Senior Gameplay Programmer

Programmer - Programming - London, United Kingdom

Job Title

Job Title Senior Gameplay Programmer

Job Description

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 finding innovative solutions to complex technical problems, running countless experiments (300+ at a time!) with our massive user base to make data-driven decisions, and educating our users and employees alike. You’ll have limitless learning opportunities, mentorship and collaboration with world-class minds, and a variety of projects with large scopes — while doing work that’s both fun and meaningful.

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

Come join our Music team and help us build the future of music education. We are looking for a Senior gameplay programmer with Unity background to help us implement our new music course. You will help build the best possible user experience for our learners through high‑quality interactive lessons.

• Implement the new music course within the Duolingo app using embedded Unity.
• Productionize the existing prototype, turning it into robust, release‑ready code.
• Work embedded within the Duolingo app architecture to ensure seamless integration of Unity.
• Collaborate with designers and product partners to refine the look and feel, ensuring a high‑quality, gamified user experience.
• Proactively identify issues and opportunities to improve the learner experience.
• Engage in rapid prototyping to test new music mechanics and interaction models.
• Ensure technical mistakes or inconsistencies are fixed as quickly as possible.

• Strong experience with Unity development (C#), specifically for mobile platforms (iOS/Android).
• Background in the gaming industry with a portfolio demonstrating high‑quality game feel and polish.
• Sharp UX instincts and experience implementing complex UI/UX designs.
• Strong business sense, with proven experience working effectively with multi‑functional team members (e.g. engineers, product, and design).
• Thrives in a fast‑paced, data‑driven, team‑oriented environment.
• Strong interest in Duolingo and our mission.

• Experience embedding Unity as a library (UaaL) into native mobile applications.
• Background in music, music theory, or audio programming.
• Experience in web/mobile localization workflows and tools.
• Familiarity with mobile gaming, with an understanding of game mechanics.