Director of Learning Design

How to Apply

A cover letter and resume are important submissions for the hiring team to get a sense of your experience. In the cover letter, in two pages or less, please let us know how this role aligns with your career aspirations and skill set. Submit both a cover letter and resume as one file (because of system limitations).

What You'll Do

The Center for Academic Innovation at the University of Michigan invites applications for the Director of Learning Design role. Reporting to the Chief Learning Officer, you will use a deep understanding of research-driven design practices, inclusive pedagogy, and emerging technologies and trends to set the strategic vision for learning design for the Center, ensuring that every experience is engaging, scalable, and learner-centered. You will lead and inspire the Design Management (DM) and Learning Experience Design (LXD) teams, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Your ability to align design strategy with institutional goals, anticipate evolving learner needs, and champion excellence in digital learning will be instrumental in shaping a cutting-edge learning portfolio. As a skilled leader and mentor, you will cultivate a dynamic and inclusive team, optimizing design processes, advancing accessibility, and integrating emerging technologies to transform the educational experience for a broad range of global learners. 

Mission Statement

Organizational Statement on Harassment 

We believe all individuals deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and have the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes mutual respect and a safe space for collaboration. Any concerns shared with Individuals with Reporting Obligations in the Center for Academic Innovation will be reported to the Equity, Civil Rights, & Title IX Office to be reviewed and addressed, and the Center for Academic Innovation encourages reporting of any forms of harassment including sexual and gender-based harassment.

Who We Are

About the Center for Academic Innovation 

Through curricular innovation, tools for student success, and educational research and analytics, the University of Michigan Center for Academic Innovation is building the future of education. Our vision is a future in which education connects and empowers learners everywhere to reach their full potential throughout their lives. To realize our vision, we make it our mission to collaborate across campus and around the world to create equitable, lifelong educational opportunities for learners everywhere. 

About Online Learning at CAI 

The Online Learning teams within CAI include five teams that collaborate with others across the Center and University to design and develop online learning experiences that support the future of education for a global community. We work with faculty and academic unit leaders to envision how they can expand reach and impact, advance innovative teaching, and support greater access and lifelong learning through the design and development of integrated online learning experiences. Our teams focus on the following areas:

• Strategic sourcing of new opportunities for online learning; 
• Developing internal and external partnerships that promote engagement with learning experiences; 
• Providing program management services throughout degree program development and operations; 
• Supporting end-to-end design and development of learning experiences, including design management, learning experience design, and iteration of learning experiences after they have launched;
• Supporting learners success and engagement in live courses and programs. 

For more information, please visit our website: Academic Innovation . 

Responsibilities*

Learning Design Strategy and Vision 

• Establish and implement a vision for design strategies for learning initiatives that span multiple modalities (online, blended, and hybrid learning), aligning with institutional goals and learner needs
• Foster a culture of innovation, experimentation, and continuous improvement in design processes for digital learning experiences 
• Contribute to planning and implementation for short and long-range objectives within the Center 
• Evaluate evolving skill, knowledge, and competency needs among learning design teams, and establish team development plans to maintain excellent service capabilities 
• Analyze team composition, bandwidth projections, and necessary capability set to support design of a comprehensive learning experience portfolio, including optimally balancing internal and external solutions for capacity and capability-building to execute design strategy to meet design demand
• Analyze performance of existing platforms and partnerships, informing discussions regarding improvement of services or platform capabilities to support attainment of goals and objectives for the learning portfolio
• Work with Center leadership to develop and implement annual budget and human capital plans for the Design Management (DM) and Learning Experience Design (LXD) Teams
• Establish strategic approaches and team vision for implementing research and data-driven design practices
• Maintain knowledge of trends in online, blended, and hybrid learning; alternative credentials; and workforce-aligned education 
• Support the success of externally partnered programs by contributing to evaluation efforts, identifying academic requirements, or coordinating internship components where applicable 

Design Team Oversight and Direction: 

• Provide direction and oversight for the Center's end-to-end design processes, engaging effective design management and pedagogical practices that result in engaging, scalable, and learner-centered experiences 
• Establish and enforce design standards and quality assurance processes to ensure high-quality, engaging, and accessible learning experiences 
• Support analysis, evaluation, and iteration of established online learning experiences, providing research- and evidenced-based recommendations to improve effectiveness and optimize learner engagement 
• Establish design guidelines, processes, and resources that are agile and responsive to new directions, initiatives, and learning experience types, including supporting integration or development of AI-driven learning, experiential technologies, and emerging product types 
• Propose technical or innovative solutions to project management and pedagogical design challenges 
• Advance design approaches, considering broad audiences of learners located globally, and foregrounding issues of access, reach, and thoughtful pedagogy throughout the design process 
• Promote excellence in the faculty experience through evaluation of design processes, establishing an exceptional service model for design services 

Staff Supervision and Leadership:  

• Provide overall leadership for the Design Management (DM) and Learning Experience Design (LXD) teams 
• Engage with team leadership to determine appropriate and optimal distribution of effort across project assignments
• Work with team leadership to develop the array of professional skills and a healthy team culture necessary to foster professional growth among team members and to provide exceptional design services
• Maintain a work environment that is respectful and encouraging of differing perspectives and backgrounds by setting clear guidelines for expected behaviors as well as leading team and individual conversations
• Ensure integrity of searches for motivated and highly qualified team members, and high standards for day-to day management and annual performance evaluations of team members 

Modes of Work

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes .

Additional Information

Salary Information 

The general salary range for this position is $130,000 - $145,000. Candidates can expect to be paid a competitive and equitable salary. Factors used to determine salary include education level, experience, knowledge and skills for the position and salaries that are currently established within the unit. All candidates are encouraged to discuss salary questions to honor alignment and transparency throughout the recruiting process. 

The mode of work for this position is Hybrid. The work requirements for this position allow both onsite and offsite work and you will have an expected regular and recurring onsite presence. On occasion, you may be required and must be available to work onsite more frequently if necessitated by our center's policy and domain leadership or by your job requirements. 

Must have authorization to work in the U.S. 

The salary for this position will be based upon the selected candidate's education and experience. 

Excellent benefits are available, for details, see http://benefits.umich.edu/ 

Background Screening

The University of Michigan conducts background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background checks. Background checks will be performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Application Deadline

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. This job may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the minimum posting period has ended. 

Decision Making Process

Applications will be reviewed as received throughout the posting period and continue until the position is filled.

U-M EEO Statement

The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.

Required Qualifications*

• Master's degree in Instructional Design, Learning Sciences, Educational Technology, Curriculum Development, or a related field. 
• 7+ years of experience in instructional design, learning experience design, or educational technology, with a focus on blended, hybrid, and online learning. 
• 3+ years of experience in a leadership role, managing teams of learning experience designers, instructional technologists, or curriculum developers.
• Experience leading design of online, blended, and hybrid learning initiatives at scale in higher education, corporate learning, or alternative credentials.
• Budget management and resource allocation experience.
• Knowledge of learning design frameworks, LMS platforms (e.g. Canvas), learning analytics, multimedia learning, and experiential learning technologies.
• Familiarity with AI in education, digital credentials, and competency-based education.
• Experience setting and implementing a strategic vision for the design of online, blended, and hybrid learning initiatives.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and promoting collaboration across academic units, external partners, and internal project teams. 
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and change management skills to support faculty and institutional adoption of new learning models. 
• Commitment to data-driven decision-making and learning analytics. 
• Ability to drive innovation while balancing scalability and sustainability. 
• Experience with learner-centered design, including designing for a broad range of learners, and continuous improvement.