Learning Designer (Contract)

Accountabilities

You will lead the end-to-end design and development of online courses, collaborating with faculty and internal teams to ensure every learning experience meets academic objectives and established quality standards.

• Course Strategy and Instructional Design

  • Translate program goals and course maps into detailed course designs in collaboration with Learning Architects.

  • Lead working sessions with faculty to define learning outcomes, organize content, and develop effective learning activities and assessments.

  • Apply backward design principles and ensure alignment between learning outcomes, instructional materials, and assessment methods.

  • Design interactive and scenario-based learning experiences, including AI-enabled practice activities where appropriate.

  • Faculty Collaboration and Content Development

    • Guide faculty, including those new to online teaching, through the course design process.

    • Provide clear, constructive, and tactful feedback on faculty-created materials and drafts.

    • Write and edit course content, instructions, rubrics, and discussion prompts using a consistent, student-centered voice.

    • Help subject-matter experts translate their knowledge into accessible and engaging learning materials.

    • Multimedia and Course Production

      • Develop storyboards for videos and multimedia resources.

      • Collaborate with media production teams to bring instructional concepts to life.

      • Build courses directly in learning management systems (LMS) such as Canvas, Brightspace, Blackboard, or Moodle, or prepare clear specifications for course builders.

      • Quality Assurance and Accessibility

        • Ensure courses meet WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility requirements and align with Quality Matters standards.

        • Evaluate course quality using the EPIIIC framework and its associated scorecard.

        • Revise course materials based on quality reviews, stakeholder feedback, and student input.

        • Project and Timeline Management

          • Manage course development schedules and coordinate progress across multiple projects.

          • Oversee approximately 2–3 courses in development simultaneously, with typical build cycles of 12–16 weeks.

          • Identify potential delays or delivery risks early and communicate them to the Learning Architect and university stakeholders.

          Requirements

          The ideal candidate brings substantial online learning design experience, strong instructional judgment, and the ability to work independently while building productive relationships with faculty and project teams.

          • At least 6 years of instructional design or learning design experience, primarily focused on online higher education programs.

          • A portfolio demonstrating end-to-end design and development of online courses, ideally for graduate or professional programs.

          • Experience collaborating directly with faculty and senior academic stakeholders, providing guidance on effective instructional design decisions.

          • Strong knowledge of backward design, learning outcomes alignment, and assessment development.

          • Working knowledge of Quality Matters, OSCQR, or comparable course quality frameworks.

          • Practical accessibility expertise, including alt text, captions, heading structures, color contrast, and accessible document design.

          • Hands-on experience with learning management systems, with Canvas strongly preferred.

          • Excellent writing, editing, and communication skills.

          • Strong organizational and project management abilities, with the capacity to handle multiple courses and deadlines independently.

          Preferred Qualifications

          • Master's degree in Instructional Design, Learning Sciences, Educational Technology, or a related discipline.

          • Quality Matters Peer Reviewer or Applying the QM Rubric certification.

          • Experience incorporating generative AI into course design or student learning activities.

          • Familiarity with authoring and media tools such as Articulate Rise, H5P, Camtasia, or Figma.

          • Professional experience in a field such as healthcare, business, education, or public policy.

          Benefits

          • Hourly compensation ranging from $35 to $70 USD, depending on experience and qualifications.

          • Fully remote contract opportunity for candidates residing in the United States.

          • Part-time commitment of approximately 20–30 hours per week.

          • Initial 6-month contract, renewable depending on the course development pipeline.

          • Opportunity to collaborate with faculty and academic teams at leading higher education institutions.

          • Meaningful work contributing to accessible, engaging, and high-quality online education.