AI Research Intern (PhD)

Duolingo • Pittsburgh, NY

1d

About The Position

Duolingo is hiring a PhD-level AI Research Intern to help develop its education products and improve learning for users around the world. The intern will apply AI methods to large real-world datasets, prototype and evaluate models, and help scale successful solutions. Working with researchers, engineers, and other cross-functional partners, the intern will contribute to product features and research findings, identify problems, assess potential solutions, and implement effective approaches.

The internship is 12 consecutive weeks, with one of two listed date ranges: May 24, 2027–August 13, 2027, or June 14, 2027–September 3, 2027. The intern must be able to relocate to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, or New York, New York. The hourly pay range is $67–$69 USD.

Requirements

• Currently pursuing a PhD in artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, or a related field.
• Expected to graduate by August 2028.
• Contributions to research communities and efforts, including papers at conferences such as ACL, CVPR, EDM, ICML, or NeurIPS.
• A portfolio of impactful work, such as publications, open-source projects, or AI internships.
• Experience implementing AI systems in Python, Java, Scala, or C/C++; experience limited to R or MATLAB does not meet this requirement.
• Creative, interdisciplinary, and entrepreneurial approach to research and development.
• Strong debugging and critical-thinking skills.
• Availability for 12 consecutive weeks during one of the listed internship date ranges.
• Ability to relocate to Pittsburgh, PA, or New York, NY.

Responsibilities

• Apply AI methods to massive real-world datasets.
• Prototype new models, evaluate them through small-scale experiments, and/or productionize solutions at scale.
• Collaborate with researchers, engineers, and other cross-functional teammates to build product features and/or publish state-of-the-art findings.
• Solve ambitious problems using appropriate tools and methods.
• Bring ideas to life in Duolingo's products through cross-functional collaboration.
• Identify problems, prototype solutions, evaluate their return on investment, and implement the best solution at scale to improve learners' lives.

Benefits

• Language learning opportunities
• Catered in-house lunches, with breakfast and dinner options
• Company-wide hackathon
• PTO and company holidays
• Frequent company-wide dinners, monthly celebrations, and social clubs

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree