, review PRs, and document the codebase. Build understanding of emergency tech principles and mobile development best practices.

Senior Android Developer (3_3)

Type: senior
Status: active
Recruitment: OPEN

Skills Required: Kotlin, Java, go,
Commitment: 40+ hrs/week
SC Potential (weekly): 500

Description: Design, build, test the Onlife Android app so it can handle the new Onlife protocol.

Junior Android Developer (3_3)

Type: junior
Status: active
Recruitment: OPEN

Skills Required: Basic programming knowledge, Willingness to learn
Commitment: 10-20 hrs/week
SC Potential (weekly): 100

Description: Learn android skills needed for the Onlife app development, testing and maintenance.