How to Apply to Descomplica

About Descomplica

Descomplica is a Brazilian education technology company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro that has grown from a YouTube ENEM (Exame Nacional do Ensino Medio) prep channel into one of the largest online learning platforms in Latin America. Founded in 2011 by Marco Fisbhen, a former physics teacher who began recording free university entrance exam lessons from his apartment, Descomplica today serves roughly 2.5 million paying users across K-12 supplementary education, ENEM and vestibular preparation, undergraduate and graduate degree programs (Descomplica Faculdade), and continuing professional education. The company employs approximately 700 people and operates a vertically integrated stack that includes live-streamed classes, on-demand video, AI-driven tutoring, adaptive practice exams, mentoring, and accredited degree programs delivered fully online. Descomplica sits in the second position in Brazilian online K-12 and exam prep behind public-school giants tied to Cogna and Vasta, but it is the dominant pure-play digital-native brand for the ENEM cohort and one of the few Brazilian EdTech companies to have built both a high-volume B2C subscription business and a regulated higher-education arm. The company is private and venture-backed, with capital from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Quona Capital, Catalyst Investors, GGV Capital, and earlier-stage investors including Kaszek and Invus. Its 2021 Series F valued the business near $2 billion, placing it among Brazil's most valuable EdTech companies, though the broader EdTech reset of 2022 through 2024 brought layoffs estimated at roughly 25 percent of headcount as the company shifted from a growth-at-all-costs posture to disciplined unit economics. Marco Fisbhen remains founder and chief executive officer and is one of the more visible founder-CEOs in Latin American technology, frequently appearing on Brazilian business media to discuss education access, longevity of EdTech business models, and the role of generative AI in tutoring. In 2024 Descomplica launched a generative-AI tutoring layer integrated into the student app, positioning AI not as a replacement for live teachers but as a 24-hour study companion that can explain wrong answers, generate practice questions, and personalize study plans. The company competes most directly with Vasta and Cogna's Saber platform, with Yduqs (Estacio's parent) in the higher-education vertical, and with Cogna's MEC-accredited EAD (ensino a distancia) operations. Working at Descomplica means working in a Portuguese-primary environment for a mission-driven company whose customers are largely first-generation higher-education students and working adults trying to change their economic trajectory through credentials.

Application Process

1
Find open roles at descomplica
Find open roles at descomplica.gupy.io, the company's Gupy-powered careers portal. Descomplica does not run a separate manual recruiting funnel for individual contributor roles, so Gupy is the canonical front door.
2
Create a Gupy candidate profile in Portuguese
Create a Gupy candidate profile in Portuguese. Gupy lets candidates reuse profiles across thousands of Brazilian employers, and recruiters at Descomplica search Gupy's candidate pool, so a complete profile increases inbound visibility even before you apply.
3
Apply to a specific posting and answer the Gupy screening questions
Apply to a specific posting and answer the Gupy screening questions. Descomplica typically asks about salary expectations in Brazilian reais (CLT, PJ, or both), location and remote preference, language proficiency, and one or two role-specific knockout questions.
4
Complete the Gupy behavioral and cognitive assessments if invited
Complete the Gupy behavioral and cognitive assessments if invited. These are the standardized Gupy fit assessments, not custom Descomplica tests, and they take roughly 30 to 45 minutes. Take them in a quiet block of time because partial completion damages your score.
5
Recruiter screen by video
Recruiter screen by video. A talent acquisition partner at Descomplica conducts a 30 to 45 minute conversation in Portuguese covering motivation, compensation, notice period, and a values alignment check. English is occasionally tested for roles that interface with international investors or vendors.
6
Hiring manager interview focused on craft
Hiring manager interview focused on craft. Expect role-specific questions, a portfolio walkthrough for design and content roles, system design for engineering, and a strategy or analytics exercise for product and growth roles. Bring concrete metrics from prior work.
7
Case or technical exercise
Case or technical exercise. Engineering candidates typically receive a take-home or live coding session focused on practical web or mobile problems rather than competitive programming puzzles. Product, marketing, and operations candidates receive a written case tied to a real Descomplica problem such as funnel optimization or retention.
8
Final round and culture fit
Final round and culture fit. The last stage usually includes a cross-functional panel and a conversation with a senior leader, sometimes including Marco Fisbhen for senior or strategic hires. An offer with CLT or PJ structure, benefits, and stock options for eligible levels typically follows within one to two weeks. Reference checks are normal for senior hires and typically run in parallel with the final round, with Descomplica recruiters reaching out to two or three professional references you supply plus, occasionally, back-channel references through shared LinkedIn connections in the Brazilian EdTech and consumer-internet community.

