Instructional Designer

iDesign; United States; Remote; USD 55,000 - 96,000; Full time

Job summary

iDesign is seeking an experienced Instructional Designer for upcoming contract projects in higher education and corporate education. The role centers on designing engaging online courses with SMEs, aligning outcomes, and integrating AI-powered workflows to improve pedagogy and learner experience.

The contractor will work with cross-functional teams, maintain rigorous design standards, and participate in milestone reviews to ensure timely delivery within a dynamic education technology ecosystem.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Education, Instructional Technology, or related field.
• 3–5 years of experience collaborating with SMEs for online course development in higher education or corporate environments.
• Fluency with LMS platforms (Blackboard, Canvas, D2L, Moodle) and related edtech capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with SMEs to design high-quality online courses supported by research-based practices.
• Establish learning outcomes and align content and assessment with those outcomes.
• Design assessments aligned with course learning objectives with SMEs.
• Suggest open educational resources and instructional methods for delivering online content.
• Maintain documentation of design decisions for partner review and approval.
• Incorporate feedback through revision cycles and coordinate with internal production teams.
• Utilize AI-powered tools to generate ideas and streamline development workflows.
• Lead SME working sessions to obtain approvals for deliverables.
• Attend scheduled milestone reviews and adapt to evolving project needs.

Skills

Communication

Collaboration

Strategic thinking

Adaptability

Attention to detail

Education

Advanced degree in Education

Tools

Blackboard

Canvas

D2L

Moodle

AI design tools

Job description

This position is not open to applicants residing in or otherwise based in California, New York, Illinois, or Massachusetts. Additionally, applicants must be located in the Eastern, Central, Mountain, or Pacific time zones. Note to Applicants We’re looking for professionals who take pride in their work. We know your resume tells part of the story, but our application questions help us understand how you think and work. Because we receive a high volume of applications, only applications with complete, thoughtful responses will be reviewed.

Engagement Details

As the Instructional Designer, you will work with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and key stakeholders to design and develop engaging and effective online courses for higher education and corporate partners. You will ensure that courses adhere to research-based best practices, incorporate relevant technologies, and meet quality standards. You will collaborate with SMEs to adapt content for online instruction, suggest relevant learning technologies, and develop course materials that support the stated learning objectives. You will coordinate with several teams, including e-Learning Technology, Quality Review, Video & Multimedia Services, and Graphic Design to ensure the design and development of online learning supports the vision of the partner and subject matter experts. You will also work with the Lead Instructional Designer and Project Manager to inform them of issues affecting the project's course design, development, and delivery. Successful instructional designers in this contract role think beyond content and activities alone; they consider how pedagogy, learner experience, and technology work together to create an experience that can be effectively built, delivered, and scaled within the partner’s educational technology ecosystem. This is an independent contractor engagement (1099). The opening is for future project needs. Must be able to attend scheduled project meetings during regular business hours (timing set in advance). Outside of scheduled meetings and agreed deadlines, contractors determine their own work hours.

Scope of Work

• Collaborate with SMEs to design high-quality online courses that are supported by research-based best practices in online learning.
• Work with SMEs to establish learning outcomes and align content and assessment with those outcomes.
• Collaborate with SMEs to design relevant assessments that align with course learning objectives.
• Suggest relevant open educational resources and appropriate instructional methods for delivering online content.
• Maintain comprehensive documentation of design decisions and help prepare materials for partner review and approval.
• Incorporate partner and stakeholder feedback through agreed revision cycles.
• Leverage AI-powered tools to generate innovative ideas for course content creation and streamline development workflows.
• Facilitate SME working sessions to obtain approvals required to complete course design deliverables.
• Coordinate with internal production teams at defined handoff points (e.g., multimedia, QA, graphics) to complete deliverables.
• Participate in scheduled milestone reviews and project check-ins as needed to meet delivery milestones while remaining flexible to evolving project needs and priorities

What You Need to Get the Job Done

• Advanced degree in Education, Instructional Technology, or related field.
• Current, in-depth knowledge of instructional design and learning theories with expertise in online learning, instructional design and technology, adult learning theory, and andragogy/pedagogy.
• Demonstrated experience (3-5 years) collaborating with SMEs for online course development in higher education or corporate environments.
• Strong fluency across learning management systems such as Blackboard, Canvas, D2L, Moodle, and related educational technologies, with the ability to understand their capabilities and constraints and use them intentionally to inform learning design decisions.
• Proven ability to build strong relationships with subject matter experts (SMEs) to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing, while moving projects forward and meeting deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with a demonstrated ability to lead and influence others collaboratively.
• Strategic thinking skills with the ability to design learning experiences that support student engagement, retention, measurable outcomes, and other institutional priorities of our partners.
• Experience with ADA compliance and quality standards for course design (e.g., Quality Matters, OLC).
• Demonstrated fluency with AI-powered instructional design tools.
• Ability to evaluate AI outputs with curiosity and critical thinking to ensure pedagogical quality and alignment with learning objectives.
• Demonstrated adaptability and capacity to quickly learn and apply new processes, tools, and methodologies in fast-paced environments.
• Strong organizational skills, excellent follow-through, and exceptional attention to detail.

What Will Make Us REALLY Love You

• A proven track record of working with academic and business partners to create engaging and effective online courses.
• Excellent oral/written communication and presentation skills.
• Background in Learner Experience Design.
• Expertise in competency-based learning.
• Comprehensive knowledge of available open educational resources (OERs).
• Quality assurance training and certification (QM, OSCQR, other).
• Post-secondary teaching and learning experience.

iDesign is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building an inclusive environment in which everyone is a valued member. At iDesign , all hiring decisions are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications. We seek applicants of diverse backgrounds and hire without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, or any other characteristic protected by law.