Instructional Designer – Temp

Penn Information Systems & Computing

Instructional Designer at the University of Pennsylvania creating engaging online courses while collaborating with faculty. Designing and managing course content to improve learning outcomes in a higher education setting.

Posted 5/5/2026full-timePhiladelphia • Pennsylvania • 🇺🇸 United StatesJuniorMid-Level💰 $7 - $35 per hourWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Work with faculty to design highly engaging, scalable online courses that meet Penn Engineering course standards.
Manage the development or revisions of an average of 2-3 courses at a time at various stages in process.
Drive the learning design process by guiding faculty through key decisions about how to transform their courses for online students and manage timelines and deliverables.
Lead development of learning design deliverables, including learning objectives, assessments, content plans, activity types, and student interactions.
Work with faculty and teaching assistants as subject matter experts and content producers to generate rigorous and engaging learning assets that highlight Penn and our faculty.
Build Canvas course shells and author relevant assets; document and manage asset records.
Design with course accessibility at the forefront, audit existing course materials for accessibility, write alt-text, and update PDFs where appropriate.
Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor's Degree with 1-2 years of experience designing full online courses or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Strong collaborator and communicator capable of working closely with colleagues to achieve project objectives in a fast-paced environment.
Demonstrated ability to work autonomously and deliver on precise deadlines.
Passion for learning and remaining on the cutting edge of current thinking in the field and an ability to articulate a perspective on these topics.
Experience working in a higher ed institution, collaborating directly with faculty to diplomatically guide them toward effective outcomes.
Familiarity with a variety of web and interactive technologies and how they support effective learning (i.e. Canvas and Panopto).
Basic understanding of front-end design and development (UX principles, HTML, etc.).
Knowledge of best practices, processes, and current developments in online education and learning science.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare.
Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

course designlearning objectivesassessmentscontent plansactivity typesstudent interactionsfront-end designHTMLaccessibility auditinglearning science

Soft Skills

collaborationcommunicationautonomytime managementproject managementdiplomacyadaptabilitypassion for learningperspective articulationfast-paced environment