Duolingo

There’s a lot of tough news in the world right now about the the job market. Big hugs to anyone affected by layoffs. 💚 For anyone job searching, we have 40 open roles. We are grateful that we have a stable  business and are able to continue hiring in this economy, given everything going on. Here's where we're at: - We haven’t done layoffs to date. - The majority of our open roles are not backfills, they’re new additions. - We have a ~90% annual employee retention rate. We care about doing right by our people and our learners, which means we take the long-view in order to build a company that outlasts us. We have roles open in Pittsburgh, New York City, Seattle, London, Detroit, and, Beijing. Check them out here: https://lnkd.in/eQDRZGeV

🎃 Welcome to the Haunted House for Software Engineers! Step inside… if you dare. 👻 💀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝘆𝗽𝘁 Ancient Java files lurking around every corner of this crypt. Proceed with caution.  Touching even a single line awakens ten failing tests you didn’t know existed.  🔥 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗯𝘆𝘀𝘀 A glowing “Deploy to Production” button beckons from across the room. You must press it to enter the next room, but the clock reads 4 p.m. on a Friday.  🗝️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗗𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗻 Shelves stacked high with cursed packages, half deprecated, half beta. Each npm install hums like a summoning ritual.  👻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 At the end of the hall sits an old computer glowing with a single open issue: “App crashes on Android KitKat when Bluetooth is off and the moon is full.” You try to reproduce it. The lights flicker. The stack trace grows longer. The room grows colder. 🕷️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗜/𝗖𝗗 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗯𝘀 A twisting corridor of flickering pipeline lights. One turns green, another turns red. You advance three rooms, only to watch the first turn red again. The sign that once said “EXIT” now says “BUILD FAILED.” Happy spooky season, engineers. May your deploys be stable and your tests green. 💚

DIY Halloween costumes truly bring out the dichotomy of Duo! We’ve seen some great homages to our green owl. Two examples:  • This dude showing up as Buff Duo • A middle schooler making their own full-size Duo costume What will you dress up as? Drop it in the comments!

Sending an open invite to the world to join the most important Duolingo all-hands of the year. You guessed it - RSVP to stream our annual Halloween Puppy Parade right here on our LinkedIn page on Thursday, October 30th at 12p EST. If you love dogs, you will NOT want to miss this! 

Don’t forget to join our hosts Sarah Murtha & Dale Hess for a livestream of our annual Halloween puppy parade today at 12p EST!!

💀🎃⚰️ Welcome to the Product Manager Haunted House where PMs' worst nightmares come true… You wake up and your metric is 📉 down 30%... Then your CEO sends a 🕷️bug report with no subject line… Right after someone calls you a project manager. 😱 All of the sudden, every feature in the backlog becomes “top priority” ‼️ At the same time, you realize the design file doesn’t match what’s in production, …and now it’s 2:00 AM on a Saturday and you get THAT text from the Head of Product: “Why aren’t we doing this right now?” 🫣   👻 PMs: what else would haunt you? Drop your scariest work nightmare below. 👇

Taking notes is a necessary evil for most people, but maybe not for everyone. We want to know: how do you take notes in meetings??? ✍️ Pen and paper forever. Call me medieval but I retain more than everyone else ⌨️ Typing! I’m way faster that way 🧠 I take notes…in my brain Vote below 👇

Hey designers - we’ve gathered some of the best reads and resources to expand your perspectives and keep your design muscles sharp. Here are a few of our Design team’s favorites: • It's Nice That (with a special shoutout to Elizabeth Goodspeed!) • The Subtext • Design Principles • Booooooom • EYECANDY • Ami Vora's Substack • Design Spells • Creative Confidence by Tom Kelley & David Kelley • Design is Storytelling by Ellen Lupton • Do / Improvise by Robert Poynton • The Shape of Design by Frank Chimero • Writing is Designing by Michael Metts & Andy Welfle ✏️ • The Noble Approach by Maurice Noble • Dive Club Podcast • but does it float Thanks to Mary van Ogtrop, Yixin Duan, Collin Leix, Ian Sigmon, Eddy Nieto, Nick Parente, Pedro C., & Mig Reyes for sharing what inspires you! What other books, blogs, or sources of inspiration spark your creativity? Drop your favorites below ⬇️

Curious how our anime series came together? Yeah, we made an anime series! Working with animation studio Titmouse led to some unexpected (and unforgettable) creative collaboration… Here’s a peek behind the scenes at some of the most fun moments. All 5 episodes are available on our YouTube channel, and spoiler alert: we finally get to hear what Duo sounds like. 👀 Link’s in the comments!

Duolingo’s New York Theatre Club has seen 6 shows this year, all on Daddy Duo’s dime. Yes, Duos (Duolingo employees) get a budget of $100 each month to see shows or participate in any club they want! Social clubs are one of our most unique employee benefits at Duolingo. We have 175 clubs across six offices, including Tattoos & Piercings Club, Sauna Club, Line Dancing Club, and even Nails Club. These are run by Duos (our employees), and they foster an inclusive space for each Duo to make social connections at work. To become a member of our clubs, apply to Duolingo: https://lnkd.in/euDDApW9