AI Insights
Duolingo

AI Research Engineer, New PhD Graduate

Duolingo · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
full-timejunior (0-2 yrs)Posted 231d ago
Software EngineeringIC2ICOn-site
StackMachine LearningArtificial IntelligencePythonResearchNatural Language ProcessingDeep LearningPrototypingAlgorithm DesignData AnalysisOpen-Source Development

Summary

Entry-level AI Research Engineer role at Duolingo for new or soon-to-be PhD graduates, focused on applying cutting-edge AI/ML research to improve language learning for hundreds of millions of users. Based in Pittsburgh, PA or New York, NY with relocation required.

About the role

Our mission at Duolingo is to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available. But we’ve got more left to do — and that’s where you come in!

Duolingo is the world's most popular learning app. Beyond our core learning product, we also offer English proficiency testing with the Duolingo English Test, and are bringing new subjects into the Duolingo app, where people can develop their Math and Music skills.

We are passionate about educating our users, making fact-based decisions, and finding innovative solutions to complex problems. We offer meaningful work, limitless learning opportunities, and collaboration with world-class minds. Come brighten your life and over half a billion more!


  What you’ll do...

  • Solve our most ambitious problems with the right tool for the task
  • Collaborate cross-functionally to bring your ideas to life in the product
  • Identify problems, prototype solutions, evaluate their return on investment, and then implement the best solution at scale to improve the lives of our millions of learners each day
  • Share your findings both within Duolingo as well as to the broader research community

 

 What we’re looking for…

  • You have an Ph.D. in computer science or related technical field (or expect to by August 2026)
  • A portfolio of impactful work, in the form of (for example) publications, open-source projects, or AI internships
  • Ability to relocate to Pittsburgh, PA or New York, NY
  • A creative, interdisciplinary, and entrepreneurial approach to R&D
  • Strong debugging and critical thinking skills

 

 Why you’ll love working here…

  • Language learning opportunities
  • Catered in-house lunches and breakfast
  • Company-wide Hackathon
  • PTO and company holidays
  • Frequent company-wide dinners, monthly celebrations, social clubs, and so much more!

 


We post a multi-level salary range for all of our roles.

This is not inclusive of the rest of our awesome portfolio that includes equity compensation and world-class benefits. Our salary ranges are the same for all US locations. Your recruiter can share more details about the range for a specific level during the hiring process. The actual salary within the range is determined by many factors including but not limited to, skills, experience, education, and internal equity.

Salary Range:
$131,800$178,300 USD

Take a peek at how we care for our employees' holistic well-being with our benefits here.

We will do everything we can within reason to make sure that your interview takes place in an environment that fairly and accurately assesses your skills. If you need assistance or accommodation, please contact [email protected].

Duolingo is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

By applying for this position your data will be processed as per the Duolingo Applicant Privacy Notice.

Sign up for job alerts here.

What you'll do

1Solve ambitious AI/ML problems using the most appropriate tools and techniques
2Collaborate cross-functionally to bring research ideas into the product
3Identify problems, prototype solutions, and evaluate their return on investment
4Implement the best solution at scale to improve learning outcomes for millions of users
5Share research findings within Duolingo and to the broader research community via publications or talks

Requirements

PhD in Computer Science or related technical field (completed or expected by August 2026)
Demonstrated portfolio of impactful AI/ML work (publications, open-source projects, or AI internships)
Strong debugging and critical thinking skills applicable to research and production environments
Ability to prototype, evaluate ROI, and implement solutions at scale
Cross-functional collaboration and communication skills to share findings internally and externally

Nice to have

Large Language Models
Reinforcement Learning
EdTech Domain Knowledge
Scientific Writing
A/B Testing
Statistical Analysis

Role overview

Role family
Software Engineering
Level
IC2 — ml_ai
Experience
0–2 years
Type
Individual Contributor
Remote policy
On-site
Visa sponsorship
Not offered

Tech stack analysis

LANGUAGES
Python
FRAMEWORKS
PyTorchTensorFlowJAX
TOOLS
GitJupyter Notebooks

Green flags

5 items
Salary range is explicitly disclosed ($131,800–$178,300 USD), including a note that it is the same across all US locations.transparency

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Benefits breakdown

HEALTH & WELLNESS
World-class benefits package (details linked externally)

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Hiring insights

JD quality
6/10
Urgency
medium
Autonomy
high
Team size
small (2-5)

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Red flags

PRO4 items
Relocation to Pittsburgh, PA or New York, NY is required — no remote option available, which limits candidate pool and personal flexibility.requirements

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Interview insights

PRO
Rounds
5
Duration
4 wks
Difficulty
hard
Take-home
Yes

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Career path

PRO
Next roles
Senior AI Research EngineerSenior ML EngineerApplied Scientist

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About the company

Duolingo is the world's most popular language learning platform with over 100 million monthly active users studying 40+ languages. Its AI-powered, gamified approach has made language education accessible to hundreds of millions of people. Duolingo also offers the Duolingo English Test, accepted by 5,000+ institutions worldwide.

HQPittsburgh, PA, USA
Interview difficultyhard
Build vs Maintainbuild
Cross-functionalYes