Intern Spotlight: Fabian Bayona – From Curious Newcomer to Agent Orchestration Specialist

Some internships hand you a checklist. Others hand you a front-row seat to the hardest problems the team is working on — and trust you to help solve them.

Fabian Bayona's four months at Yolando have been the latter.

As a Computer Science student heading into his final year of university, Fabian joined Yolando as a co-op intern expecting to get some practical experience. What he got was a deep dive into agent orchestration, hands-on time with the evaluation framework powering Yolando's AI systems, and a team culture that surprised him so much he compared it to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory — the "golden ticket" he didn't know he was signing up for.

This is what that four-month experience looked like:

More Than Any Classroom: Real-World Engineering at Pace

When Fabian reflects on his co-op, his first comparison isn't to another internship — it's to his university coursework.

"I've been telling everyone since probably the first month that here I'm learning more than I've ever learned in any course at the university. The real-life experience is way different than any course, because here you actually use what you need for the industry."

Classroom fundamentals matter. But applying them to production systems — with real users on the other end — is a different kind of learning. Fabian was surrounded by engineers who cared about their craft, and he found himself absorbing not just how to code properly, but what it feels like to work alongside people who love what they do.

"I gained a deeper understanding of what it means to be on a team that actually enjoys what they're doing. Being surrounded by that kind of energy leads you to work better, to work harder. It's not like other places where it's five o'clock and people are already running home."

Inside the Agent Harness: Deep AI Work

Ask Fabian about his favorite project and he doesn't hesitate: the agent harness and the evaluation framework.

"It really gave me an understanding of how the agents work behind the scenes. It's not just how to create agents, but how we can improve them — so they think better, they perform faster, with reduced tokens."

For Fabian, this wasn't just another task. It was a chance to understand one of the most important layers of modern software — the AI systems that power nearly every product being built today.

"Nowadays almost every software uses AI, so understanding how they work properly is a way to have a much better understanding of how many apps work. That's pretty interesting, especially in these times."

Ramping Up on a Big Codebase

Fabian was honest about where the work stretched him most at the beginning.

"The biggest challenge was the first week, trying to get used to the pace of Yolando and trying to understand the full codebase, because it's big. There's a lot going on."

The challenge didn't last long — not because the problem got easier, but because the team made it easier to tackle.

"Any question I had, they would sit with me for an hour, for 30 minutes, without any problem, and just explain what was going on. Thankfully, because everybody was so supportive, I quickly adapted to the company and the codebase."

A Team That Chases What's New

When asked what surprised him most about Yolando, Fabian's answer came quickly: the team's appetite for innovation.

"How willing the team is to innovate, and how good they are at adapting to emerging AI technologies. Every time there's something new going on, everybody talks about it. Everybody tries to see — okay, how can we implement this at Yolando?"

He pointed to Kevin as an example — digging into MCP and Claude Code's source map to look for ways to improve the agent harness.

"In some places, people don't really care. They're given a task, they do it, and that's it. Here, they really go beyond and try to do things better."

That culture rubbed off. By the end of his term, Fabian wasn't just tracking new models and tools because he had to — he was doing it because he wanted to.

"After hearing everybody talk about the new model by Anthropic, or some new open source thing, that made me more intrigued to research it myself, get into forums where they talk about these new trends, and try to implement it in my own projects — personal projects and here too."

Orchestrating Agents: The Skill That Stuck

The technical takeaway Fabian keeps coming back to is agent orchestration — designing workflows where agents communicate with each other, talk to customers, and produce efficient outcomes.

"The biggest skill I gained here was really how to orchestrate agents, how to make them work efficiently, create workflows so they can talk to each other and to customers through AI chatbots. And also how they work under the scenes, as I mentioned with the agent harness."

That skill is exactly where he wants to head next.

The Moment It Clicked: Hearing About Sales

When asked when he first felt like part of the team, Fabian pointed to one specific moment each week: hearing Matt, Yolando's CEO, talk about sales.

"When Matt talks about sales and how the product is performing, that really makes me feel like I'm doing something for somebody. Not just behind the computer writing some code, but actually part of a team that's helping people — helping companies get better SEO and GEO solutions. Matt especially made me feel very much part of this team."

That's the kind of connection that turns a job into a mission — seeing how the code you write translates into revenue, into happy customers, into a product that's working in the market.

A Family Vibe That's Hard to Replicate

Ask Fabian what he'll miss most, and he doesn't point to a project or a tool. He points to the people.

"What I'll miss the most is definitely everyone here — the work environment, the vibes. I never felt any kind of bad tensions. It was kind of a family. Everybody's a friend of everyone. Going to coffee shops to talk about the latest trends, what else to add to the product."

He contrasted it with his previous co-ops, where coworkers barely knew each other's names.

"Here, everybody is really a friend of each other. That's something that will probably take me a while to find somewhere else."

What's Next

Fabian's heading back to university to finish his final year. After graduation, he wants to keep building in the space he discovered at Yolando.

"I could change my career path toward more agentic stuff — probably working on workflows, working on agent orchestration. Helping companies get their ideas into reality, save them time, optimize their workloads, or create internal or external agents like Yolando to do really cool stuff."

The Golden Ticket

We asked Fabian to sum up his time at Yolando with a movie title. After a few options, he landed on the one that stuck:

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I wasn't expecting much, and I ended up with something amazing — like a golden ticket. It gave me one of the best four months of my life, where I learned the most. Even though I'm leaving the company, this experience is more valuable than even the golden ticket."

