Amazing culture. Hopefully that stays - Software Engineer Duolingo Employee Review

5.0
Mar 20, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Great culture and emphasis on collaboration/having fun - Made several life long friends here - Post IPO stock gains were great while they lasted - CEO is smart and still in 'founder mode' - It's fun to work on problems in education for a brand that people love

Cons

- Comp is 80% of what you would get at Google or Facebook. The company is relying on its feel-good mission/stock growth to make up for the remaining 20%. The recent stock price crash has made this worse - HR had better act soon before best talent leaves. - We're hiring more people, but the scope of work for each person seems to be getting smaller over time. - Pittsburgh is a great city to live in but limits your career opportunities if you want to switch companies

Explore other reviews about Duolingo

5.0
May 21, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Mission, smart and kind people, great work, hard working teams focused on results and delivering against an awesome mission. People push themselves and each other to learn and grow. Swarms of smart and creative problem solvers.

Cons

Small number of people are unhappy and instead of leaving they complain. A lot. I think it's like this everywhere but in a smaller company you feel it.

2.0
Jun 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good culture, great product, strong sense of ownership at all levels

Cons

Senior leadership has not found their rhythm. CEO calls pretty much all the shots. Engineering leadership is often invisible and lacks a cohesive tech strategy. Tech debt runs incredibly hot at this company and it often takes a major outage (did I mention CEO frequently joins the war rooms?) to get anything prioritized.

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