Carissa Ott

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I build products at the intersection of software engineering and cognitive science — currently shipping iOS and backend at Duolingo.

Carissa Ott

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Duolingo UCLA Bruins Apple iOS
Experience

Where I've worked

Duolingo

Aug 2025 – Present · New York, NY

Software Engineer — iOS & Backend

  • Shipped critical improvements to Stories, increasing retention +0.11% (p < 0.01) and learning metrics +0.12 (p < 0.01).
  • Refactored the iOS Course architecture onto a new API, saving $500,000+ in bandwidth costs.
  • Collaborate with product managers and designers to increase client experience, brainstorming which features to develop.
Swift Backend Product

Duolingo

Jun 2024 – Sep 2024

Software Engineering Intern

  • Implemented and launched the Cross Math game on iOS: a constraint-programming algorithm for accurate puzzle number generation, a backend algorithm for real-time random puzzle shapes, and responsive Swift UI for all iOS devices.
  • Presented the business case for Cross Math to senior leadership, gained CEO approval, and launched to 100+ million users.
Swift Algorithms

Duolingo

Jun 2023 – Aug 2023

Software Engineering Thrive Intern

  • Designed and built Conlang Creator with a team of four interns: a full-stack web app for creating custom languages.
  • Developed language-building features with Python, DynamoDB, and ReactJS — vocabulary, grammar, and an automatic translation algorithm supporting 40+ languages to and from conlangs.
Python ReactJS DynamoDB

Cognixion

Jun 2021 – Sep 2021 · Santa Barbara, CA

Neurotechnology Software Development Intern

  • Developed software for the Cognixion ONE assistive communication BCI headset — adding 500+ colloquial phrases and creating the first non-English language pack of Californian Spanish slang for bilingual users.
Accessibility BCI
Research

Research & involvement

Speech & Cognitive Development Laboratory, UCLA

Jan 2024 – Present

Undergraduate Researcher — Speech Development

  • Developing transformer-based ML algorithms in PyTorch to extract child-directed speech from 300+ twelve-hour audio recordings of 130 children (ages 3–5), generating clinically relevant insights into early language acquisition.

Neural Engineering & Computation (Kao) Lab, UCLA

Mar 2024 – Present

Undergraduate Researcher — NLP & Speech Neuroprosthesis

  • Developing transformer models with self-supervised learning on intracranial neural data to investigate how the brain processes language, toward clinically viable speech neuroprostheses.

BMES Design Team — Vertebrae Rehabilitation Device

Sep 2023 – Sep 2024

Software Team Lead

  • Led the software team building an affordable wearable vertebrae rehabilitation device — real-time feedback, ML models predicting spinal alignment, and an intuitive UI for patients, surgeons, and ergonomic use.

ACM TeachLA, UCLA

Sep 2021 – Apr 2024

Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Director

  • Taught 50+ underserved middle-school students core CS concepts in Python, and hosted allyship spaces promoting diversity and inclusion in CS.
  • Implemented and instructed a 6-week quantum computing course at UCLA with 25+ undergraduate and graduate attendees.
Education

Education

University of California, Los Angeles

Graduated Mar 2025

B.S. Cognitive Science, Specialization in Computer Science · Minor in Data Science Engineering

  • Cumulative GPA: 3.901
Skills

Toolbox

Python Swift Machine Learning Statistics C++ ReactJS Data Science Figma Cookie Baking Expert Poker
Projects

Builds

Shipped products and award-winning builds — mostly where language, learning, and machine learning meet.

Swift Algorithms

Cross Math

A math puzzle game shipped inside the Duolingo iOS app. Built the constraint-programming algorithm for accurate puzzle generation, real-time backend puzzle shapes, and responsive Swift UI — then pitched it to senior leadership and launched to 100M+ users.

📱 Live in Duolingo on iOS
AI Agents Automation

Theramind

AI agent workflow automation for therapists — cutting the administrative load so clinicians can spend their time on patients, not paperwork.

🏆 2nd place, AI Agent Excellence & Innovation Award — Stanford TreeHacks 2025 ($2.5k)
NLP ML

BuzzyBabbl

An NLP and machine learning product for identifying developmental delays in children early, when intervention matters most.

🏆 2nd place, Sigma Eta Pi Create-a-thon Entrepreneurship Pitch Competition 2024
Bioengineering ML

Vertiflex

A soft robotic orthosis for progressive vertebrae rehabilitation — wearable, affordable, with ML-predicted spinal alignment and real-time feedback.

🏆 3rd place, SB3C National Bioengineering Conference ($3k NSF prize) · 1st place, BMES Technical Project Symposium
Python ReactJS

Conlang Creator

A full-stack web app for building your own constructed language — vocabulary, grammar, and automatic translation to and from 40+ real languages.

🌱 Built at Duolingo Thrive
Research output

Research achievements

Publications, posters, and talks.

Publication

Canonical Proportion as a Phonological Index

"Connecting Preschoolers' Spontaneous Speech to Phonological Development: A Longitudinal Cohort Study of Canonical Proportion as a Phonological Index."

🎓 1st author · Poster, LabPhon 20 (Feb 2026)
Publication

Automated Vocal Analysis

"Can automated vocal analysis methods be used to predict speech-language development?" — full paper and poster.

🎓 1st author · Cognitive Science Society Proceedings 2025
Talk

TEDx — "Building a Safer Headspace"

A TED talk on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy — chosen out of 50 applicants.

🎤 3,300+ views on YouTube (2021)
About

About me

The longer story — how I got here and what I care about.

Coming soon

This section is being written. Check back shortly!

Interests

Hobbies & tidbits

Running, snowboarding, DJing — and more to come.

Coming soon

A sneak peek: cookie baking expertise 🍪, a competitive poker streak 🃏, and the lo-fi loop in the corner 🎧.