Thanks, Fabian

Fabian shipped real work on some of Yolando's most technically demanding systems. He leveled up in agent orchestration, absorbed a team culture of curiosity, and left the codebase — and the team — better than he found it.

We couldn't have asked for more from a co-op. We'll miss him. And we can't wait to see what he builds next.

Interested in joining the team? If you're looking for a co-op where you'll own real engineering work, collaborate with people who care deeply about what they're building, and ship production AI systems, reach out at info@yolando.com.

The Full Interview

Below is Fabian's full exit interview with Corey Tinianov, lightly cleaned up for clarity.

Corey: Overall, how would you describe your work term at Yolando?

Fabian: I've been telling everyone since probably the first month that here I'm learning more than I ever did in any course at the university. The real-life experience is way different than any course, because here you actually use what you need for the industry.

It was also a great experience because besides learning how to code properly and how to create agents and harnesses, I gained a deeper understanding of what it means to be on a team that actually enjoys what they're doing. Being surrounded by that kind of energy leads you to work better, to work harder. It's not like other places where it's five o'clock and people are already running home. I've been in those kinds of situations — but here, people actually care about what they're doing, and that made this experience a unique one.

Corey: What's your favorite or most interesting project — or the one you're most proud of?

Fabian: The most interesting one for me was working on the agent harness. I worked on the evaluation framework and on the harness itself. The reason it was interesting is because it really gave me an understanding of how the agents work behind the scenes — not just how to create them, but how to improve them so they think better, perform faster, and use fewer tokens.

That understanding is something that's not only going to help me in my future career, but also just in general, because nowadays almost every software uses AI. Understanding how they work properly is a way to have a much better grasp of how many apps work. That's pretty interesting — especially in these times where everything is AI.

Corey: What advice would you give another co-op student?

Fabian: I'd tell them: don't be shy about proposing any ideas you have. Everybody here is really open to innovation and to new ideas. And who knows — your proposal could be a key part of a future release. That's a very fulfilling feeling, to know that something you worked on is being used by a lot of users.

Also, if you have any question, never hesitate to ask anybody. Everybody's very helpful. And usually what happens is when you ask a question, they don't just give you the answer right away — we start a conversation to really understand what's going on. That'll help you improve the quality of your code and get a better understanding of the product.

Corey: What's the largest challenge you overcame during your time here?

Fabian: The biggest challenge was the first week, trying to get used to the pace of Yolando and understand the full codebase — because it's big. There's a lot going on there. So it was kind of challenging at the beginning. But everybody was very, very helpful. Any question I had, they would sit with me for 30 minutes, an hour, without any problem, and just explain what was going on. Thankfully, because everybody was so supportive, I quickly adapted to the company and the codebase, and that made the experience better.

Corey: What surprised you the most?

Fabian: How willing the team is to innovate, and how good they are at adapting to emerging AI technologies. Every time there's something new going on, everybody talks about it. Everybody tries to see — okay, how can we implement this at Yolando?

For example, Kevin is working with MCP right now, trying to improve the product. Or we'll look at Claude Code's source map to see if we can improve our harness. It's very surprising how passionate they are about what they're doing. In some places, people don't really care — they're given a task, they do it, and that's it. Here, they really go beyond and try to do things better.

Corey: What's one skill you gained here — technical or non-technical?

Fabian: The biggest technical skill I gained was how to orchestrate agents — how to make them work efficiently, create workflows so they can talk to each other and to customers through AI chatbots. And also how they work under the hood, as I mentioned with the agent harness. Understanding how to code that and use it to create efficient agents is something that's going to help me in my career path, definitely.

On the non-technical side, it would be curiosity. Here, after hearing everybody talking about the new model by Anthropic or some new open source tool, it made me more intrigued. I'd research it myself, go into forums where they talk about these new trends, and try to implement them in my own personal projects and here too. That's one of the most valuable things I'm taking away.

Corey: Was there a certain moment when you felt like a part of the team for the first time?

Fabian: I think after every Friday meeting with Matt, our CEO, when he talks about sales and how the product is performing. That really makes me feel like I'm doing something for somebody — not just behind the computer writing some code, but actually part of a team that's helping people, helping companies get better SEO and GEO solutions. Matt especially made me feel very much part of this team. I really appreciate that.

Corey: What do you think you'll miss the most?

Fabian: Definitely everyone here — the work environment, the vibes. I never felt any kind of bad tensions between people. It was kind of a family. Everybody's a friend of everyone. Going to coffee shops to talk about the latest trends, about what else to add to the product — that's something you rarely see in other companies.

In my previous co-ops, people usually just try to do their job, talk to two or three people, and then leave. They don't even know the names of their neighbors in the office. But here, everybody is really a friend of each other. That's something that will probably take me a while to find somewhere else.

Corey: What's next for you after this?

Fabian: I'll go back to university to finish my last year. And after that, who knows — I really like working with agents, so I could change my career path toward more agentic stuff: working on workflows, working on agent orchestration. Helping companies get their ideas into reality, save them time, optimize their workloads, or create internal or external agents — like Yolando — to do really cool stuff.

Corey: If you had a movie title or short phrase to summarize your time here, what would you say?

Fabian: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I wasn't really expecting much, and I ended up with something amazing — like a golden ticket. It pretty much gave me one of the best four months of my life, where I probably learned the most. And even though I'm leaving the company, this experience is more valuable than even a golden ticket.

Corey: That's great. Thank you very much.

Fabian: Thank you.