Staff Technical Program Manager

EngineersOfAI; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Duolingo is seeking a Staff-level TPM/Engineering Lead to drive strategic cross-functional initiatives within the Duolingo English Test (DET) domain. You will translate complex regulatory and business requirements into durable technical plans, partnering across engineering, product, data science, legal, and security teams.

You will operate with significant autonomy, shaping multi-workstream strategies, and elevating DET program planning, communication, and delivery while guiding others on

Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science or equivalent degree or experience.
• Experience communicating technical issues to diverse partners.
• Ability to build detailed plans in an agile environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery of strategic, high-impact cross-functional initiatives from concept to launch.
• Lead complex technical programs within the DET domain with cross-functional partners to translate requirements into plans and execution.
• Operate with autonomy at Staff level, guiding multiple workstreams and elevating DET program planning and delivery.
• Collaborate with engineering, QA, product management, and executives to ensure alignment and cross-team collaboration.
• Develop detailed plans with milestones, identify risks, manage dependencies, and ensure timely launches.
• Identify issues impacting delivery efficiency and resolve them with leadership collaboration.
• Make critical tradeoff decisions and model analytical problem solving under pressure.
• Guide and train teams on standard processes and scaling guidelines across functions.

Skills

TPM experience

Engineering leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic planning

Agile experience

Communication skills

Leadership in matrix

Relocation to Pittsburgh

Self-direction

Startup mindset

Education

CS degree or equivalent

Tools

AWS

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 finding innovative solutions to complex technical problems, running countless experiments (300+ at a time!) with our massive user base to make data-driven decisions, and educating our users and employees alike. You'll have limitless learning opportunities, mentorship and collaboration with world-class minds, and a variety of projects with large scopes - while doing work that is both fun and meaningful.

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

You will...

• Lead the delivery of strategic, high-impact cross-functional initiatives from conceptualization to launch
• Lead complex, high-stakes technical programs within the Duolingo English Test (DET) domain, partnering with engineering, product, data science, legal, security, and external stakeholders to translate regulatory, compliance, and business requirements into clear technical plans and durable execution.
• Operate at the Staff level with significant autonomy, driving strategy across multiple workstreams, providing steady leadership through ambiguity and external scrutiny, and upleveling how DET programs are planned, communicated, and delivered.
• Partner with functions across the company - such as engineering, QA, product management, and executive leadership to ensure communication and alignment across teams and to further collaboration across functions
• Leverage deep technical expertise to develop detailed plans with key milestones and goals, identify and mitigate risks, solve for dependencies, remove impediments, and ensure timely and smooth project launches
• Identify issues impacting delivery efficiency company-wide and quickly take action to resolve them, working collaboratively with leadership and other relevant partners
• Drive decisions when difficult tradeoffs must be made, including those with cross-organizational or company-level impact; serve as role model for navigating problems with analytical approach and calming demeanor
• Guide and train others on standard processes, scaling guidelines across teams, and improving how product and engineering organizations operate, even when you're not involved day to day.

You have...

• Strong experience as TPM, Engineering Lead, or Manager
• B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science or equivalent degree or experience
• Experience working on commercial software products and their underlying infrastructure, with an understanding of client-service architecture
• Consistent track record of communicating technical issues effectively to technical and non-technical partners at different levels of the organization
• Proven ability to build and implement detailed plans accounting for ambiguity, dependencies, and technical complexity in an agile environment
• Flexibility to adjust plans based on new information without losing a beat and while keeping morale high
• Outstanding leadership and influence in a matrix environment, including influencing senior leaders without direct authority
• Ability to operate effectively even with only high-level direction, setting strategy and direction across multiple teams or workstreams
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, start-up environment
• Demonstrated self-direction, with a desire both to learn new techniques and guide others
• Ability to relocate to Pittsburgh, PA

Exceptional candidates will have...

• Experience with software engineering, systems engineering, or similar experience, in addition to project/program management experience
• Deep experience with AWS
• Experience working with teams and technical projects distributed across the globe
• Experience running projects that include machine learning and large datasets
• Experience articulating business questions and using available data to find a