#333 Creating an AI-First Data Team with Bilal Zia, Head of Data Science & Analytics at DuoLingo

61 snips

Nov 24, 2025

Bilal Zia, Head of Data Science & Analytics at Duolingo, brings his expertise from Amazon and the World Bank to share insights on transforming data teams. He discusses the importance of building trust with stakeholders and embracing AI to drive business decisions. Zia explains the advantages of a hub-and-spoke organizational design for seamless collaboration and emphasizes hiring candidates who balance technical prowess with strong communication. He advocates for creating psychological safety in AI experimentation to foster innovative workflows.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Turning Around A Sub-Basement Team

Bilal inherited a rudderless, underperforming data team with low trust and motivation.
He prioritized listening to stakeholders and rebuilding credibility before making big changes.

ADVICE

Start By Mapping Stakeholder Problems

Talk to every stakeholder to map company problems to data solutions before prioritizing work.
Use that matching to direct resources and bring leaders along to build early trust.

ANECDOTE

People First, Then Science

Bilal invested in people and structure rather than ideas, adding management layers and raising the bar.
A forecasting model overhaul cut forecast errors from ~10% to within 0–3% for many quarters, restoring leadership trust.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Data science leadership is about more than just technical expertise—it’s about building trust, embracing AI, and delivering real business impact. As organizations evolve toward AI-first strategies, data teams have an unprecedented opportunity to lead that transformation. But how do you turn a traditional analytics function into an AI-driven powerhouse that drives decision-making across the business? What’s the right structure to balance deep technical specialization with seamless business integration? From building credibility through high-impact forecasting to creating psychological safety around AI adoption, effective data leadership today requires both technical rigor and visionary communication. The landscape is shifting fast, but with the right approach, data science can stand as a true pillar of innovation alongside engineering, product, and design.

Bilal Zia is currently the Head of Data Science & Analytics at Duolingo, an EdTech company whose mission is to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available. Previously, he spent two years helping to build and lead an interdisciplinary Central Science team at Amazon, comprising economists, data and applied scientists, survey specialists, user researchers, and engineers. Before that, he spent fifteen years in the Research Department of the World Bank in Washington, D.C., pursuing an applied academic career. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his interests span economics, data science, machine learning/AI, psychology, and user research.

In the episode, Richie and Bilal explore rebuilding an underperforming data team, fostering trust with leadership, embedding data scientists within product teams, leveraging AI for productivity, the future of synthetic A/B testing, and much more.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New to DataCamp?

Learn on the go using the DataCamp mobile app
Empower your business with world-class data and AI skills with DataCamp for business