About Ziplines

Ziplines Education is a category-leading education company that partners with universities to deliver industry-focused certificate courses that prepare professionals for today’s digital-first workforce. Each year, we have the opportunity to help thousands of career advancers build the knowledge, skills, and credentials they need to move their careers forward. 92% of learners would recommend our programs, and our net promoter score is consistently in the excellent range. Together, we empower adult learners to confidently pursue the career they’ve always wanted.

The role:

As a Learning Experience Designer with Ziplines, you’ll create truly transformational courses for working adults. Our courses are focused, pragmatic, and application-based, yet they also shift mindsets, teach frameworks, and give learners the confidence to move differently in their careers. Our asynchronous materials need to be rigorous, but focused and energetic enough to engage learners in hour 10, 12, or 14 of their working days. Our live learning materials need to drive consistent engagement and coverage, yet also be customizable by our industry-expert live instructors. Our assignments need to scaffold skills, yet also be true to life. And we need to do it all while weaving together the insights of a broad range of industry Subject Matter Experts – without oversimplifying or overwhelming. We’re looking for early-career Learning Experience Designers with solid foundational skills who are up for the challenge. Reporting to the Director of Learning Experience Design, you will work closely with a team of Senior Learning Experience Designers to deliver truly great learning experiences.

Who you are:

You have 1–3 years of professional instructional design experience focused on adult learners. You’re skilled in developing both synchronous and asynchronous instructional materials. You are a reliably clear, fast, and on-target writer. You can drive results in dynamic, ambiguous situations and may have some entrepreneurial or startup experience.

You would describe yourself as someone who:

• Stands in the learner’s shoes. You can read a learner persona, review learner data and feedback, and quickly develop a plan to reach that audience. What needs explaining? What needs reinforcement? What context do they need? What matters to them and how do you deliver that?
• Has solid instructional design skills across a range of subject matter. You can develop click-by-click software training and you can teach mindsets. You can design application activities that move beyond memorization. You realize that boredom and fakeness are the enemies of adult learning.
• Has utterly reliable writing and editing skills. You’re able to quickly write clear, on-target instructional copy in brand voice. In addition, you can put on your editorial hat and improve and QA others’ work. You can apply a style guide.
• Embraces technology. You’ve figured out a set of best practices for using tools like ChatGPT to extend your reach and streamline your processes while retaining your critical eye and instructional judgment (or you’re eager to do so).
• Pays attention to detail but doesn’t only pay attention to detail. You can track details and work toward flawless output, but you’re also able to zoom out and see the big picture, the context, the business and learning goals.
• Owns the problem and isn’t defeated by ambiguity. You drive toward results, anticipate potential challenges, seek information, address issues, and implement effective solutions without waiting for direction. At the same time, you can see the edge of your own problem space and know when to escalate or seek thought partnership from others. You ask the right questions.
• Actually kind of enjoys deadlines. You can see the timeline in your head and it doesn’t scare you. You can manage multiple deadlines across projects and workstreams. But when you start to see a roadblock or a capacity issue, you understand that the best thing you can do is raise a flag and ask for help.
• Grows via feedback. You want your work to be amazing, you want to build your skills, and you understand that feedback is just information that helps you steer toward those goals.

What you’ll do:

• Build synchronous and asynchronous course components in Articulate Rise, ensuring that content is engaging, instructionally sound, and effectively tailored for adult learners.

• Design and revise live session slide decks that include activities that are: aligned with our instructional design standards, tailored for our audience, manageable for our live learning support staff, and customizable by our live session instructors.
• Develop study guides that concisely summarize key course content and provide learners with opportunities for reflection and deeper internalization of the material.

• Perform peer reviews and quality assurance (QA) of instructional materials through a formal QA process, using a detailed checklist to ensure high standards of quality, consistency, and accuracy.
• As directed, monitor the bug queue for existing courses and work with the Senior LXD course owner to roll out minor course updates.
• Participate in LXD team meetings and contribute to team discussions on improving team processes and the learning experience.
• Participate in SME meetings with Senior LXDs, asking targeted questions to surface and refine the content and the instructional approach.
• Maintain project documentation and track project status in Monday.com.
• Assist with pre-launch production tasks in the learning management system.
• Review subject matter expert videos for quality and context, annotate videos with slide requirements, review slides for quality and alignment with standards.
• Upload subject matter expert videos into Articulate Rise.
• Ensure all learning modules meet accessibility standards by adding alt text, captions, transcripts, and other necessary elements for an inclusive learning experience.
• Assist with scheduling, conducting, and summarizing learner and SME interviews to support course development.

Our core values:

• Focus on outcomes: We prioritize student satisfaction and outcomes above all.
• Be trustworthy: We act with integrity and follow through on our commitments.
• Be humble: We’re in this together, and every team member’s perspective matters.
• Be curious: Continuous learning drives us forward.
• Be you: Diverse thinking is essential for opportunity and innovation.

Perks and benefits at Ziplines Education (full-time employees):

• Equity: Each full-time employee has the option to invest in Ziplines Education with stock options vesting over four years.
• Time off: We offer flexible paid time off plus 10 paid holidays.
• Flexible, remote work environment: As a fully distributed team, we connect weekly as a team and meet in person at least once a year.
• Family health and wellness: Choose from a range of medical, dental, and vision plans, with premiums starting at $0/month.
• 401K: Plan for your future with our company-sponsored 401K.

The salary range for this role is $70,000 – 90,000 USD annually for candidates located in the San Francisco Bay Area (this is considered the Ziplines Education virtual home base). Individual compensation packages are based on a few different factors unique to each candidate, including their skills, location, experience, qualifications, and other job-related considerations.

To apply:

To apply, please submit the following with your application. All documents should be in .pdf format.

1. Resume
2. Cover letter
3. 150-300 word writing sample with any use of AI tools (including Grammarly) disclosed

Later in the process after screening interviews we will also ask for:

• A portfolio including 4 – 6 samples of your work, showing the breadth of your capabilities across synchronous and asynchronous modalities and across different subject matter. Each sample in the portfolio should have a brief introduction covering the learner population, the instructional context, when you did the work (month and year), and your contribution to the work.
• Three references who can speak to your instructional design work and/or to your characteristics as a colleague or direct report.

To ensure a fair and consistent hiring process, we kindly ask that all applicants submit their applications through our job board rather than reaching out directly via LinkedIn, phone, or email. This helps our recruitment team review every application efficiently and equitably. We truly appreciate your interest in joining our team and look forward to considering your application!

Ziplines, Inc. is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other protected characteristics under applicable law.