Senior Software Engineer, Backend

Who you are

You have 5+ years of backend engineering experience, building scalable production systems that serve millions of users. You’ve owned services from design through deployment and have a knack for debugging complex distributed systems issues. Your expertise in Java and Spring is deep — you've shipped high-throughput APIs that handle significant traffic and have strong opinions on service architecture, dependency injection, and testing strategies. You thrive in collaborative environments, working closely with cross-functional teams to deliver impactful features. You are data-driven and enjoy running experiments to inform your decisions, ensuring that your work aligns with user needs and company goals. You are passionate about education and are excited to contribute to a mission that makes learning accessible to everyone.

Desirable

Experience with PostgreSQL is a plus, as is familiarity with cloud services like AWS. If you have worked on educational technology or similar domains, that would be beneficial. You are comfortable with agile methodologies and have a history of iterating quickly based on user feedback and experimental results.

What you'll do

As a Senior Backend Engineer at Duolingo, you will join the Chess team, where you will shape core product experiences by improving gameplay and creating engaging, high-quality course content. You will develop social features that enhance user interactions, owning projects from end-to-end and iterating quickly based on experiments. You will collaborate with product managers, designers, and other engineers to define and implement new features that align with our educational mission. Your role will involve designing and optimizing APIs, ensuring they are robust and scalable to handle our growing user base. You will also participate in code reviews, mentor junior engineers, and contribute to the overall technical direction of the team. Your work will directly impact the learning experiences of millions of users around the world.

What we offer

At Duolingo, you will find a culture that values innovation and collaboration. We provide limitless learning opportunities and mentorship from world-class minds in the industry. You will be part of a team that is dedicated to making education universally available, and your contributions will help shape the future of learning. We offer competitive compensation and benefits, along with a flexible work environment that supports your professional growth. Join us in our mission to develop the best education in the world and make it accessible to everyone.