Director, People Business Partner

Our mission at Duolingo is to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available. It’s a big mission, and that’s where you come in!

At Duolingo, you’ll join a team that cares about educating our users, experimenting with big ideas, making fact-based decisions, and finding innovative solutions to complex problems. You’ll have limitless learning opportunities and daily collaborations with world-class minds — while doing work that’s both meaningful and fun.

Join our life-changing mission to develop education for our half a billion (and growing!) learners around the world.

Read our blog to learn more.

About the role...

We’re looking for a Director, People Business Partner to serve as a trusted advisor to senior leaders and a driver of organizational excellence. In this role, you will shape and execute forward-looking talent strategies that enable business performance, scale leadership capability, and strengthen organizational health. You’ll partner closely with function heads to translate company strategy into clear talent priorities, lead org design and change initiatives, and elevate team effectiveness across Duolingo.

This role reports to the Head of Talent Management and Rewards and plays a critical role in integrating talent strategy, leadership development, and rewards philosophy. You will ensure our people systems, leadership capabilities, and organizational design evolve at Duolingo’s pace with clarity, rigor, and impact.

🧠 You will...

• Establish and build credibility with senior leaders, enabling you to translate business strategy into talent, organizational design, and workforce plans that accelerate execution and increase velocity.
  


• Lead data-informed org architecture and change initiatives, ensuring thoughtful, compliant execution aligned with operating principles.


• Coach leaders through high-stakes people matters, performance management, and team health challenges while driving consistent, fair talent practices.


• Own and drive the annual talent cadence (talent reviews, performance cycles, rewards inputs) in partnership with Talent Management & Rewards to strengthen talent density and organizational clarity.


• Leverage people insights and data to assess organizational health, recommend targeted actions, and measure impact over time.


• Partner cross-functionally across Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, DEIB, and People Operations to align programs with business context, anticipate risk, advise on policy and employment matters, and contribute to evolving the People Business Partner operating model.

✅ You have...

• 10+ years of progressive HRBP/People Business Partner experience, advising senior executives and leading org-level initiatives in fast-paced, high-growth environments.


• Strategic problem solver with strong business acumen able to structure ambiguous challenges, synthesize data and context, and translate insights into clear, actionable recommendations.


• Trusted advisor and executive coach with depth in org design, change management, performance management, talent strategy, and manager effectiveness, applying consistency, fairness, and sound judgment.


• Execution-focused leader who drives complex, cross-functional initiatives from concept to delivery with clear milestones, strong stakeholder alignment, and measurable impact.


• Systems thinker who understands organizational interdependencies and designs scalable, sustainable solutions grounded in how the business truly operates.


• Resilient, growth-oriented collaborator who thrives in high-expectation environments, communicates with clarity and discretion, and brings energy, ownership, and continuous improvement to the work, with the ability to work from or relocate to an office hub.