Frequently asked questions
What does Duolingo look for in university hires?
We search all around the world for the best software engineers, product managers, designers, and other talented people who are passionate about our mission and want to use their expertise to change the world for the better.
What is working at Duolingo like?
We work together in small, cross-functional teams to change the world, one word at a time. Our team of kind, thoughtful humans includes software engineers, product managers, designers, language scientists, business strategists, marketers, content creators, writers, and researchers.
We believe in making language learning available to everyone. That means we have to continuously make Duolingo better, especially as we grow worldwide. We A/B test and measure everything to ensure we’re constantly making Duolingo better. Talent development is also important to us: in addition to learning on a daily basis from your teammates, you will be paired with a mentor who will help you learn and grow in your career at Duolingo. You’ll get real results from your work and learn what it takes to ship features that perform well for language learners.
Where is Duolingo’s office located?
Our home office is in Pittsburgh, PA, and the vast majority of the company works here. We have additional offices in Beijing, China; Berlin, Germany; New York, NY; and Seattle, WA. Pittsburgh is where our new graduates and interns are located, except for a few new graduates in our Beijing office!
Do I have to speak more than one language to work at Duolingo?
Not at all! Duolingo, however, is a great place to pick up new language skills. We speak over 30 languages fluently within our office, and many Duos are bilingual and polyglots.
When will I hear back from a recruiter?
If we choose to move forward with you, you’ll typically hear back within three weeks of submitting your application.
What is the interview process?
Our teams review the (many!) applications we receive and will reach out to selected candidates for next steps. During the interview process, you will have the chance to speak with people from various backgrounds and levels. Our 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.
Our interviews are interactive and typically include tasks relevant to your role (ex. pair programming for engineers, funnel analysis for product managers, design exercises for designers). Some of our engineering interviews utilize CodePair. (You can learn more about engineering interviews at Duolingo here.) Our design sense interview utilizes Figma.
The interview are designed to focus on hearing our candidates’ reactions and reflections rather than looking for moments to trick them. We know interviews can be stressful, so we do our best to make candidates feel welcome and comfortable at every step of the process
During COVID-19, all interviews are currently conducted remotely via Zoom. For certain interviews, screen sharing may be involved.
Visit the Duolingo blog to learn about our team, our mission, and the process behind bringing our work to the world. You can also learn about Design at Duolingo here.
How can I learn more about Duolingo?