Instructional Design Specialist, and Economic

AIR is seeking an Instructional Design Specialist to create engaging learning resources, multimedia products, and performance support tools that support workforce development, career pathway advancement, and employment-focused education and training initiatives for internal and client-facing projects. As a member of the Employment and Economic Opportunity Program Area, this individual contributor will bring expertise in instructional design, content development, emerging technologies, and AI-enabled tools to develop, maintain, and continuously improve practical, accessible learning solutions that support workforce readiness and career success for learners, practitioners, and organizations.

The Instructional Design Specialist will develop instructional, communication, and multimedia materials focused on career pathways, workforce preparation, skill development, employment advancement, and related education and training topics; coordinate assigned project activities; and collaborate with internal and external partners to design, test, refine, maintain, and support scaling learning products and experiences. The specialist will also research and apply emerging learning tools and practices, integrate innovative approaches to workforce-focused learning, and evaluate whether learning solutions achieve their intended outcomes for learners, educators, workforce professionals, and employers.

Candidates hired for the position may work remotely within the United States (U.S.) or from one of our U.S. office locations . This does not include U.S. territories.

Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance to address some of the most pressing challenges in the United States and globally. We generate evidence and apply data-driven solutions that expand opportunities and improve lives for all.

The responsibilities for the position include:

• Design, develop, and curate engaging learning resources, knowledge-sharing products, and performance support tools, including instructional videos, job aids, toolkits, playbooks, infographics, guides, templates, modules, and digital learning products.
• Create multimedia learning assets using a range of authoring, design, and video production tools.
• Maintain, update, and enhance existing learning materials to ensure they remain accurate, accessible, relevant, and aligned with evolving learner and project needs.
• Support the development and application of AI-enhanced learning solutions and workflows that improve content development, learner engagement, efficiency, and knowledge transfer.
• Research and analyze learning needs, emerging practices, and new technologies; test and evaluate promising approaches to strengthen learning products and development processes.
• Collaborate with subject matter experts and stakeholders to design, test, and refine learning experiences and resources.
• Apply evidence-based instructional design principles, accessibility standards, and adult learning practices to all products and deliverables.
• Coordinate assigned project activities and contribute to the successful implementation of learning and innovation initiatives.
• Define appropriate measures of learning success and gather and analyze user feedback and other data to assess usability, engagement, learning transfer, and intended outcomes.
• Use evaluation findings to continuously improve learning products and experiences.

Education, Knowledge, and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in instructional design, learning technologies, education, communications, or a related field;
  Master's degree preferred.
• 2+ years of experience developing digital learning resources, instructional materials, multimedia assets, or performance support tools for organizational adult learners.
• Experience using learning and design tools such as Articulate Storyline, Rise, Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, Camtasia, Synthesia, or similar platforms.
• Experience creating multimedia assets, including videos, graphics, job aids, templates, or interactive learning products.
• Familiarity with learning technologies, design tools, and AI-enabled productivity tools.
• Knowledge of instructional design principles, adult learning theory, and accessibility standards.
• Familiarity with learning evaluation…