Duolingo's Winning Data Strategy with Bilal Zia, Head of Data Science and Analytics

Data Driven Leadership

Most people know Duolingo as the fun language app with the green owl, but behind the scenes, it’s a data science team using AI and analytics to transform how we learn.

In this episode, Jess Carter sits down with Bilal Zia, head of data science and analytics at Duolingo, to discuss what it takes to lead with data within one of the world’s most popular edtech platforms.

Bilal shares how his team builds trust through accurate forecasting and why embedding data scientists into cross-functional teams has changed how Duolingo operates. Drawing on his past roles at the World Bank and Amazon, he reflects on the mindset shift required to move fast without sacrificing rigor and how AI helps them achieve new possibilities while maintaining a focus on the human experience at the heart of learning.

In this episode, you will learn:

• How to structure data teams to increase influence

• Why fast-growing companies need different data strategies

• How to build trust through data accuracy

Things to listen for:(00:00) Introduction to the episode with Bilal Zia (02:58) Why intrinsic motivation guided Bilal’s career (06:12) How Bilal turned a struggling data team into a high-performing one (08:15) Adapting data strategy to the S-curve model (11:39) The moment Bilal’s team earned leadership’s trust with a single forecast (16:57) What happens when data scientists are treated like product leaders (20:21) Tracking fluency and learner progress in the app (27:40) A look at the AI tools helping Duolingo move faster without losing control