AI Research Engineer, New PhD Graduate

Duolingo; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 138,000 - 186,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity compensation

PTO and holidays

Company-wide Hackathon

Catered meals

Job summary

Duolingo is seeking a Research Scientist to tackle ambitious problems across our product, applying the right tools and collaborating with cross-functional teams. You will identify challenges, prototype solutions, and evaluate ROI before scaling implementations to help millions of learners daily.

A PhD in CS or related field or expected by Aug 2027, plus a strong portfolio, is required. You must be able to relocate to Pittsburgh, PA or New York, NY and bring a creative, interdisciplinary R&D

Qualifications

• PhD in CS or related technical field, or expected by Aug 2027.
• Portfolio of impactful work (publications, open-source projects, or AI internships).
• Ability to relocate to Pittsburgh, PA or New York, NY.
• Creative, interdisciplinary, and entrepreneurial approach to R&D.
• Strong debugging and critical thinking skills.

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 their ROI, and implement the best solution at scale to improve learners' lives.
• Share your findings both within Duolingo and to the broader research community.

Skills

Portfolio of work

Debugging

Critical thinking

Relocation ability

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.

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