INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGNER (TEMP)
Seattle, WA
Department: GLOBAL INNOVATION EXCHANGE
Appointing Department Web Address: https://gix.uw.edu/
Job Location Detail: This position is hybrid eligible. The position will be require regular on-site work at both the University of Washington’s Seattle campus and the Global Innovation Exchange (GIX) campus in Bellevue, WA.
Salary: $6,667 - $7,500 per month
Shift: First Shift
Notes: As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life programs. For a complete description of our benefits for this position, please visit our website, click here. (https://hr.uw.edu/benefits/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/02/benefits-professional-staff-librarians-academic-contract-covered-exempt-20250130-a11y.pdf)
Although open until June 15, 2025, priority application date is May 15, 2025.
As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact—on our campuses, across the state, and around the world. Our faculty and staff bring boundless energy, creative problem-solving, and a deep commitment to building stronger minds and a healthier future.
UW Faculty and staff enjoy outstanding benefits, opportunities for professional growth, and access to exceptional resources within a diverse and intellectually vibrant community surrounded by natural beauty.
We have an exciting career opportunity for an experienced Instructional Designer to join our team!
Are you skilled at coaching subject matter experts to design and deliver exceptional face-to-face, online, or hybrid courses in an academic setting? If so, we’d love to connect with you about joining our team as a Temporary Instructional Designer.
In this Instructional Designer role, you will collaborate closely with other Instructional Designers, Media Producers, Program Leaders, and Faculty to develop best-in-class courses within the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS).
You’ll apply advanced coaching techniques and core instructional design methodologies daily, particularly backward design—leveraging templates for courses, pages, and documents.
Strong relationship building is essential in this role as is a high level of expertise in Canvas. You’ll be expected to stand up Canvas prototypes and fully developed courses within a matter of weeks to months, sharing your knowledge and guiding others in the platform’s effective use.
This position reports to the Foster School’s Associate Director of Course Development and Delivery and works in close partnership with the Foster Course Development team, as well as faculty and staff from the Global Innovation Exchange (GIX) a joint initiative between the UW College of Engineering and the Foster School of Business. A key focus of your work will be supporting the launch of a new hybrid Master’s program that blends business and engineering curricula.
Each coaching relationship and course development project will be unique, requiring adaptability and a solution-oriented mindset to meet the needs of individual faculty, GIX, and the school. As we continue to expand instructional design and academic media at Foster, you’ll play a critical role in shaping our future—both by mastering our current systems and by helping us improve them through your insights and experience.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Hands-On Design and Canvas Work (75%)
- Build Relationships.
- Engage collaboratively, using advanced coaching – relationship-building skills, with GIX and Foster School faculty (SMEs) and with GIX staff and Foster IS / Course Development team members.
- Support the Backwards Design Process and Revision of Accessible, Inclusive Course Content.
- Analyze and understand teaching and learning needs and use that analysis to inform the development of content delivery, interactions, assessments, and accompanying materials.
- Work with team members and faculty to develop curriculum according to inclusive and universal design principles, WCAG 2.1 AA-level accessibility guidelines, using agile approaches, backwards design, active learning, and a hybridized ADDIE-SAM instructional design methodology.
- Produce, iterate, and refine instructional materials, including but not limited to course outlines, course shells, online activities (both synchronous and asynchronous), and collateral materials (such as rubrics, assignment guides, other scaffolding materials, slides, and simulations / gamifications).
- Analyze, create and translate course outlines into Canvas courses. Rapidly iterate revisions to learning activities housed in Canvas. Use understanding of the Canvas LMS to assist with active-learning design.Team and Project Support (25%)
- Collaborate on the continuous improvement of relevant Program, Course Development, and Instructional Services team goals, objectives, and processes to meet the objectives of the Business School and the University.
- Work as part of the Course Development team to refine and iterate data-gathering and analysis approaches.
- Contribute to maintaining and helping to revise the Course Development project management / documentation systems.
Perform other duties as assigned.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
- Bachelor’s degree in communication, Education, Instructional Design, or a related field.
- A minimum of 2 years of experience in instructional design within higher education, nonprofit, government, or corporate settings. Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
- Expert or near-expert proficiency with the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) for course design and delivery.
- Demonstrated application of established instructional design methodologies, including ADDIE, SAM, rapid prototyping, active learning strategies, adult learning theory, and the use of educational analytics.
- Experience helping educators apply of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and meet ADA compliance requirements, including the DOJ Final Rule on Digital Accessibility as it relates to higher education and instructional materials.
- Strong interpersonal and coaching skills, with a proven ability to build effective relationships with subject matter experts and cross-functional team members.
- Experience serving as a curriculum coach and leading instructional design workshops for staff and faculty audiences.
- Experience supporting video production workflows, including script editing and ensuring alignment of media with learning objectives.
- Proven project management skills in areas such as business operations, program development, training coordination, or business process improvement.
- Demonstrated ability to quickly learn and apply new software tools and technologies independently.
- Proficiency with instructional design documentation tools and practices, including learning project plans, design documents, learning hierarchies, storyboards, prototypes, and similar materials.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Master’s degree in educational technology, Instructional Design, or a closely related field.
- Proven success consulting with business partners and subject matter experts (SMEs) to assess learning needs and recommend effective, high-impact instructional solutions and curricula.
- Experience using Quality Matters, the OLC Quality Scorecard or similar educational evaluation frameworks to assess and enhance course, online, or blended learning design and delivery.
- Proficiency or advanced experience with one or more of the following tools and technologies: CidiLabs DesignPLUS, HTML5, Articulate Storyline, Adobe Creative Suite, CSS, or JavaScript.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
- Frequent interaction with faculty, staff, and graduate students is required.
- The role involves managing deadlines, handling a high volume of work, and navigating frequent interruptions; the work may be stressful at times.
- This is a hybrid position requiring regular on-site work at both the University of Washington’s Seattle campus and the Global Innovation Exchange (GIX) campus in Bellevue, WA. Part-time telework arrangements may be considered.As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life programs. For a complete description of our benefits for this position, please visit our website, click here. (https://hr.uw.edu/benefits/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/02/benefits-professional-staff-librarians-academic-contract-covered-exempt-20250130-a11y.pdf)
University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, among other things, race, religion, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.