The Duolingo app launched in 2012 and has since become the most popular way to learn a language and one of the most downloaded education apps in the world. Around 2009-2010, after selling his second company to Google, the founder Luis and his Ph.D. student Severin Hacker had an idea. Why not use tech to democratise education?
Luis secured $3 million in seed funding in 2012. In 2021, Duolingo went public and now has offices in Pittsburgh, China, Berlin, New York and counts 600+ employees.
They always hire accross product, design, engineering roles. And more recently, they intensified AI-related hiring as it is essential to the app's core functionalities. Duolingo has a mission to make education free and accessible to everyone around the globe. You're ready to join them?
Duolingo Hiring Locations
Most of the recruitment happens at Pittsburgh. Duolingo remains one of the few big techs that keeps offices and doubles down on on-site work.
Duolingo's home office is in Pittsburgh, PA, and the vast majority of the company works here. They have additional locations in Beijing, China; Berlin, Germany; New York, NY; and Seattle, WA. Pittsburgh is where new graduates and interns are located.
Duolingo Interview Process: Interactive Interviews
Duolingo's team review applications and reach out to selected candidates for next steps. During the interview process, you will speak with people from various backgrounds and levels. The final interview step is a half-day or full-day interview, where you will get to interact with people across various roles and functions within the company.
Interviews are interactive and include tasks relevant to your role (ex. pair programming for engineers, design exercises for designers usually with Figma). The interviews are designed to focus on hearing candidatesโ reactions and reflections rather than looking for moments to trick them. Goal is not to stress you out, and they ensure their goal is to make candidate's confortable.
If you're still unsure of how you should approach the interview process, I recommend you give a read to Figma's hiring process for designers (including portfolio reviews, and design critiques). It will help approaching interviews with a structured approach.
Duolingo's Company Culture
They operate around two key values:ย caringย andย quirkiness. Every aspect of the environment is designed to reflect these values, ensuring that the team, referred to affectionately as "Duos", feels a sense of belonging and engagement with the mission.
Theย work environmentย nurtures your need for work-life balance through generous time off policies and a commitment to preventing employee burnout. Withย 20 days of PTO, unlimited sick time, and additional company holidays, you can count on having time to recharge.
Teamwork is valued as well and it's not just about collaboration on projects; it's about bringing together people who care deeply about their craft. For example, Taylor Burgess and Megan Barker from the Design Team share an intern's work on designing new characters for the app. That's quite obvious how much they value the craft. This is what makes the app so great to use.
Duolingo's Internship Program
Talking about what Taylor And Megan wrote about character design, this was part of an internship Taylor participated in. In a current job market where finding junior design roles is (really!) difficult, it is key to put forward all initiatives to integrate entry-level product designers.
For example, the Duolingo Thrive Program is an immersive 10-week summer internship program that provides second-year students from communities underrepresented in tech the opportunity to develop their technical skills and experience what itโs like to work at Duolingo. Each Thrive Intern gets to conquer new challenges and help develop better language education for learners around the world.
You will learn more here if interested.
AI Jobs at Duolingo
โPivot your team immediately-this is going to transform education."
This is what Duolingoโs CEO said when he got early access to GPT-4, and tried it out before (almost) anyone else. He booked a meeting with his Principal PM, and brainstormed the newly shipped feature: a learning experience powered by AI to practice conversation skills.
Duolingo Maxโs Lead Engineer mentioned how it changed their engineering process internally. "The features weโve put together have come out faster than they would have before GPT-4.โ.
AI is an integral part of how Duolingo is built, and thus how the teams are hired. For example, they've recently built an AI-Platform team and look for Senior AI Research Engineers.
Conclusion
If you're looking for an exciting creative career in a friendly and vibrant environment, Duolingo could be the perfect fit for you. With a focus on caring, quirkiness, and individuality, Duolingo offers a unique workplace culture that fosters personal and professional growth. The diverse range of job opportunities, including AI roles, provides room for growth. It is one of these companies that we should keep a close eye on, they are just starting. You will find their product design jobs listed on WoodyJobs.com.
FAQs
How hard is it to get hired at Duolingo?
Getting hired at Duolingo is a competitive process, as the company looks for exceptional talent to join their team. However, Duolingo values individuality, caring, and quirkiness, which means that showcasing your unique qualities and demonstrating genuine care can greatly enhance your chances of standing out during the hiring process.
Is Duolingo a good company to work for?
Employees at Duolingo have reported positive experiences, with the company receiving an overall rating of 4.3 out of 5 based on over 173 reviews on Glassdoor. The work environment is as inclusive, and employees mention enjoying great peers and a good work-life balance.
what does duolingo's hiring process for a product design role
Duolingo's hiring process for a product design role typically involves an initial phone interview with one of the in-house recruiters, followed by a video interview with the hiring manager. This is then followed by a virtual "onsite" with several components, which may include design exercises, portfolio presentations, and interviews with cross-functional team members.
Does Duolingo hire linguists?
Yes, Duolingo hires Learning Designers who are language enthusiast and educator with a strong background in linguistics, languages, language typology, and language teaching.
