Senior Instructional Designer

Mcgraw Hill; Chicago (IL); Remote; USD 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work

Job summary

McGraw Hill, a leader in digital and print educational resources, seeks a Senior Instructional Designer for K-5 ELA in our K-12 division. This remote position supports literacy program design across grades K-5 for US-based applicants, with a fixed-term PSW through 8/31/2027.

You will lead design of high-quality, accessible digital learning experiences, collaborating with SMEs, product managers, UX designers, and engineers, while mentoring team members and driving cross-functional alignment

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Instructional Design, Instructional Technology, Curriculum & Instruction, or a related field.
• Experience designing for digital platforms and creating learning experiences with authoring tools, learning management systems, and content management systems.
• Strong understanding of accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) and universal design for learning (UDL).
• Proficiency with Agile workflows, sprint-based iteration, and collaborative team environments.
• Ability to lead cross-functional problem-solving with product, UX, and engineering teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with experience presenting to internal stakeholders and external partners.
• Strong ability to organize work across multiple priorities and make data-informed decisions.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and capable of influencing trade‑off decisions across scope, quality, time, and resources.

Responsibilities

• Design and storyboard digital-first curriculum using Understanding by Design (UbD), backward design, and design thinking principles.
• Develop prototypes, proof-of-concepts (POCs), and digital content tools in collaboration with subject matter experts (SMEs) and technical support.
• Contribute to and lead build rounds, manuscript reviews, user testing, and storyboarding.
• Write and maintain clear and user-centered product requirement documents.
• Apply accessibility best practices and proactively design accessible content and tools.
• Partner with content, UX, technology, engineering, and product teams to design learning experiences that are engaging and instructionally sound.
• Support Agile product development workflows through iterative feedback, sprint planning, and testing.
• Collaborate on tool enhancements and feature development, translating instructional needs into technical requirements.
• Contribute to cross-functional teams to ensure that product requirements, project schedules, and product goals are met and completed on time.
• Lead workflows across multiple components of the product, ensuring that timelines and quality benchmarks are met.
• Provide informal training and mentorship to Instructional Designers and Associate Instructional Designers, and new team members.
• Act as a point of contact for vendors, providing clear guidance, feedback, and decision-making support.
• Create and maintain documentation for digital workflows, best practices, and instructional guidelines.
• Identify, pilot, and scale novel approaches to digital learning that add measurable value for educators and learners.
• Support user testing studies by interpreting results and making strategic recommendations.
• Support digital product tasks such as metadata tagging, concept mapping, and digital editing.
• Troubleshoot complex technical and instructional challenges through root cause analysis.
• Develop and refine best practices for using digital tools and for creating engaging content within technical constraints.

Skills

Instructional design

Agile methodologies

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Data-informed decisions

Problem-solving

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Instructional Design or related

Tools

Authoring tools

LMS

Content Management Systems

Job description

Build the Future

At McGraw Hill we create best-in-class, next-generation learning platforms that are used by millions of students and educators worldwide from kindergarten through graduate school. Our goal is to accelerate student success through intuitive and effective learning tools and content that maximize a teacher’s time and a student’s learning experience. We do all of this in a supportive, collaborative environment where you can grow your career in a way that fits into your life.

How can you make an impact?

McGraw Hill, the leading provider of digital and print educational resources, is looking for a Senior Instructional Designer, K-5 ELA for our K-12 division literacy programs. This is a remote position open to applicants authorized to work for any employer within the United States.

As a Senior Instructional Designer for Grades K-5 ELA, you will be a pivotal contributor in designing high-quality digital learning experiences used by millions of students and educators. Working within a collaborative and cross-functional team of content experts, product managers, UX designers, and creative technologists, you will lead and support the creation of engaging, standards-aligned, and accessible literacy products for middle and high school learners. Your expertise will help shape robust curriculum and digital tools that drive learning, equity, and innovation. You will balance hand-on design work with process improvement, mentorship, and cross-functional collaboration across the product development lifecycle.

This is a remote role based in the United States. This is a Project Status Worker (PSW) role with a fixed term through 8/31/2027.

What you will be doing:

• Design and storyboard digital-first curriculum using Understanding by Design (UbD), backward design, and design thinking principles.
• Develop prototypes, proof-of-concepts (POCs), and digital content tools in collaboration with subject matter experts (SMEs) and technical support.
• Contribute to and lead build rounds, manuscript reviews, user testing, and storyboarding.
• Write and maintain clear and user-centered product requirement documents.
• Apply accessibility best practices and proactively design accessible content and tools.
• Partner with content, UX, technology, engineering, and product teams to design learning experiences that are engaging and instructionally sound.
• Support Agile product development workflows through iterative feedback, sprint planning, and testing.
• Collaborate on tool enhancements and feature development, translating instructional needs into technical requirements.
• Contribute to cross-functional teams to ensure that product requirements, project schedules, and product goals are met and completed on time.
• Lead workflows across multiple components of the product, ensuring that timelines and quality benchmarks are met.
• Provide informal training and mentorship to Instructional Designers and Associate Instructional Designers, and new team members.
• Act as a point of contact for vendors, providing clear guidance, feedback, and decision-making support.
• Create and maintain documentation for digital workflows, best practices, and instructional guidelines.
• Identify, pilot, and scale novel approaches to digital learning that add measurable value for educators and learners.
• Support user testing studies by interpreting results and making strategic recommendations.
• Support digital product tasks such as metadata tagging, concept mapping, and digital editing.
• Troubleshoot complex technical and instructional challenges through root cause analysis.
• Develop and refine best practices for using digital tools and for creating engaging content within technical constraints.

What you bring:

• Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Instructional Design, Instructional Technology, Curriculum & Instruction, or a related field.
• Experience designing for digital platforms and creating learning experiences with authoring tools, learning management systems, and content management systems.
• Strong understanding of accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) and universal design for learning (UDL).
• Proficiency with Agile workflows, sprint-based iteration, and collaborative team environments.
• Ability to lead cross-functional problem-solving with product, UX, and engineering teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with experience presenting to internal stakeholders and external partners.
• Strong ability to organize work across multiple priorities and make data-informed decisions.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and capable of influencing trade‑off decisions across scope, quality, time, and resources.
• Preferred Experience
• Deep understanding of curriculum development for grades K-5, especially within the ELA discipline; classroom teaching experience is a strong plus.
• Experience working with or managing freelancers and vendors.
• Familiarity with K-12 educational publishing, edtech platforms, and/or literacy curriculum design.
• Engagement in professional learning networks or thought leadership communities.

Why work for us?

The pay range for this position is between $65,000 - $75,000 annually. However, base pay offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location. Additionally, a full range of medical and/or other benefits may be provided, depending on the position offered. Click here to learn more about our benefit offerings.

McGraw Hill recruiters always use a "@mheducation.com or @careers.mheducation.com" email address and/or from our Applicant Tracking System, iCIMS. Any variation of this email domain should be considered suspicious. Additionally, McGraw Hill recruiters and authorized representatives will never request sensitive information in email.

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McGraw Hill is committed to celebrating and supporting the differences that make us each unique and will not discriminate based on a person's gender, gender identity or expression, nationality, color, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, appearance or veteran status. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and we will also provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities.

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