Resume Tips for Descomplica

recommended

Submit your resume in Brazilian Portuguese

Submit your resume in Brazilian Portuguese. Descomplica is a Portuguese-primary company and Gupy parses Portuguese resumes more accurately than English ones for Brazilian roles. Add an English version only if the posting explicitly calls for it.

recommended

Use a single-column, ATS-clean layout

Use a single-column, ATS-clean layout. Gupy's parser handles standard PDFs reliably but trips on multi-column layouts, text in images, and decorative tables. A simple chronological resume with clear section headers (Experiencia, Formacao, Habilidades) will index correctly.

recommended

Mirror the job description vocabulary

Mirror the job description vocabulary. Gupy ranks candidates partly on keyword overlap between the resume and the requisition, so reuse the exact terms from the posting (for example, 'Python', 'SQL', 'CRM HubSpot', 'metodologias ageis', 'LGPD') rather than synonyms.

recommended

Quantify outcomes in the language of the role

Quantify outcomes in the language of the role. For growth and product, show conversion lifts, retention deltas, CAC and LTV ratios. For engineering, show latency, uptime, throughput, and incident reduction. For content and pedagogy, show student engagement, completion rates, and NPS movement.

recommended

Show EdTech, B2C subscription, or marketplace experience explicitly

Show EdTech, B2C subscription, or marketplace experience explicitly. Descomplica values candidates who understand subscription mechanics, freemium funnels, student lifecycle, and the regulatory environment of Brazilian education (MEC accreditation, ENEM cycle, vestibular calendar).

recommended

Highlight remote and distributed-work fluency

Highlight remote and distributed-work fluency. Descomplica operates a hybrid and largely remote model since the pandemic, so demonstrated ownership in async environments, written communication, and self-directed delivery is a real differentiator.

recommended

Include relevant certifications and continuing education

Include relevant certifications and continuing education. Brazilian employers weight formal credentials more heavily than US peers, so list licenciaturas, MBAs, FGV or Insper executive programs, AWS or Google Cloud certifications, and any pedagogy or instructional design qualifications.

recommended

Add LinkedIn URL and a portfolio or GitHub link in the header

Add LinkedIn URL and a portfolio or GitHub link in the header. Recruiters at Descomplica routinely cross-reference LinkedIn for tenure, recommendations, and shared connections, and engineering or design hiring managers expect to see public work.

ATS System: Gupy

Gupy is the dominant ATS in Brazil and is used by Descomplica for all open roles through descomplica.gupy.io. Gupy combines applicant tracking, AI-driven candidate ranking, behavioral assessments, and a candidate-side profile that is reusable across employers. The Gupy ranking algorithm scores candidates against the requisition using both structured fields (location, salary, experience) and unstructured text similarity between the resume and the job description, then surfaces a ranked shortlist to recruiters.

B
u
i
l
d
a
c
o
m
p
l
e
t
e
G
u
p
y
c
a
n
d
i
d
a
t
e
p
r
o
f
i
l
e
i
n
P
o
r
t
u
g
u
e
s
e
,
n
o
t
j
u
s
t
a
n
u
p
l
o
a
d
e
d
P
D
F
,
b
e
c
a
u
s
e
G
u
p
y
u
s
e
s
t
h
e
s
t
r
u
c
t
u
r
e
d
p
r
o
f
i
l
e
f
i
e
l
d
s
t
o
r
a
n
k
c
a
n
d
i
d
a
t
e
s
.
A
n
s
w
e
r
a
l
l
s
c
r
e
e
n
i
n
g
q
u
e
s
t
i
o
n
s
t
h
o
u
g
h
t
f
u
l
l
y
b
e
c
a
u
s
e
k
n
o
c
k
o
u
t
a
n
s
w
e
r
s
e
l
i
m
i
n
a
t
e
c
a
n
d
i
d
a
t
e
s
b
e
f
o
r
e
a
h
u
m
a
n
e
v
e
r
r
e
v
i
e
w
s
t
h
e
m
.
T
a
k
e
t
h
e
G
u
p
y
b
e
h
a
v
i
o
r
a
l
a
n
d
c
o
g
n
i
t
i
v
e
a
s
s
e
s
s
m
e
n
t
s
i
n
a
s
i
n
g
l
e
u
n
i
n
t
e
r
r
u
p
t
e
d
s
e
s
s
i
o
n
.
M
i
r
r
o
r
t
h
e
j
o
b
d
e
s
c
r
i
p
t
i
o
n
v
o
c
a
b
u
l
a
r
y
i
n
y
o
u
r
r
e
s
u
m
e
t
o
i
m
p
r
o
v
e
t
h
e
A
I
r
a
n
k
i
n
g
s
c
o
r
e
.
K
e
e
p
y
o
u
r
p
r
o
f
i
l
e
u
p
d
a
t
e
d
e
v
e
n
w
h
e
n
y
o
u
a
r
e
n
o
t
a
c
t
i
v
e
l
y
s
e
a
r
c
h
i
n
g
,
b
e
c
a
u
s
e
D
e
s
c
o
m
p
l
i
c
a
r
e
c
r
u
i
t
e
r
s
s
e
a
r
c
h
t
h
e
b
r
o
a
d
e
r
G
u
p
y
c
a
n
d
i
d
a
t
e
p
o
o
l
f
o
r
p
a
s
s
i
v
e
s
o
u
r
c
i
n
g
.

