AI Research Engineer, New PhD Graduate

Duolingo; New York (NY); On-site; USD 138,000 - 186,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Catered in-house meals

Company-wide Hackathon

PTO & holidays

Social clubs & dinners

Monthly celebrations

Job summary

Duolingo in New York, NY is seeking a PhD-level researcher to tackle ambitious AI challenges in education and to collaborate across teams to bring ideas to life for millions of learners.

You have a PhD in computer science (or related field) or expect to by August 2027, plus a portfolio of impactful work. Relocation to New York, NY or Pittsburgh, PA is required; base salary ranges from $137,700 to $186,300 plus equity.

Qualifications

• Strong debugging and critical thinking skills.
• A portfolio of impactful work (e.g., 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.

Responsibilities

• 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 ROI, and implement the best solution at scale.

Skills

Debugging

Critical thinking

Interdisciplinary

Entrepreneurial mindset

Education

Ph.D. in Computer Science or related field

Job description

Our mission at Duolingo is to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available. It’s a big mission, and that’s where you come in!

At Duolingo, you’ll join a team that cares about educating our users, experimenting with big ideas, making fact‑based decisions, and finding innovative solutions to complex problems. You’ll have limitless learning opportunities and daily collaborations with world‑class minds — while doing work that’s both meaningful and fun.

Join our life‑changing mission to develop education for our half a billion (and growing!) learners around the world.

Read our blog to learn more.

About The Role

You will

• 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

You have

• You have an Ph.D. in computer science or related technical field (or expect to by August 2027)
• 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!

The offered salary is dependent upon several factors, including work experience, skills, and internal peer comparisons. The posted range is subject to change in the future. For this role, base salary is supplemented by equity compensation. We encourage you to talk with your recruiter for more information related to compensation for this role!

Salary Range $137,700—$186,300 USD

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

Accommodations: 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 [e-mail].

Equal Employment Opportunity: 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.

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