Manager Learning Design & Development

Company

Alaska Airlines

Guided by our purpose, core values, and leadership principles, we are creating an airline people love. Our corporate teams set the strategies and operational plans to ensure the success of our company. Whether we use our expertise in accounting, human resources, finance, planning, legal, marketing, or any of our operational divisions, our shared passion for travel and our guests is what motivates us to achieve excellence each day.

If you share our passion for creating an airline people love, we want to hear from you.

The Manager, Learning Design & Development leads the team responsible for the creation of high-impact, scalable learning experiences that advance business goals and elevate employee performance. This role builds individual and team capability responsible for use of emerging technologies, including AI, to enhance learning design efficiency, learner experience, and business impact. They ensure all solutions reflect best practices in human-centered design, accessibility, and measurable outcomes and drives continuous improvement across the learning design lifecycle.

As an expert in learning design, the manager will also contribute directly to the design, development and curation of learning experiences. This leader will play a key role in advancing AI literacy across our learning ecosystem, using AI as both a design partner and a learning partner in service of performance and growth.

• Lead the learning design lifecycle (Intake & Discovery through Measurement & Continuous Improvement), owning requirements, design blueprints, instructional standards, and overall quality.
• Integrate AI-enabled tools and practices into the learning design lifecycle to accelerate analysis, design, development, personalization, and iteration while maintaining quality, accessibility, and human-centered standards.
• Build AI literacy within the Learning Design & Development team through coaching, shared practices, and experimentation informed by enterprise guidance and ethical standards.
• Seek and implement workforce AI capability building, ensuring employees develop the skills and confidence to effectively leverage AI tools in their day-to-day work.
• Lead governance checkpoints aligned to the People Team Collaborative Operating Model (requirements, sign off, design approval, pilot/beta, sign off) to confirm alignment, readiness, risk mitigation, and measurable success criteria.
• Partner with the Director, L&D and stakeholders to translate objectives into learning outcomes and success metrics, integrating feedback into future cycles.
• Institutionalize human-centered, inclusive, and accessible design practices, templates, and design patterns across teams.
• Coach, mentor, and develop Experience and Instructional Designers, establishing review cadences, peer design critiques, and feedback loops from pilots and delivery.
• Use impact data and learner insights to drive iteration, maintain maintenance roadmaps, and sunset or refresh content as needed.

This position may be based in either Seattle, WA or Honolulu, HI. Pay ranges for each location are below.

• Honolulu, HI: $ - $
• Seattle, WA: $ - $

• 5 years of learning experience, instructional design or related discipline.
• 2 years of leadership experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Instructional Design, Learning Science, Education, UX, or related field; or 2 additional years of relevant experience/training in lieu of a degree.
• Expertise in adult learning theory, design thinking, accessibility, portfolio and project management, and stakeholder engagement.
• Demonstrated curiosity and capability in applying emerging technologies, including AI, to improve learning design and learner outcomes.
• Strong knowledge of digital learning tools and experiential learning techniques.
• Proficiency with eLearning authoring tools (e.g., Articulate, Rise) and collaboration/design tools.
• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Minimum age of 18.
• Must be authorized to work in the U.S.

• ATD CPLP/CPTD certification.
• SCORM/xAPI experience and data-driven evaluation (e.g., Kirkpatrick, ROI).