Full-Time
Ad Sales Lead
West
Duolingo
1,001-5,000 employees
Language learning app with gamified lessons
Compensation Overview
$140k - $210k/yr
Seattle, WA, USA
In Person
 Sales & Account Management (1) |
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- At least 8 years of direct digital advertising sales experience, with a consistent track record of hunting, closing, and renewing in premium mobile or consumer application environments.
- Experience selling video and native/custom advertising formats and structuring innovative agreements with top-tier advertisers and agencies.
- Ability to engage senior decision-makers while building collateral, troubleshooting issues, and personally driving revenue.
- Strong understanding of advertising technology and mobile application ecosystems, with the ability to use data to assess performance and inform pricing and packaging.
- Strong communication and presentation skills, with comfort operating amid ambiguity at high velocity.
- Own West Coast revenue targets and forecasting; build a healthy, predictable pipeline across named accounts and agency groups, and deliver against quarterly goals.
- Develop and execute the regional go-to-market strategy, including territory design, vertical focus, pricing and packaging inputs, and coverage plans as the organization scales.
- Hire, coach, and lead a small team of sellers over time; establish operating rhythms, deal reviews, and customer relationship management hygiene standards that improve forecast accuracy and execution.
- Build and deepen senior relationships at brands and agencies; open new logos and expand strategic accounts with commercial narratives that map Duolingo’s design, intellectual property, and native formats to client objectives.
- Lead complex deals end-to-end, from prospecting and positioning through negotiation, close, renewal, and expansion, while partnering with Account Management and Advertising Operations for delivery.
- Share actionable market feedback with sales and product leadership to inform pricing, packaging, measurement, and advertising experiences while protecting the learner experience.
- Build repeatable sales motions, outreach cadences, and team practices that scale from 0 to 1 and 1 to N.
- Established relationships across West Coast brand and agency decision-makers.
- Experience introducing or scaling a new advertising product from 0 to 1 within a publisher or platform environment.
- Experience shaping regional go-to-market strategy, sales processes, or coverage models beyond an individual book of business.
- Familiarity partnering with Account Management and Advertising Operations on native/custom programs and live-campaign storytelling to drive renewals.
- Vertical expertise in Entertainment, Gaming, Streaming, or Technology that accelerates early traction.
Duolingo creates an online language learning platform that offers bite-sized, gamified lessons. It uses a freemium model: core features are free with in-app advertisements, while a premium subscription unlocks an ad-free experience and additional features. The app works by presenting short lessons that reinforce language skills through interactive exercises and rewards, designed to keep users engaged and learning daily. Compared with competitors, Duolingo leverages a very large global user base and a well-known brand, highlighted by being the most downloaded education app in App Store history and a leading education app by revenue in 2019, along with a visible emphasis on workplace culture. Its overarching goal is to make high-quality education universally accessible to people around the world.
Company Size
1,001-5,000
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Founded
2011
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- August 5, 2026 revenue rose 18% to $298.5 million, beating expectations.
- Video Call costs fell from 30 cents to under one cent through open-source models.
- Management raised 2026 adjusted EBITDA margin guidance to 26.5% after stronger gross-margin performance.
What critics are saying
- August 5, 2026 Q3 bookings guidance of $307 million trails faster user growth.
- March 2026 securities investigations followed February 27 warnings about slower earnings and narrower margins.
- Speak, Memrise, and AI roleplay apps commoditize language practice and weaken Duolingo's moat by 2028.
What makes Duolingo unique
- Duolingo owns the strongest language-learning habit loop, powered by streaks and gamification.
- August 13, 2026 Animade acquisition deepens Duolingo's motion-design and product-storytelling advantage.
- Q2 2026 reached 58.7 million DAUs and 12.7 million paid subscribers, unmatched in edtech.
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Benefits
Medical, dental, and vision for employees as well as eligible partners and dependents
Mental health benefits such as therapy sessions and coaching to support you to be your best self
Fertility benefits to support your family planning journey
Fully paid parental and adoption leave
Fully paid subscription to Care.com and paid backup days for dependents and your fur family
401(k) with generous match and immediate vesting
20 days of PTO, with two additional weeks off for winter break
Yearly professional development stipend
Transportation reimbursement for however you get to work
Lunch prepared daily by our in-house chefs
Annual international retreat for all full-time employees
On-site gym and massages
On-site game/break room
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 1%1 year growth
↓ -1%2 year growth
↓ -3%Duolingo shares have risen 22.1% over the past three months, driven by improved engagement and reduced AI costs. Second-quarter daily active users increased 23% year-over-year to 58.7 million, while paid subscribers grew 17% to 12.7 million. The cost of Duolingo's Video Call feature dropped from 30 cents to less than one cent per call through greater use of open-source models. Management plans to extend the feature to existing Super subscribers later in 2026. However, total bookings grew only 8% in the second quarter to $289.1 million, down from 14% in the first quarter. Research and development expense rose 25%, whilst sales and marketing expense increased 35%. Net income fell 26%. The stock trades at 44.4 times forward 12-month earnings, well above the industry average of 22.2 times.
