Duolingo

Reflections on one month working for a giant green owl (and some great human leaders too). TLDR: It’s fun. I haven’t met Duo (yet). As an employee, I feel like a stakeholder not a foot soldier. Engagement and belonging – Duolingo is full of kind people and the culture prioritizes belonging. My new employee survey effectively asked me, “How was your first day of school? Did you make new friends?” I for one love that. Mission – returning to work for a mission-based organization has been incredibly motivating and meaningful. It also lessens my tech industry imposter syndrome. Really smart people are doing amazing things that I may never comprehend on a granular level, but we’re all doing the same thing: developing the best education in the world and make it universally available. Speaking of mission, I specifically work for the Duolingo English Test. Ask me about it! I'll wax poetic for days about how it's creating more equitable access to eduction across the world. SLT – incredibly generous with their time. All of my on-boarding sessions (for a cohort of THREE people) were led by senior leaders. Moreover, they’re incredibly transparent and humble. Between unscripted Q&A’s and wild slack channels, they’re just as quick to share lessons learned as they are big wins and milestones. Slack first culture – seeking best practices on slack management, it’s a big adjustment for me. I feel like I’m playing whack-a-mole. Ship it – my favorite operating principle; it’s very empowering. Somewhere between "insist on the highest standards" and "move fast and break things" is ship it. Try it. Learn from it. Scale is wild - when I was laid off at AWS, I was one of 9,000 people. That’s 12 Duolingos. Yet Duolingo still feels big compared to my time in the NPO industry. Nosh culture – I'm going to need to develop some will power STAT. I should not have this much unimpeded access to pain au chocolat. Also, I eat lunch now. And not even at my desk.

Go the extra mile. It’ll supercharge your hiring. It’s story time. I was working a Senior Data Scientist role for a client. On my first call with the candidate who went on to eventually be hired (who I will keep anonymous for her sake), she mentioned how important work/life balance was. She’s a mother and spending time with her kids was at the top of her priority list. Interviews? She blew them all out of the water. Fast forward to the end of the interview process, my client was ready to extend an offer. So I connected with my candidate to discuss her thoughts. She had another company in process but this opportunity was her top choice. But she still had some reluctance. She wanted to be certain her work/life balance would allow for more than enough time with her kids. Previous experience made classic false claims saying everything was sunshine and rainbows, so she had her guard up - rightfully so. So I connected with my client and we discussed how to give her the reassurance she needed. We came up with the idea to have her meet with some other mothers at the company so she could hear first hand what the work/life balance was like for them. We got the calls set up. And………. It was exactly what she needed. The lingering worries were stopped dead in their tracks. She accepted. She’s still there 2 years later and has been promoted to manager. My client was Duolingo. Want to shout them out for doing RIGHT by their current and future employees. Moral of the story: Go the extra mile when it’s necessary. Not only will it help get the right people in the door… They also won’t want to leave.

Have you ever realized in real time that, in this moment, your life would change forever? Today was that moment for me. I’m so overjoyed to finally share that I’ve joined Duolingo as a Senior Product Designer 🎉 Joining this world-class team is deeply meaningful to me in many ways: 💚 Language learning is at the root of my origins. When he moved to The US at 18, my father learned English by reading the dictionary, translating the works of his favorite rock bands, and desperately seeking out patient strangers with whom he could practice. Learning a foreign language completely transformed his life, paving the way for economic opportunities that would solidify his life in this country. 💚 Language learning has been my gateway to exploring the world. I was lucky enough to grow up bilingual, which gave me access to connecting with my immediate and extended family. But beyond this, I’ve been a continuous lifelong learner of languages: from Spanish to German to French, my love of languages is an extension of my love of travel and exploring foreign cultures, many of which, I’ve recognized, thrive on Duolingo. 💚 Language learning deeply resonates with my personal goal of empowering folks to feel seen and reach their fullest potential. During my #layoff, when traveling South America, my tour guide (accompanied by her Spanish-speaking mother) shared that she learned English on Duolingo. I was amazed that this product empowered her financial freedom, creating a family business that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible. Then she told me she’d recently taken Duo’s English exam, which would allow her to realize her actual dream of becoming a sommelier. Her mother, like my own, was restricted by language barriers, but was beaming at her daughter. I knew that look of inter-generational pride well. Some communications transcend language. I signed my offer the next day. I’m beyond honored and grateful to be working on such a noble mission: connecting the world by making language education as fun and accessible as possible. I’ve experienced the power of these connections my whole life. I hope you have, or will, too. Time to get this streak started! 🦉💚 #newjob #careerchange #productdesign #designcommunity #Duolingo #OnlyAtDuolingo

👇 Was catching up with Jocelyn S. Lai at Duolingo last week and they have multiple exciting TA roles open — including Head of TA & TA Ops Specialist!👇 https://lnkd.in/gvR7yT4d Duolingo’s business is doing super well, so they’re looking to grow the team. They have 70 (!!!) open roles right now, including engineering & product across all their offices. On a more personal level, we’ve been partnering with the Duolingo team at Gem for almost 4 years now, and I’m a huge fan of their company and mission. Coming from a family of teachers (mom, dad, grandparents, uncles, and aunts), I have a special spot in my heart for companies like Duolingo that are making a real impact in education. Great opportunity, great business, great mission, and Jocelyn S. Lai has built a really great team. Plus, you’ll get to use Gem of course ;) Help me get the word out and tag anyone you think could be a great fit! #hiring #techjobs #partners