Interview Culture

Descomplica's interview culture reflects its founder-led, mission-driven, and post-correction posture.

Conversations are warm and direct in the Brazilian sense, but the bar for evidence has clearly tightened since the 2022 to 2024 reset. Expect interviewers to probe how you measure your own work, how you make trade-offs under constraint, and how you have handled ambiguity or reduced scope without losing impact. Values alignment matters: candidates who frame their motivation around access to education, social mobility, and the realities of the Brazilian student rather than purely around career mechanics tend to resonate. Interviewers are generally collaborative rather than adversarial, but they will press on numbers. Vague claims like 'cresci o engajamento' without a baseline, a delta, and a method are a common reason strong-on-paper candidates do not advance. Most interviews are conducted in Portuguese over Google Meet, with English sections only for roles touching international stakeholders. Punctuality, camera on, and a quiet professional setup are taken as table stakes. For senior roles, expect at least one conversation with a C-level or VP-level leader, and for the most strategic hires Marco Fisbhen himself may join the final round. Feedback timelines are typically one to two weeks per stage, faster for high-priority requisitions. Candidates who make it to offer often describe the process as rigorous but humane, with recruiters who communicate proactively and hiring managers who give honest signal about what would tip the decision. Tone matters: Brazilian professional culture rewards warmth, generosity in answers, and explicit gratitude, but Descomplica also rewards conciseness, so practice cutting your STAR-format answers to two or three minutes rather than five. Engineering candidates should expect at least one whiteboard or live-coding pairing where the interviewer cares more about how you reason out loud, name variables, and handle edge cases than about whether you reach the optimal complexity. Product candidates should expect to defend prioritization choices against pushback, often with a hypothetical 'we only have one engineer this quarter, what do you cut' scenario. Designers should be ready to walk through one project from problem framing to ship, including the work you killed and why. Across all tracks, interviewers ask reference-style questions ('how would your last manager describe your weakest quarter') and expect specific, non-defensive answers. Compensation conversations are typically opened by the recruiter early to avoid mismatched expectations, and counter-offers are entertained but not encouraged once a number is agreed.

What Descomplica Looks For

Mission alignment with education access and social mobility, demonstrated through specific examples rather than slogans.
Portuguese fluency at a professional working level, with English as a plus for roles that touch investors, vendors, or international content partners.
Evidence of disciplined unit economics thinking: candidates who can speak to CAC, LTV, payback period, gross margin, and retention rather than only top-of-funnel growth.
Direct experience with B2C subscription, freemium, or marketplace businesses, ideally in EdTech, fintech, healthtech, or Brazilian consumer internet.
Pragmatic technical depth over theoretical purity. Engineers who ship reliably on a modern web and mobile stack outrank engineers with stronger algorithm pedigrees but weaker delivery records.
Comfort with hybrid and remote-first collaboration, strong written communication, and the ability to drive outcomes without daily in-person oversight.
Ownership and bias to action, including examples of identifying a problem outside your formal scope and resolving it.
Resilience and cross-functional adaptability, given the post-2021 EdTech reset and the AI-driven shift in role definitions; candidates who have shipped across pedagogy, content, engineering, and growth seams stand out over single-function specialists.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I apply for jobs at Descomplica?

