Duolingo · 2 months ago
Director of Learning Design, Language Learning
Pittsburgh, PA
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
$190K/yr - $284K/yr
10+ years expDuolingo is on a mission to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available. As the Director of Learning Design for Language Learning, you will set the pedagogical vision and execution strategy for language-learning experiences, leading a team of learning designers to enhance curriculum quality and innovation on a global scale.
E-LearningEducationLanguage LearningMobile Apps
Responsibilities
Ship effective learning at scale: partner with Product, Design, and Engineering to translate pedagogy into fun and motivating in‑app experiences that build listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills
Lead and develop a world‑class team of learning designers, leveling up their craft, velocity, and effectiveness
Drive an experiment‑led practice: help design outcome‑focused A/B tests, align on success metrics (e.g., CEFR-aligned progress, retention, speaking/writing gains), and assist with analyzing learning and engagement impact
Establish content quality systems (guidelines, rubrics, review workflows) that ensure linguistic accuracy, difficulty calibration, and a high-quality bar across language courses
Lead through example by using AI to improve your craft, and encouraging your team to do the same
Explore the future of language teaching: develop and validate roadmaps for new skills, modes, and curricula that extend Duolingo’s impact
Qualification
Required
Depth in language learning design: extensive experience (typically 10+ years) designing language curricula or consumer learning products, with proven impact at scale
People leadership: 5+ years leading multi‑disciplinary teams; experience managing managers and establishing high‑bar standards
Product sense: an instinct for creating simple, delightful, and intuitive user experiences
Operational rigor: proficiency in large-scale content operations, QA processes, and tooling to maintain quality across many languages, ideally including experience with human‑in‑the‑loop AI workflows
Outstanding communication: clear, kind, and persuasive across audiences, including executive and cross‑functional
Preferred
Graduate degree in Applied Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, TESOL, Linguistics, Learning Science, Cognitive Science, HCI, or a relevant language field; familiarity with proficiency frameworks (e.g., CEFR, ACTFL) and assessment
A track record of partnering with product, design, and engineering to ship lovable, effective features on mobile
Benefits
Equity compensation
World-class benefits
Company
Duolingo
Duolingo is a language-learning education platform that offers 98 total courses across nearly 40 distinct languages.
501-1000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Duolingo has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (41)
2024 (46)
2023 (36)
2022 (19)
2021 (14)
2020 (17)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$183.3MKey Investors
General AtlanticCapitalGDrive Capital
2021-07-28IPO
2020-11-18Series H· $35M
2020-04-14Series G· $10M
Leadership Team
Luis von Ahn
CEO, co-Founder & Board Member
Severin Hacker
CTO & Cofounder
Recent News
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2026-01-13
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