Instructor (Engineering)

Western Governors University; United States; Remote; USD 74,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonuses

Health insurance

Flexible paid time off

11 paid holidays

Discounted WGU tuition

Job summary

Western Governors University is seeking a full-time instructor to teach and support a caseload of online students in assigned courses. Instructors deliver specialized instruction, monitor progress, and ensure course completion with flexible, student-centered approaches.

The role emphasizes adult learning principles, virtual one-to-one coaching, and collaboration with program faculty to maintain quality of support and equity for diverse learners.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in an AI- or machine learning-related field (such as Computer Science or Software Engineering)
• 3 years of relevant professional experience, including 1 year of teaching online
• Demonstrated subject matter expert in assigned content or practice area(s)

Responsibilities

• Develop instructional materials aligned with course objectives and competencies.
• Provide proactive, relevant, timely virtual instruction to students.
• Support student progress and course completion through coaching and feedback.
• Facilitate online student communities to encourage engagement and learning.
• Adapt instructional approaches to meet diverse student needs.

Skills

Online teaching

Student support

Communication skills

Curriculum development

Education

Master’s degree in AI/ML-related field

PhD in Electrical or Computer Engineering

Job description

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career. Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is: Grade: Faculty 506 Pay Range: $73,500.00 - $110,200.00

Job Description

Instructors are subject matter experts who teach and support a caseload of students enrolled in their assigned course(s). Instructors offer specialized instruction on topics in their course(s) aligned with best practices, as well as monitor and support student progress in competency development and course completion. They are responsive to learner needs and vary the type, length, method, and intensity of instruction best matched to the learner’s strengths and goals. Using technology, Instructors may interact with students in both group and one-to-one settings. Instructors collaborate with other instructional and program faculty serving the students in their course to ensure continuity and quality of support.

Job Duties

• Develops instructional materials, aligned with identified learning objectives, course competencies, and instructional interventions, to support both student self-service use and use in virtual one-to-many events.
• Provides effective, relevant, and engaging one-to-many virtual events aligned with identified learning objectives.
• Continually develops knowledge, skills, and expertise through active participation in faculty learning community and other developmental opportunities.
• Provides proactive, relevant, timely, and effective one-to-one virtual instruction to students in a specific course or domain.
• Facilitates student communities to support peer collaboration, effective faculty interaction, and student development.
• Student-centered and provides effective one-to-one virtual coaching to help students achieve personal, academic, and career goals.
• Adapts instructional and coaching practices to common and typical student needs.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

Subject-Matter Expertise

• Subject-matter expertise in the assigned content and skills of the course(s)/domain(s)
• Strong knowledge of how student characteristics interact with different learning needs common to the course(s)/domain(s)
• Strong communication skills with the ability to moderate online student communities to encourage engagement and learning.
• Ability to use information from student profiles, learning behaviors, and interactions to identify individual student needs.
• Demonstrates respect for and value of diverse perspectives and experiences.
• Ability to adapt standard resources, templates, and instructional plans for the needs of individual students or groups of students.
• Ability to apply adult learning principles and instructional skills to build student competency in a virtual one-to-one setting.
• Provide encouragement for student self-reflection and metacognition to improve competency in learning objectives.
• Flexibility to adjust instructional approach depending on individual student needs and preference.
• Skilled at using data to identify students in need of proactive support, with the ability to select appropriate tone and content for proactive outreach.
• Ability to adapt the timing, modality, and frequency of outreach/contact to individual student needs and preferences.
• Strong active listening skills and emotional intelligence with the ability to build relationships with adult students.
• Solid understanding of coaching strategies to support personal, academic, and professional development in adult students.
• Willingness to engage in regular self-reflection and re-evaluation of beliefs, perspectives, and approaches to improve equity.
• Proficient in developing presentation materials that align to specified objectives and are visually engaging, understandable, and accessible.
• Ability to develop learning facilitation experiences and effective, formative self-assessment activities aligned with specific objectives to advance student learning.
• Skilled at implementing relationship-building activities for online student communities.
• Ability to facilitate synchronous student interaction in a virtual environment.

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s degree in an AI- or machine learning-related field (such as Computer Science or Software Engineering)
• 3 years of relevant professional experience, including 1 year of teaching online
• Demonstrated subject matter expert in assigned content or practice area(s). AI- or machine learning-related field (such as Computer Science or Software Engineering)

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with distance education and distance learning students is preferred.
• PhD in Electrical or Computer Engineering; 2 - 3 years' experience teaching or in an engineering position.

Job Description Disclaimer

This position description provides the major duties/responsibilities, requirements, and working conditions for the position. It is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current position; however, management reserves the right to revise or change as necessary to meet organizational needs. Other responsibilities may be assigned when circumstances require. This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed. Additional travel may be assigned as needed to support business requirements.

Position & Application Details

• This is a full-time, regular position (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses
• medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare
• health savings account and flexible spending account
• basic and voluntary life insurance
• disability coverage
• accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages
• legal and identity theft coverage
• retirement savings plan
• wellbeing program
• discounted WGU tuition
• flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual
• flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual
• 11 paid holidays
• other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave

Travel

This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed. Additional travel may be assigned as needed to support business requirements.

Equal Employment Opportunity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.

Accommodations

Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at [e-mail].

In 1997, a coalition of 19 U.S. governors founded Western Governors University with a singular vision: to make higher education more accessible by offering full degree programs online. Starting small, we quickly expanded. Today, we’re one of the largest accredited online universities in the U.S. Click on the links below to learn more: Enrollment Counselor Evaluator Field Experience Roles (Part-time & Intermittent) Program Mentor Service Desk Technician Mexico Team