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Salary: USD 236,800 - 355,200 / annual
Duolingo is seeking a Senior Director of Performance Marketing to lead the global paid user acquisition strategy across 100+ markets and multiple product lines (language, chess, and math). This is a leadership role with full ownership of strategy, budget, and team.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead and develop a team of performance marketers, including managers, establishing high standards for craft, rigor, and accountability
- Own the global paid acquisition budget and portfolio across major channels (Google, Apple Search Ads, Meta, TikTok, AppLovin, DSPs, and China platforms), making strategic decisions about scaling, holding, or reducing spend based on efficiency metrics
- Establish measurement standards for the team including incrementality testing, saturation modeling, and LTV/ROI frameworks that align with Finance
- Translate channel performance into annual and in-year investment plans and present them to executive leadership
- Build scalable creative production combining agency, user-generated content, creator partnerships, and in-house work with rapid testing infrastructure
- Manage agency and ad tech partners, holding them accountable to goals, pacing, and quality standards
- Coordinate spend flexing with organic calendar events including product launches, seasonal trends, and viral moments in partnership with Social, Brand, and Country Marketing teams
- Collaborate closely with Marketing Analytics, Finance, Product, Engineering, and Creative teams
About Duolingo:
Duolingo's mission is to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available. The company serves over half a billion learners globally and emphasizes experimentation, fact-based decision-making, and innovative problem-solving.
Requirements:
- 12+ years in performance marketing or paid user acquisition, including 5+ years leading teams with managers reporting to you
- Track record of owning a large, multichannel mobile acquisition budget at a top subscription or high-engagement consumer app
- Deep experience building and defending incrementality tests, saturation analysis, and LTV/ROAS models (not just reporting on them)
- Judgment and integrity to recommend cutting spend when returns don't support continued investment
- Fluency with mobile attribution including MMPs, SKAN, and privacy-constrained measurement
- Experience partnering with Product and Engineering on measurement infrastructure, attribution systems, onboarding/landing experiences for paid users, and tests connecting acquisition to retention
- Clear, fast written communication skills across channel tactics and executive/board-level ROI discussions
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience running user acquisition in China or other walled garden ecosystems
- Experience scaling creator or UGC programs alongside performance creative
- Experience managing acquisition across multiple products or apps
- Passion for Duolingo's educational mission
Note: Portfolio submission is mandatory for consideration.