Award-winning London studio expands Duolingo's creative capabilities to build even more engaging learning experiences PITTSBURGH, Aug. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Duolingo, Inc. (Nasdaq: DUOL), the world's leading mobile learning platform, announced today it has acquired Animade, a London-based
Duolingo acquires London-based animation studio Animade. The acquisition expands Duolingo's creative presence in the UK. M&A 3 hours ago Freelance reporter Global learning platform Duolingo has acquired Animade, a London-based animation and motion design studio. The acquisition expands Duolingo's design studio, strengthening a capability that the firm says has become increasingly important to delivering engaging product experiences and accelerating innovation. Founded in London, Animade creates motion systems, interactive experiences and product storytelling for global technology companies and brands. The team will join Duolingo's design studio, increasing the company's capacity to support product innovation, growth experiments and new creative initiatives across the business. The acquisition also expands Duolingo's creative presence in the UK. "Since day one, Animade has been on a mission to share joy through thoughtful design and animation," said Jen Judd, co-founder of Animade. "I can't think of a more exciting place to continue that mission than at Duolingo. "We've always believed it's the thoughtful moments that leave a lasting impression, and that great design and bringing personality into every pixel can make technology feel more human. We're thrilled to join a company that shares our passion for creativity, craft and building products that genuinely bring people joy." Duolingo's language-learning platform is the top-grossing app in the Education category on both Google Play and the Apple App Store. "Great products aren't defined only by what they do, but by how they make people feel," adds Mig Reyes, head of design at Duolingo. "Motion design has become a core part of how we help learners understand, enjoy and return to Duolingo every day. Animade has built a reputation for exceptional creative craft, and bringing their team into Duolingo is an investment in the people and capabilities that will help us build even better learning experiences." Topics. Bookmark your favorite posts, get daily updates, and enjoy an ad-reduced experience. Season 15 - Episode 7 Producing drugs in outer space - Katie King, BioOrbit. 30:18 mins
Duolingo snaps up UK animation studio Animade. The acquisition brings Animade's motion design and interactive expertise in-house to support product innovation and growth. Mobile learning platform Duolingo has acquired Animade, a London-based animation and motion design studio. Founded in London, Animade has built an international reputation for creating expressive motion systems, interactive experiences, and product storytelling for some of the world's leading technology companies and brands. The team will join Duolingo's Design Studio, increasing the company's capacity to support product innovation, growth experiments, and new creative initiatives across the business. The acquisition also expands Duolingo's creative presence in the UK, reinforcing its continued investment in world-class talent. "Since day one, Animade has been on a mission to share joy through thoughtful design and animation," said Jen Judd, Co-Founder of Animade. "I can't think of a more exciting place to continue that mission than at Duolingo. We've always believed it's the thoughtful moments that leave a lasting impression, and that great design and bringing personality into every pixel can make technology feel more human. We're thrilled to join a company that shares our passion for creativity, craft, and building products that genuinely bring people joy." "Great products aren't defined only by what they do, but by how they make people feel," said Mig Reyes, Head of Design at Duolingo. "Motion design has become a core part of how we help learners understand, enjoy, and return to Duolingo every day. Animade has built a reputation for exceptional creative craft, and bringing their team into Duolingo is an investment in the people and capabilities that will help us build even better learning experiences." Follow the developments in the technology world. What would you like us to deliver to you?
Duolingo has acquired Animade, a London-based animation and motion design studio known for product storytelling and character animation. The acquisition expands Duolingo's Design Studio, strengthening capabilities crucial for delivering engaging learning experiences. "Motion design has become a core part of how we help learners understand, enjoy, and return to Duolingo every day," said Mig Reyes, Duolingo's Head of Design. Animade's team will support product innovation, growth experiments, and creative initiatives across the business. The acquisition also expands Duolingo's creative presence in the UK. As AI accelerates software development, Duolingo believes exceptional human creativity remains a critical differentiator for creating intuitive, delightful experiences that keep learners motivated.