Instructional Designer

Save lives, from the workplace to anyplace.

The National Safety Council is America's leading nonprofit safety advocate. We focus on eliminating the leading causes of preventable injuries and deaths. Through leadership, research, education, and advocacy, NSC focuses on areas where most unintentional injuries and deaths occur.

We are currently looking for a Senior Instructional Designer to join us in our mission to save lives and prevent injuries.

Role:

The Senior Instructional Designer will play a foundational role in shaping how the National Safety Council designs, develops, and delivers training. This is not a role stepping into a mature system-it is an opportunity to help build it.

As NSC modernizes its training portfolio, this role will partner closely with leadership to establish instructional design standards, define product development workflows, and bring structure to a complex and evolving environment. The person in this role will help transform how learning products are created-introducing consistency, improving learner outcomes, and elevating overall product quality.

Success in this role requires someone who is energized by ambiguity and motivated to create clarity, structure, and alignment where it does not yet exist. You will work across teams and stakeholders-many with prior product ownership-to build collaborative processes that replace friction with shared standards and strong outcomes.

At the same time, this role remains deeply hands-on in instructional design-translating complex safety and regulatory content into engaging learning experiences that drive real-world behavior change.

What You'll Own:

• Build the Foundation for Modern Learning Development
  • Help define and implement instructional design standards, templates, and best practices across NSC's training portfolio
  • Establish repeatable, scalable product development workflows in partnership with product managers and leadership
  • Bring structure and clarity to an evolving environment, enabling more consistent and efficient development
• Improve Learning Effectiveness
  • Design learning experiences that translate complex safety and regulatory content into clear, engaging, and actionable training
  • Develop measurable learning objectives, assessments, and activities that ensure learners can apply safety-critical skills in real-world settings
  • Use learner feedback, data, and performance insights to continuously improve product effectiveness
• Elevate the Quality & Consistency of NSC Training Products
  • Establish and apply modern instructional design standards across eLearning, ILT, vILT, and print materials
  • Ensure all learning products reflect current learning science, accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA), and a cohesive user experience
  • Contribute to defining the look, feel, and instructional approach of NSC's evolving training portfolio
• Accelerate Scalable Product Development
  • Lead development of high-quality learning products from concept through launch, ensuring timelines, scope, and quality standards are met
  • Streamline development workflows through strong planning, documentation, and effective use of tools and emerging technologies (including AI)
  • Identify opportunities to improve efficiency without sacrificing instructional integrity
• Strengthen SME & Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Partner with subject matter experts to extract and shape content into structured, learner-centered experiences
  • Create collaborative processes that drive alignment without conflict, balancing input with clear decision-making
  • Collaborate with product, design, and business teams to deliver cohesive, high-impact learning solutions
• Advance Accessibility & Inclusive Design
  • Ensure all learning products are accessible and inclusive, applying best practices for screen readers, captions, and navigation
  • Champion accessibility as a core design principle, not a compliance requirement
• Drive Continuous Improvement & Innovation
  • Identify inefficiencies and gaps in current processes and proactively propose improvements
  • Experiment with new approaches (e.g., microlearning, scenario-based learning, AI-assisted development) to enhance engagement and scalability
  • Contribute to the evolution of NSC's learning strategy and development practices

We're Looking for Someone with:

• Bachelor's degree in Instructional Design, Education, Adult Learning, Educational Technology, or related field
• 5-7+ years of experience designing and developing learning solutions across modalities (eLearning, ILT/vILT, blended, and print)
• Experience working in ambiguous or evolving environments, with the ability to create structure, standards, or processes from scratch
• Experience establishing or improving instructional design workflows, templates, or development standards
• Demonstrated expertise in instructional design methodologies and adult learning principles, with the ability to apply them to complex or technical content
• Proven experience designing learning solutions that drive measurable performance improvement, knowledge retention, or behavior change
• Track record of leading complex, cross-functional learning projects from concept through launch, balancing timelines, quality, and stakeholder needs
• Strong writing, editing, and content structuring skills, with the ability to translate complex or regulatory content into clear, engaging learning experiences
• Experience partnering with SMEs and influencing stakeholders to drive alignment across diverse perspectives or competing priorities
• Experience using AI or emerging technologies to improve development speed, quality, or learner engagement
• Proficiency with eLearning authoring tools (e.g., Articulate Storyline or similar), and familiarity with SCORM/xAPI standards
• Experience using learner feedback, analytics, or performance data to evaluate and continuously improve learning effectiveness
• Familiarity with accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA) and inclusive design practices, including screen reader support and structured navigation
• This is a remote role
• Salary range: $100,000 to $110,000

Reasons You'll Love it here:

NSC cares about the safety, health, and overall well-being of our employees. We offer competitive benefits, resources, and tools to promote a work-life balance that supports employees during all phases of life. We offer the following:

• At least 20 PTO days accrued 1st year and 11 paid holidays
• Flexible work arrangements
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans
• Flex spending accounts for medical and dependent care
• 403(b) & Roth 403(b) with employer match up to 6%
• Reimbursable training
• Dress for your day

Our hiring process is designed to give you the opportunity to shine at each step. It starts with an assessment where you really showcase your drive for the role. From there, candidates selected for the first interview will discuss their skills and how they fit with our team. If you're a match, the second interview takes a deeper dive into your background and how you can contribute to our goals. After that, we'll make our final decision and let you know the outcome. This is our usual process, and we're excited to get to know you along the way!

NSC is a Recovery-Friendly Workplace.
We support individuals in or seeking recovery from substance use disorder by fostering a culture of respect, inclusion, and support. We provide access to confidential resources, reasonable accommodations, and a work environment that values your journey and contributions.

NSC is an equal opportunity employer.