Course Design Lead (STEM)

Company Description

Job Description

Macmillan Learning is seeking an enthusiastic and experienced Course Design Lead to join our Pedagogical Design Group. A key pillar of Macmillan Learning’s mission is to lead transformation of learning strategies by empowering educators and learners through digital resources and tools. If you are dedicated to advancing learning through digital pedagogy and have a deep understanding of evidence-based teaching practices and ways to measure their impact, this role offers a unique opportunity to drive positive change in education.

We encourage individuals with academic teaching experience (high school or higher education), ed-tech experience from start-ups to larger organizations, and those with direct experience in educational publishing to apply, among others whose creativity and/or expertise will lead to success in working with a team to develop teaching and learning strategies for digital learning in STEM courses and potentially beyond.

In this key role, you will be at the forefront of educational innovation, ensuring that our digital courses are designed with pedagogical excellence, inclusivity, and effectiveness in mind. You will collaborate closely with partners in editorial, product, sales, and implementation to inform the development of engaging digital learning experiences. You will champion evidence-based teaching methods, envision equitable digital solutions, and continuously iterate and improve our products based on insights from data and user feedback. Join us in our mission to empower learners and shape the future of education.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they can perform every job description task. We strongly encourage and welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, including women and people of color, to apply for this role. We're eager to meet people that believe in our mission and can contribute to our team in a variety of ways - not just candidates who check all the boxes. We believe in fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we recognize that unique perspectives and experiences contribute to the strength of our team. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role. We value your potential, and we are committed to providing a supportive and inclusive environment where all individuals can thrive and contribute their best.

Major responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Develop outcomes-based frameworks, primarily for STEM course areas, including success criteria for evaluating course design.
• Develop and share product monitoring plans and analyze usage patterns with directional takeaways in service of pedagogically effective course designs, based on testing, customer feedback, product data, and understanding of the competitive landscape.
• Participate in reviewing and approving content update plans from editorial teams in order to ensure alignment with best practices.
• Develop scalable methodologies for reinforcing evidence-based instructional design practices and evaluative criteria to assess remediation needs of current content offerings.
• Understand and communicate best practices in the design, interdependencies, and implementation of digital content and digital functionality, to the project teams and authors.
• Strategize on and help implement quality content (interactives, audio, video) and assessment plans for primarily STEM projects by course area or individual title, with Program Directors and Managers. Collaborate with project teams to create effective, inclusive, and innovative content.
• Develop course area dashboards to advise both editorial teams and authors, with a focus on customer retention and new customer acquisition. Analyze usage data and other contextual data (e.g. sentiment, behavior) and conceptualize/build monitoring dashboards using analytics visualization tools such as PowerBI, Amplitude, and Pendo.
• Develop success criteria for test and learn projects to optimize the effectiveness of our digital courses, including indicators for retention and growth.
• Understand and synthesize emerging perspectives on the impact of generative AI on teaching and learning within STEM course areas.
• Work directly with customers, marketing, and sales to support media product adoption and retention.
• Participate in internal and external events to promote products, gather market information, and meet with potential and current authors and reviewers.
• Promote the implementation of Macmillan’s standards and guidelines on creating accessible, diverse, equitable, and inclusive content to ensure learners of all backgrounds and experiences can achieve equitable outcomes.

Job Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelors Degree.
• Experience with either:
  • Developing data- and outcomes-driven approaches to delivering digital learning experiences either as an instructor/educator, content creator, editor, instructional designer, or learning experience designer, or
  • At least 5 years of experience in educational publishing; educational content creation; teaching experience in high schools, community colleges, or universities; and/or creative roles within edtech.
• Demonstrated success in driving change.
• Quick to internalize technology, systems, and practices relevant to the role.
• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to interpret and apply data-driven insights.
• Strong understanding of evidence-based teaching practices and pedagogical approaches in the context of digital education.
• Ability to identify and gather relevant stakeholders in service of identifying and solving problems and developing scalable internal processes. 
• Ability to set priorities, meet deadlines, and work independently.
• Proven ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing to exhibit influence and impact.
• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to form productive cross-functional working relationships and lead cross-functional initiatives.
• Ability to travel for in-person meetings, less than 10% of the time.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certificate or graduate work in educational technology, instructional design, or learning science is a plus.
• Experience with STEM course areas, content, and pedagogies either as a teacher or instructional designer.
• Knowledge of JIRA, PowerBI, Pendo, and Amplitude.
• Working knowledge of learning management systems.