Contract Instructional Designer

Socket.dev; Baltimore (MD); On-site; USD 55,000 - 96,000; Full time

Job summary

Education Affiliates is seeking instructional designers on a contract basis to develop outcomes-driven curriculum across Allied Health, Medical Technology, Nursing, and Skilled Trades. You will partner with SMEs and stakeholders to design content, assessments, and resources for both in-person and online delivery, leveraging AI-enabled tools to improve quality.

Candidates should have strong instructional design expertise, learner-first mindset, and ability to work independently within a

Qualifications

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management.
• Experience in higher education, workforce development, and/or adult learning environments.
• Familiarity with accessibility standards and inclusive instructional design practices.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with stakeholders to identify learning needs, performance gaps, and project requirements.
• Design curriculum frameworks, course outlines, and measurable learning objectives.
• Create instructional activities, assignments, and assessments aligned to outcomes and accreditation/credentialing needs (as applicable).
• Develop engaging learning content using appropriate instructional technologies, templates, and multimedia tools.
• Evaluate instructional effectiveness, analyze feedback/data, and recommend improvements.
• Manage timelines, milestones, and deliverables to support on-time, high-quality completion.
• Partner with SMEs, project managers, and cross-functional teams throughout the design and development lifecycle.
• Create instructor and learner support materials (e.g., guides, job aids, manuals, tutorials).
• Provide rollout support and guidance on newly developed materials, as needed.

Skills

Stakeholder mgmt

Analytical thinking

Higher ed experience

Curriculum design

Independent + teamwork

Hybrid design

LMS & authoring tools

SME collaboration

Accessibility

AI tools

MS Office

ADDIE

Tools

LMS

e-learning authoring tools

Job description

Overview

Education Affiliates is building a bench of experienced 1099 Instructional Designers to support high-impact curriculum development projects. In this contract role you'll design engaging, outcomes-driven learning experiences for career-focused programs across Allied Health, Medical Technology, Nursing, and the Skilled Trades.

About the Role

You'll partner with subject matter experts (SMEs) and key stakeholders to design and develop course content, assessments, and instructional resources for in-person and online delivery. We’re seeking designers with strong instructional design expertise, a learner-first mindset, and comfort using AI-enabled tools to work efficiently and elevate quality.

Contract Details

Projects are scoped individually and priced based on agreed-upon deliverables, timelines, and complexity.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with stakeholders to identify learning needs, performance gaps, and project requirements.
• Design curriculum frameworks, course outlines, and measurable learning objectives.
• Create instructional activities, assignments, and assessments aligned to outcomes and accreditation/credentialing needs (as applicable).
• Develop engaging learning content using appropriate instructional technologies, templates, and multimedia tools.
• Evaluate instructional effectiveness, analyze feedback/data, and recommend improvements.
• Manage timelines, milestones, and deliverables to support on-time, high-quality completion.
• Partner with SMEs, project managers, and cross-functional teams throughout the design and development lifecycle.
• Create instructor and learner support materials (e.g., guides, job aids, manuals, tutorials).
• Provide rollout support and guidance on newly developed materials, as needed.

Specific Project Activities

• Build in-person and e-learning modules, including storyboards, scripts, and design documentation.
• Develop presentations, worksheets, job aids, and other performance support tools.
• Track and communicate milestones, risks, and dependencies; elevate issues as needed.
• Stay current on instructional design trends and best practices, including responsible use of AI.
• Coordinate with developers and cross-functional partners to ensure quality, consistency, and accessibility.

Required Qualifications

• Excellent communication, listening, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills.
• Experience in higher education, workforce development, and/or adult learning environments.
• Experience building competency-based curriculum and assessment/blueprint documentation.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with a distributed team.
• Ability to design for both in-person and online modalities (hybrid a plus).
• Familiarity with learning management systems (LMS) and e-learning authoring tools.
• Proven ability to partner with SMEs in a project-based, contract environment.
• Working knowledge of accessibility standards and inclusive instructional design practices.
• Comfort using AI-enabled tools to support instructional design and content development.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and common instructional design tools.
• Working knowledge of instructional design models (e.g., ADDIE).

How to Respond

To be considered, please submit:

• Your resume
• A link to your portfolio (or 2-3 representative work samples)
• A brief note summarizing your relevant program-area experience (Allied Health, Medical Technology, Nursing, and/or Skilled Trades)

Contractor candidates will be screened based on relevant experience and completion of a short training course covering EA's expectations and course-development templates.

Qualifications

Key Skills

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency in instructional design software and multimedia tools.
• Knowledge of instructional design theories and models (e.g., ADDIE,4Cs).
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Strong problem-solving and critical thinking skills.