INTERNSHIP DETAILS

AI Research Intern (PhD)

CompanyDuolingo
LocationPittsburgh
Work ModeOn Site
PostedNovember 6, 2026
Internship Information
Core Responsibilities
You will apply AI methods to massive real-world datasets and prototype new models to solve complex educational problems. You will also collaborate with cross-functional teams to evaluate and implement scalable solutions that improve the product.
Internship Type
full time
Salary Range
$67 - $69
Company Size
3273
Visa Sponsorship
No
Language
English
Working Hours
40 hours
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About The Company
Duolingo is the most downloaded education app in the history of the App Store. Our mission is to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available. Learning a new language is hard, but staying motivated is often the hardest part. That’s why we use fun, bite-sized, game-like lessons designed to keep you engaged and to drive real learning outcomes. Our approach is grounded in efficacy: we continuously test and improve our methods to ensure learners make meaningful progress. We also believe in democratizing education by offering an effective, high-quality free product. Developing a great free product is essential to our mission, ensuring that anyone with a smartphone can access learning that works. When it comes to utilizing AI tools, we have a golden rule: we use it when it clearly improves outcomes for learners. We don’t use it as a shortcut or a replacement for people, but as a tool to enhance learning experiences and efficacy. Duolingo has been named to: Fast Company’s Most Innovative Education Company (2026, 2022), Apple Design Award (2023), TIME100 Most Influential Companies (2023), Fast Company Best Workplaces for Innovators (2022), among others.
About the Role

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.


🧠  You Will...

  • Apply AI methods to massive real-world datasets
  • Prototype new models, evaluate with small scale experiments, and/or productionize solutions at scale
  • Work with a cross-functional team of world class researchers, engineers, and others to build new product features and/or publish state-of-the-art findings
  • 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

 

✅  You Have...

  • Pursuing a PhD in artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, or related field
  • Graduation expected by August 2028
  • Contributions to research communities and efforts, including publishing papers at conferences such as ACL, CVPR, EDM, ICML, NeurIPS, etc.
  • A portfolio of impactful work, in the form of (for example) publications, open-source projects, or AI internships
  • Experience implementing AI systems in Python, Java, Scala, or C/C++ (i.e., not just R or MATLAB)
  • A creative, interdisciplinary, and entrepreneurial approach to R&D
  • Strong debugging and critical thinking skills
  • 12 week consecutive availability
    • May 24, 2027 - August 13, 2027
    •  June 14, 2027 - September 3, 2027
  • Ability to relocate to Pittsburgh, PA or New York, NY

 

⭐  What you can expect...

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

 


Connect with your recruiter on the benefits for interns at Duolingo!

Hourly Range for this internship is:
$67—$69 USD

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

Job Alerts: Sign up for job alerts 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 accommodations@duolingo.com.

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.

Fraud Warning: Unfortunately, there is a rise in scammers pretending to be real Duolingo employees. Duolingo and our employees will never ask for your Social Security number, bank details, or passport info, and we’ll never ask you to deposit a check, purchase equipment, or exchange money during the interview process. Real Duolingo employees always use an email that ends in @duolingo.com or @recruiting.duolingo.com. Stay alert and double-check these details before sharing any information.

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

Key Skills
Artificial intelligenceMachine learningNatural language processingPythonJavaScalaC++DebuggingCritical thinkingResearchData analysisPrototypingModel evaluationCross-functional collaborationEntrepreneurial approach
Categories
TechnologyScience & ResearchEngineeringEducationData & Analytics
Benefits
Language learning opportunitiesCatered in-house lunchesBreakfast and dinner optionsCompany-wide HackathonPaid time offCompany holidaysCompany-wide dinnersMonthly celebrationsSocial clubs