Senior R&D Quality Specialist

Gilead Sciences•Foster City, CA

6d•$117,895 - $152,570

About The Position

Under the general direction of a supervisor, the Senior R&D Quality Specialist serves as lead Instructional Designer on the R&D Quality Instructional Design team. The role leads, with limited guidance, the design, development, deployment, delivery, and maintenance of training materials that support Gilead end-users during system upgrades and new system implementations. The specialist works with internal customers to assess training needs of increasing complexity and may investigate technical project feasibility and provide input on project costs, benefits, and resource requirements. The role applies instructional design principles, models, and learning theories to assess training needs, identify knowledge gaps, analyze learners and tasks, and develop storyboards, learning objectives, and appropriate media. It collaborates with instructional designers and subject matter experts to create interactive eLearning and other multimedia learning solutions. The specialist manages deliverables and workplans, communicates status, creates and quality-checks learning materials, evaluates training effectiveness, supports courses after production, and ensures compliance with established practices and applicable requirements. The role may provide matrix leadership to small teams, coordinate vendor work, mentor colleagues, and contribute to team or departmental standards, tools, and templates.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Instructional Design, Education, or a comparable degree.
Bachelor’s degree with at least 5 years of demonstrated experience as an instructional designer/eLearning developer, or master’s degree with at least 3 years of such experience.

Nice To Haves

Advanced knowledge of instructional design principles and methods, including systematic training needs assessment and industry best practices for training strategy, design, and development.
Advanced knowledge of technical tools and platforms for engaging, media-rich online learning and of educational technology and learning trends; skilled in common instructional authoring tools, especially Articulate Storyline and the Articulate 360 suite.
Mastery of visual design and usability for eLearning and other digital learning.
Ability to independently design and author complex, high-quality instructional content aligned with learning outcomes, course guidelines, and subject matter expert input.
Ability to independently identify effective design solutions for conveying training content.
Ability to structure and manage work to meet deadlines, budgets, and quality expectations, while seeking guidance as needed.
Ability to manage multiple assignments independently, maintain workplans, and keep supervisors informed of progress and problems.
Ability to plan and facilitate working sessions with staff at different levels to develop training content.
Meeting and workshop facilitation skills.
Ability to review other eLearning Specialists’ project deliverables.
Technical skills in web production, image handling, publishing and design, illustration, presentation preparation, video authoring and editing, audio recording and editing, animation, and other web communication capabilities.
Expertise with Learning Management Systems.
Project management skills.
Ability to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical clients and explain complex concepts clearly and logically.
Strong communication skills, including stakeholder alignment and incorporating input to improve business and team outcomes.
Ability to identify appropriate stakeholders and meet their expectations, as evidenced by stakeholder feedback.
Ability to learn new systems and platforms quickly and transfer that knowledge into eLearning or multimedia formats.
Ability to take on stretch assignments and complete them to expected standards.
High attention to detail and exceptional written and verbal skills.
Strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.
Ability to understand strategic planning.
Ability to identify opportunities to innovate or streamline work.
Ability to identify and plan for change management and apply it to assigned work.
Ability and desire to work in a fast-paced environment where priorities and projects change frequently.
Knowledge of the technology industry.
JavaScript coding skills to support eLearning development.
Advanced proficiency and demonstrated experience in eLearning design and development, with a portfolio showing a diverse range of eLearning course projects.
Experience leading training projects.

Responsibilities

Conduct training needs assessments and identify knowledge gaps using instructional design principles, models, and learning theories.
Perform learner and task analyses and storyboard content to determine learning objectives, content, and suitable media.
Develop training strategies for assigned projects and document them in training plans, including curricula, courses, and learning objectives.
Collaborate with instructional designers and subject matter experts to design, develop, and deploy interactive eLearning solutions; lead assigned training assessments and strategy execution as a core project team member.
Structure and manage increasingly complex training deliverables, maintain project workplans, provide status updates, and support completion on time, within budget, and to expected quality standards.
Write scripts; apply graphic design; program user interactions; record software simulations, demonstrations, and voiceovers; and create presentations, videos, online modules, and other multimedia learning materials.
Manipulate and edit digital imagery, video, and sound; create images, animations, graphics, and designs that communicate concepts or messages.
Develop and implement online assessment instruments.
Seek end-user feedback, assess the relevance and effectiveness of training programs, analyze participant feedback, and improve materials accordingly.
Review and provide feedback on vendor-produced course materials and redesign them as needed to meet quality specifications and timelines.
Quality-check courses, including navigation, spelling, and interactions, and maintain the integrity of training documentation and data.
Ensure assigned work complies with established practices, policies, processes, and applicable regulatory or other requirements.
Upload SCORM courses to Gilead’s Learning Management System (LMS) and test them against production requirements.
Provide post-production technical troubleshooting assistance.
Establish evaluation methods to measure training effectiveness and stay current with digital learning technology and trends.
Plan effective stakeholder communications and align stakeholders with the appropriate work; meet stakeholder expectations.
When applicable, provide matrix management of small teams, manage external vendor partners, and assist management in directing outsourced service providers.
Prepare project budgets and resource plans, including scenario modeling and forecasting, with guidance.
Mentor less experienced colleagues.
Take a lead role in developing team or departmental standards, tools, and templates.