Instructional Designer

Smiths Group; Manchester; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

John Crane, a business of Smiths Group, is seeking an experienced Instructional Designer to design, develop, and deliver high-quality learning solutions. The role focuses on product knowledge, technical capability, safety, and operational excellence for both technical and non-technical audiences.

You will collaborate with engineers and SMEs to translate complex engineering concepts into clear content, create media-rich assets, and develop digital learning using Articulate 360, Captivate, and

Qualifications

• Minimum 5+ years’ experience in instructional design within technical environments.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop learning solutions focused on engineering products, manufacturing processes, and technical skills (eLearning and blended learning).
• Work with engineers, product specialists, and SMEs to translate complex information into clear learning content.
• Create visual and media-rich learning assets including product demonstrations, process walkthroughs, safety and compliance training videos, technical animations and explainer content.
• Develop digital learning using tools such as Articulate 360, Captivate, or similar platforms.
• Produce and edit multimedia content using Adobe Creative Suite (Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, Photoshop) or equivalent.
• Ensure learning content aligns with health & safety standards, engineering accuracy, and quality requirements.
• Support training initiatives for shop floor employees, engineers, field service teams, and customer-facing roles.
• Apply instructional design methodologies (e.g., ADDIE, Agile) and adult learning principles.
• Conduct learning needs analyses aligned to product launches, process changes, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Maintain and update training content in line with product updates and engineering changes.
• Evaluate training effectiveness and recommend improvements based on feedback and performance data.

Skills

Instructional design

eLearning design

Media development

Stakeholder management

ADDIE

Agile

Technical content

Tools

Articulate 360

Captivate

Premiere Pro

After Effects

Photoshop

Job description

John Crane, a business of Smiths Group, is a global leader in mission-critical flow control solutions for energy and process industries that enable efficient and sustainable operations. Our products include mechanical seals and systems, couplings, bearings, filtration systems, and predictive digital monitoring technologies.

We have a global network of more than 200 sites in over 50 countries and employ more than 6,000 people worldwide. We partner with our customers to help them keep their operations safe, reduce downtime, improve efficiency, and meet the latest environmental standards.

John Crane is part of Smiths Group. For over 170 years, Smiths has been pioneering progress by engineering for a better future. We serve millions of people every year, helping to create a safer, more efficient, productive, and better-connected world across four global markets: energy, security & defence, space & aerospace, and general industrial. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Smiths employs approximately 16,000 colleagues in over 50 countries.

Job Description

We are seeking an experienced Instructional Designer with at least 5 years of experience to design, develop, and deliver high-quality learning solutions. This role will focus on designing and delivering learning that supports product knowledge, technical capability, safety, and operational excellence. The successful candidate will combine strong instructional design expertise with hands-on media development skills to create engaging, practical, and visually compelling learning content for both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Design and develop learning solutions focused on engineering products, manufacturing processes, and technical skills (eLearning and blended learning).
• Work closely with engineers, product specialists, and SMEs to translate complex technical information into clear, engaging, and accessible learning content.
• Create visual and media-rich learning assets, including: Product demonstrations, process walkthroughs, safety and compliance training videos, technical animations and explainer content.
• Develop digital learning using tools such as Articulate 360, Captivate, or similar platforms.
• Produce and edit multimedia content using tools such as Adobe Creative Suite (Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, Photoshop) or equivalent.
• Ensure all learning content aligns with health & safety standards, engineering accuracy, and company quality requirements.
• Support training initiatives for shop floor employees, engineers, field service teams, and customer-facing roles.
• Apply instructional design methodologies (e.g., ADDIE, Agile) and adult learning principles.
• Conduct learning needs analyses aligned to product launches, process changes, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Maintain and update training content in line with product updates and engineering changes.
• Evaluate training effectiveness and recommend improvements based on feedback and performance data.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5+ years’ experience in instructional design, ideally within technical environments.
• Strong experience designing technical or product-focused learning content.
• Ability to quickly understand and simplify complex engineering concepts.
• Hands-on experience with eLearning authoring tools (e.g., Articulate Storyline, Rise, Captivate).
• Proven experience in media development, including: Video production and editing, audio editing, basic animation, or visual storytelling
• Strong stakeholder management skills, especially working with technical SMEs and engineers.
• Excellent communication and organisation skills.
• High attention to detail, particularly in ensuring technical accuracy.

Additional Information

With colleagues stretching across the globe, we are proud of our diversity. To foster inclusivity, we run employee resource groups (ERGs) to provide a safe space for employees to connect and support each other. Our cross-business ERGs include Veterans, Pride Network, Black Employee Network, Women@Work Network, and Neurodiversity.

Across our company, we recognize excellence, culminating in the Smiths Excellence Awards, our annual celebration of the most extraordinary activities, people, and projects that best showcase our strengths and help drive our business forward. We announce these on our annual Smiths Day, a global celebration of Smiths around our network.

We believe that different perspectives and backgrounds are what make a company flourish. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment regardless of color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, economic status, disability, age, or any other legally protected characteristics. We are proud to be an inclusive company with values grounded in equality and ethics, where we celebrate, support, and embrace diversity.