Senior Instructional Designer

USP•Rockville, MD

13h•$85,200 - $108,400

About The Position

The Senior Instructional Designer plays a critical role in translating enterprise talent strategy into high-impact, scalable learning experiences that build organizational capability and drive business performance. Reporting to the Sr. Manager, Talent Strategy & Development, this role designs and delivers modern, learner-centric solutions that enable USP to develop critical skills, accelerate leadership readiness, and strengthen workforce effectiveness. As part of the integrated Talent Strategy & Development model, this role moves beyond traditional course development to support a holistic talent lifecycle, shaping how employees grow, perform, and advance within the organization. The Senior Instructional Designer partners closely with Talent Acquisition, HR Business Partners, and business leaders to ensure learning solutions are aligned to workforce strategy, capability needs, and future skills priorities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Instructional Design, Organizational Development, or related field. Four (4) years of relevant experience will be considered in lieu of degree; in addition to the following:
5+ years of experience in instructional design, learning experience design, or talent development.
Demonstrated expertise in Instructional Systems Design (ISD) with hands-on experience
Strong proficiency with instructional design tools (e.g., Articulate, Captivate) and LMS platforms designing and implementing structured learning programs across a multigenerational workforce.
Proven ability to build enterprise-level learning strategies in complex, global organizations
Experience partnering with senior leaders to drive organizational capability and effectiveness
Strong understanding of talent lifecycle strategies, including workforce planning, leadership development, and succession
Exceptional communication, stakeholder management, and influencing skills

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Instructional Design, Organizational Development, Human Resources, or related field.
Experience in skills-based learning, capability frameworks, or workforce transformation initiatives
Knowledge of adult learning theory, digital learning strategies, and experience design principles
Experience working in global, matrixed organizations
Strong analytical skills with ability to connect learning outcomes to business performance
Certification in learning or talent disciplines (e.g., ATD, CPTD)
Experience leading transformation in talent, learning, or HR operating models.
Data-driven mindset with ability to translate analytics into business insights.
Executive presence with strong influencing and stakeholder management skills.
Experience in global, matrixed, and mission-driven organizations.

Responsibilities

Design and develop innovative, engaging learning solutions (digital, instructor-led, blended, and experiential) aligned to enterprise talent priorities.
Apply modern instructional design methodologies (e.g., ADDIE, Agile, design thinking) to build scalable, high-quality learning experiences.
Translate business needs, workforce capability gaps, and strategic priorities into targeted learning interventions.
Develop curriculum architectures, learning journeys, and capability pathways across key roles and functions.
Partner with the Sr. Manager, Talent Management to operationalize talent strategy through learning solutions.
Align design efforts to support end-to-end talent lifecycle outcomes, including attract, hire, onboarding, development, internal mobility, and leadership readiness.
Ensure learning solutions support skills-based workforce strategies and capability frameworks.
Integrate learning into broader talent initiatives, including employer value proposition (EVP), career pathing, and succession planning.
Serve as a consultative partner to HRBPs, business leaders, and functional teams to diagnose performance gaps and recommend solutions.
Collaborate with Talent Acquisition to design onboarding and early talent development experiences.
Conducts and facilitates new hire orientations, organization-wide training sessions, workshops and teambuilding as required.
Partner with external vendors and internal SMEs to co-create high-impact learning solutions.
Influence stakeholders on best practices in learning, experience design, and capability development.
Leverage emerging technologies and digital tools (AI-enabled learning, learning experience platforms, microlearning) to modernize offerings.
Design learner-centric experiences that prioritize engagement, accessibility, and measurable outcomes.
Continuously evolve learning approaches to align with industry trends and workforce expectations.
Creates and maintains learning and development resources in the learning management system to ensure accurate offerings, catalogs and assignments to comply with ISO and training records SOP requirements and reporting.
Define and track learning effectiveness metrics, including engagement, knowledge transfer, and business impact.
Use data and learner insights to continuously improve solutions and inform future design.
Partner with Talent Management leadership to demonstrate ROI and capability impact of learning investments.
Support the management of learning assets within LMS/LXP platforms, ensuring accuracy, accessibility, and compliance.
Maintain quality standards, documentation, and governance processes across learning programs.
Contribute to vendor selection, content strategy, and learning technology optimization.