Instructional Systems Designer

Saic; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 160,001 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

SAIC is seeking an experienced Instructional Systems Designer to join a government training development team in Chantilly, VA. You will design, develop, and modernize training for new employees, ensuring content is engaging, mission-relevant, and instructionally sound.

Ideal candidates have INTEL Community experience, strong instructional design expertise, and the ability to collaborate with SMEs, instructors, and stakeholders to deliver high-quality training products aligned with client

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 10+ years of related experience OR Master’s with 8+ years; PhD/JD with 5+ years.
• Active TS/SCI clearance with Full Scope Polygraph.
• Experience in Intelligence Community or government training environments.
• Proven ability to design training for adult learners.
• Strong instructional design principles and curriculum development skills.
• Experience creating instructor-led, blended, scenario-based training and assessments.
• Ability to translate complex information into usable training materials.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and update training materials for onboarding and new employee courses.
• Apply ADDIE, SAM or similar models to create effective learning solutions.
• Work with subject matter experts to translate content into objectives, lessons, activities, and assessments.
• Develop instructor-led, blended, scenario-based, and interactive learning experiences.
• Produce lesson plans, facilitator/student guides, slides, exercises, and assessments.
• Collaborate with instructors, multimedia teams, graphics, and stakeholders to deliver training products.
• Ensure training aligns with mission priorities and client requirements.
• Review curriculum to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.
• Support pilots, classroom observations, learner evaluations, and after-action reviews.
• Maintain accuracy and currency of materials for a classified environment.

Skills

Instructional design

Adult learning theory

Curriculum development

Stakeholder collaboration

Communication

Project management

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

PhD or JD

Tools

PowerPoint

Word

Excel

Outlook

Teams

Job description

Description

SAIC is seeking an experienced Instructional Systems Designer to join a talented training development team supporting a government client. The selected candidate will help design, develop, and modernize training for new employees, ensuring that course content is engaging, mission-relevant, instructionally sound, and aligned with client expectations.

This role requires a skilled learning professional with experience in the Intelligence Community, strong instructional design expertise, and the ability to work closely with subject matter experts, instructors, multimedia developers, graphics specialists, and client stakeholders. The ideal candidate will bring a deep understanding of adult learning principles, curriculum development, and the unique needs of learners entering a complex mission environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Designing, developing, and updating training materials for new employee courses and onboarding programs.
• Applying instructional design methodologies such as ADDIE, SAM, or similar models to create effective learning solutions.
• Working with subject matter experts to analyze training needs and translate complex technical or mission-focused content into clear learning objectives, lessons, activities, and assessments.
• Developing instructor-led, blended, scenario-based, role-play, and interactive learning experiences.
  Creating and revising lesson plans, facilitator guides, student guides, slide decks, exercises, assessments, job aids, and supporting course materials.
• Collaborating with instructors, course directors, multimedia developers, graphics teams, and client stakeholders to produce high-quality training products.
• Supporting the design of training that prepares new employees for success in their roles and reinforces organizational standards, expectations, and mission priorities.
• Incorporating adult learning principles, practical application, learner engagement strategies, and performance-based outcomes into course design.
• Reviewing existing curriculum to identify gaps, outdated content, redundancies, and opportunities for improvement.
• Supporting course pilots, classroom observations, learner evaluations, and after-action reviews.
  Using student feedback, instructor input, and performance data to recommend and implement course improvements.
• Ensuring training materials are accurate, current, well-organized, and suitable for delivery in a classified government environment.
• Maintaining strong communication with the client and internal team to ensure training development activities remain on schedule and aligned with program requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelors and ten (10) years or more of related experience; Masters and eight (8) years or more experience ; PhD or JD and five (5) years or more experience.
• Active TS/SCI clearance with Full Scope Polygraph.
• Prior experience working in or supporting the Intelligence Community.
• Demonstrated experience designing training for adult learners.
• Strong understanding of instructional design principles, adult learning theory, and curriculum development best practices.
• Experience developing instructor-led training, blended learning, scenario-based training, role-play activities, practical exercises, and assessments.
• Ability to work effectively with subject matter experts to capture, organize, and translate complex information into usable training materials.
• Strong writing, editing, organization, and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a fast-paced, client-facing environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools, especially PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams.
• Ability to work collaboratively with instructional designers, instructors, multimedia specialists, graphics teams, course managers, and government stakeholders.

Target salary range: $160,001 - $200,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.