All open roles at Descomplica are posted on the company's Gupy-powered careers portal at descomplica.gupy.io. Applying through any other channel, including direct emails to recruiters, generally routes you back to Gupy because that is where the requisition lives.

Do I need to speak Portuguese to work at Descomplica?

Yes for almost all roles. Descomplica is a Portuguese-primary company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, serving Brazilian students, and the working language is Brazilian Portuguese. English is useful for roles that interact with international investors, vendors, or content partners but is rarely a substitute for Portuguese.

Is Descomplica still hiring after the 2022 to 2024 EdTech layoffs?

Yes. Like most Latin American EdTech companies, Descomplica went through a correction estimated at roughly 25 percent of headcount between 2022 and 2024, but the company continues to hire selectively for engineering, product, growth, content, and pedagogy roles, with a noticeably higher bar than during the 2021 peak.

What is the interview process like?

Typically a Gupy application and assessment, a recruiter screen, a hiring manager interview, a case or technical exercise, and a final cross-functional panel. The full process usually runs three to six weeks depending on level and urgency.

Does Descomplica offer remote work?

Descomplica operates a hybrid and largely remote model since the pandemic, with the Rio de Janeiro office available for in-person collaboration. Specific remote policies vary by team and seniority, so confirm with the recruiter for any given role.

Are roles offered as CLT or PJ?

Both are common at Descomplica. CLT (Consolidacao das Leis do Trabalho) is the standard Brazilian employment contract with full benefits and labor protections, while PJ (Pessoa Juridica) is contractor status often used for senior technical and creative roles. The recruiter will discuss which structure applies to your role.

Does Descomplica offer equity or stock options?

Yes for eligible levels, typically senior individual contributor and above. As a private venture-backed company, options are subject to vesting and the usual liquidity constraints of pre-IPO equity. Compensation conversations include cash, benefits, and equity where applicable.

Who are Descomplica's main competitors?

In K-12 and exam prep, Descomplica competes with Vasta and Cogna's Saber platform. In higher education, it competes with Yduqs (parent of Estacio) and Cogna's MEC-accredited EAD operations. In AI tutoring it increasingly competes with both global AI study tools and homegrown Brazilian entrants.

Who are Descomplica's investors?

Descomplica is privately held, with notable investors including SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Quona Capital, Catalyst Investors, and GGV Capital, alongside earlier-stage backers. Its 2021 Series F valued the company near $2 billion.

Is Marco Fisbhen still involved day to day?

Yes. Marco Fisbhen is the founder and remains chief executive officer. He is publicly active in Brazilian business media on EdTech, education access, and the role of generative AI in tutoring, and he sometimes joins final-round interviews for senior or strategic hires. Watching a few of his recent interviews and product keynotes is high-leverage preparation for any candidate, because he tends to telegraph the company's near-term priorities very directly and interviewers will assume you have done that homework.

Open Positions

Descomplica currently has 1 open positions.

Related Resources

Similar Companies

Sources

Descomplica official careers portal (Gupy) — Descomplica / Gupy
Descomplica corporate site — Descomplica
Marco Fisbhen, founder and CEO of Descomplica — LinkedIn
Descomplica raises Series F led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 — Reuters
Brazilian EdTech reset: layoffs and the path to profitability — Bloomberg Linea
Gupy candidate guide and ATS overview — Gupy
Vasta Platform and Cogna Educacao competitive landscape — Cogna Educacao Investor Relations
Yduqs (Estacio) higher-education market position — Yduqs Investor Relations
Descomplica launches generative AI tutor in 2024 — Exame
Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) EAD accreditation framework — Ministerio da Educacao (MEC)

How to Apply to Descomplica

Key Takeaways

About Descomplica

Application Process

Resume Tips for Descomplica

Submit your resume in Brazilian Portuguese

Use a single-column, ATS-clean layout

Mirror the job description vocabulary

Quantify outcomes in the language of the role

Show EdTech, B2C subscription, or marketplace experience explicitly

Highlight remote and distributed-work fluency

Include relevant certifications and continuing education

Add LinkedIn URL and a portfolio or GitHub link in the header

ATS System: Gupy

Interview Culture

What Descomplica Looks For

Frequently Asked Questions

Open Positions

Related Resources

Similar Companies

Related Articles

Sources