Colegul face cunoștință cu echipa de proiect.

It is a fixed Romanian expression meaning to meet someone for the first time or to get acquainted with someone.

Literally, it looks something like makes acquaintance with, so English speakers should learn it as a whole chunk:

• a face cunoștință cu cineva = to make someone’s acquaintance / to meet someone

So in this sentence, face is not being used with its usual basic meaning of does/makes in a literal way. The whole phrase functions idiomatically.

Because a face cunoștință cu is a fixed expression, and in this expression Romanian normally uses the singular cunoștință.

That can feel strange to English speakers, because English usually says make acquaintances only in special contexts, and much more often just says meet. But Romanian idiomatically says:

• face cunoștință cu = meets / gets acquainted with

Also, cunoștință is a word with several related meanings depending on context, including acquaintance and sometimes knowledge. In this sentence, it is part of the idiom, so you should not try to translate it word by word.

Because Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun, not as a separate word before it.

So:

• coleg = colleague
• colegul = the colleague

and

• echipă = team
• echipa = the team

This is one of the biggest differences from English. Instead of a separate word like the, Romanian often uses a suffix:

• masculine singular often takes -ul
• feminine singular often takes -a

So Colegul means the colleague, and echipa means the team.

Face is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb a face = to do / to make.

Here is the relevant pattern:

• a face = to do / to make
• eu fac = I do
• el/ea face = he/she does

Since colegul is a singular subject, the verb must also be singular:

• Colegul face... = The colleague does / makes...

In this sentence, though, remember that face is part of the fixed expression face cunoștință cu.

Cu means with.

In this expression, the person or group you are getting acquainted with comes after cu:

• face cunoștință cu echipa = gets acquainted with the team

So the structure is:

• [subject] + face cunoștință + cu + [person/group]

De proiect means something like for the project or project- as a noun modifier. So echipa de proiect means the project team.

Romanian often uses de + noun where English uses a noun directly before another noun:

• project team in English
• echipă de proiect in Romanian

With the definite article:

• echipa de proiect = the project team

So de proiect describes what kind of team it is.

Because in echipa de proiect, the part de proiect works like a label or category: project team.

Romanian often leaves the second noun bare in this kind of structure:

• manager de proiect = project manager
• echipă de proiect = project team

The definiteness is already carried by echipa, so the whole phrase is understood as the project team.

If you tried to make proiect definite here, it would usually create a different structure or a different nuance.

Grammatically, yes: colegul is masculine singular, so it normally refers to a male colleague.

The feminine form would be:

• colega = the female colleague

So:

• Colegul face cunoștință cu echipa de proiect. = The male colleague is meeting the project team.
• Colega face cunoștință cu echipa de proiect. = The female colleague is meeting the project team.

It is a very natural way to say meet when the meaning is meet for the first time or be introduced to.

That is important, because Romanian can use different verbs depending on the situation:

• a face cunoștință cu = to meet for the first time / get acquainted with
• a se întâlni cu = to meet up with / have a meeting with / encounter

So this sentence suggests first introduction, not just a regular meeting.

Yes, Romanian word order is more flexible than English word order. But the sentence you have is the most neutral and straightforward order:

• Colegul face cunoștință cu echipa de proiect.

That is:

• subject + verb + complement

Romanian can move things around for emphasis, but the basic version is best for learners. If you change the order, the sentence may sound more marked, literary, or context-dependent.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

• cu-noș-TIN-ță

A few key sounds:

• ș sounds like sh in ship
• ț sounds like ts in cats
• ă sounds like a short neutral vowel, similar to the a in about

So cunoștință sounds roughly like koo-nosh-TEEN-tsuh, though that is only an approximation.

It is best to learn it as one unit.

If you translate each word separately, it may seem odd. But if you store it as a chunk, it becomes much easier to use:

• a face cunoștință cu cineva = to meet someone / get acquainted with someone

That is often the best strategy with idiomatic Romanian expressions: learn the whole pattern, not just the individual words.