How to hire an instructional design technologist

How to hire an instructional design technologist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step instructional design technologist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an instructional design technologist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new instructional design technologist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an instructional design technologist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The instructional design technologist hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them an instructional design technologist to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire an instructional design technologist that fits the bill.

   This list presents instructional design technologist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Instructional Design Technologist	Description	Hourly rate
   Instructional Design Technologist	Instructional coordinators oversee school curriculums and teaching standards. They develop instructional material, coordinate its implementation with teachers and principals, and assess its effectiveness.	$22-43
   Curriculum Developer	A curriculum developer is responsible for managing instructional materials, providing recommendations to the teachers, and making adjustments to the current student's curriculum to adhere to the highest educational standards and policies. Curriculum developers also facilitate and offer assistance for any implemented procedures... Show more	$17-37
   Curriculum Designer	A curriculum designer creates and implements educational programs in schools, colleges, and other organizations that offer training and educational services. They usually work with teachers and academic administrators in establishing guidelines, academic roadmaps, and policies... Show more	$18-36

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Professional Development
   • Curriculum Design
   • Instructional Design
   • Subject Matter Experts
   • PowerPoint
   • Course Content
   • Training Programs
   • Learning Objectives
   • Training Materials
   • Learning Management System
   • Curriculum Development
   • ELearning
   • Photoshop

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Contribute significantly to cost savings by identifying opportunities to transfer facilitator lead training to eLearning.
   • Lead the virtualization of military training exercises and provide periods of instruction using virtual simulations.
   • Apply the ADDIE model to design and deliver product and procedural training courses for large commercial card migration project.
   • Develop alignment training materials including PowerPoint presentations.
   • Develop interactive learning tools utilizing adobe captivate and PowerPoint.
   • Used Sharepoint to upload course files.

   More instructional design technologist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the instructional design technologist job description is a good way to get more applicants. An instructional design technologist salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for an instructional design technologist in Indiana may be lower than in Connecticut, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level instructional design technologist. Additionally, an instructional design technologist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average instructional design technologist salary

   $64,845yearly

   $31.18 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level instructional design technologist salary

   $46,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 20, 2026

   Average instructional design technologist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Maryland	$88,321	$42
   2	New York	$87,036	$42
   3	Virginia	$74,995	$36
   4	Washington	$72,502	$35
   5	Delaware	$72,213	$35
   6	New Jersey	$69,694	$34
   7	California	$69,147	$33
   8	Michigan	$68,057	$33
   9	Illinois	$65,701	$32
   10	Nebraska	$65,618	$32
   11	North Carolina	$62,577	$30
   12	Texas	$62,391	$30
   13	North Dakota	$60,546	$29
   14	Georgia	$59,970	$29
   15	Wisconsin	$59,252	$28
   16	Tennessee	$57,719	$28
   17	Florida	$52,739	$25

   Average instructional design technologist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	ServiceNow	$98,503	$47.36	12
   2	Amazon	$97,886	$47.06	160
   3	General Dynamics Mission Systems	$90,626	$43.57	13
   4	Erlanger Health System	$87,039	$41.85	1
   5	FireEye	$84,947	$40.84
   6	United States Naval Academy	$79,403	$38.17
   7	Loma Linda University Health	$76,915	$36.98	10
   8	Hospital for Special Surgery	$76,297	$36.68	5
   9	Infopro Learning	$75,724	$36.41
   10	Alstom	$74,374	$35.76	18
   11	SUNY Empire State College	$70,978	$34.12
   12	UNC Health Care	$70,743	$34.01	91
   13	PSEA	$69,029	$33.19	7
   14	EPI-USE Labs	$67,896	$32.64
   15	MSX International	$65,688	$31.58
   16	Adecco	$65,052	$31.27	4
   17	Delaware Systems Technology, Inc.	$64,605	$31.06
   18	Nes Holdings	$64,338	$30.93
   19	RemX	$64,319	$30.92	1
   20	General Dynamics	$62,718	$30.15	30

4. Writing an instructional design technologist job description

   An instructional design technologist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of an instructional design technologist job description:

   Instructional design technologist job description example

   Please note: this is a fully remote, 6-month contract (1099) engagement open to candidates based within the following US states: Arizona, California, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, or Texas. We regret that we are unable to consider candidates outside of these locations at this time. Dependent upon continued business needs, there is an opportunity to convert to full-time permanent status.
   The Company
   At Springboard, we're on a mission to bridge the world's skills gap, offering transformative online education with a focus on Springboard's technical courses including data science, analytics, and coding. Our courses may be tech-enabled, but we're ultimately human-centric: each student taps into a vast community throughout their time with us, engaging with fellow students, industry-expert mentors, student advisors, and career coaches, the goal of which is to successfully transition students into their dream job. Through this hybrid approach, we've helped thousands of learners revamp their careers and, by extension, their lives, with hundreds of top-notch job offers received every year and a near-perfect placement rate for our program graduates.
   
   The Opportunity
   In your role as a Technical Instructional Designer at Springboard, you'll primarily be responsible for updating our Machine Learning Engineering course for our University partners. This role presents an exciting opportunity to apply pedagogical principles to a new, cutting-edge model - laying the groundwork for the future of adult education online. You'll have a great vantage point at the intersection of product, operations, engineering, marketing, and community.
   ResponsibilitiesOwn the design, development, and implementation of the update of our Machine Learning Engineering course. Collaborate with other Learning Experience team members to help maintain and update other technical courses. Work with subject matter experts to curate course content and revise and develop course projects that align with and support course learning objectives. Collaborate with members of the Learning Experience team, project managers, and student operations teams to deliver on the pedagogical components of the program. Set learning and course quality targets; create and track metrics that incorporate feedback from multiple qualitative and quantitative sources; improve courses based on feedback.Work with the instructional design team to co-design models and templates aimed at building quality learning experiences at scale
   You:Have a Bachelor's or higher degree in Education (preferred) Have a Bachelor's or higher degree (or other certification or experience) in a relevant STEM subject (such as, but not limited to, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Data Science, Statistics, or Mathematics)3+years of relevant work experience and 1+ year of direct experience with e-learning Have taken at least one University-level or equivalent coding class in Python or another coding language. Have formal training in and a strong understanding of instructional design, cognitive psychology, adult learning and online/distance learning. A degree, diploma, or certification in education or a related field is a plus. Possess exceptional organizational and project management skills, and live by deadlines.Quickly learn the core concepts of new subject areas.Have the ability to work and influence in a complex cross-functional environment Think quickly on your feet and handle pressure well.Are an Analytical thinker who is comfortable using data to measure results and inform decisions.Are an excellent communicator, whether you're working with external subject matter experts or with colleagues across the company.Are passionate about improving education.
   The Springboard team of 220 works out of offices in the heart of San Francisco and Bengaluru. We're backed by top investors, including Costanoa Ventures, Reach Capital, Learn Capital, Pearson Ventures, and the founders of LinkedIn and Princeton Review.
   
   Working with us, you'll enjoy competitive compensation, health insurance coverage, a 401k plan, generous learning and professional development budgets, and an opportunity to impact thousands of lives alongside a fun, dedicated and mission-driven team. To learn more about our team and culture, follow us on Instagram @springboardlife!
   
   We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
   
   California Privacy Rights Notice for Job Applicants
   Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), Springboard is required to inform California residents who are job applicants about the categories of personal information we collect about you and the purposes for which we will use this information. This notice contains disclosures required by the CCPA and applies only to personal information that is subject to the CCPA.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find instructional design technologists for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your instructional design technologist job on Zippia to find and recruit instructional design technologist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit instructional design technologists, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new instructional design technologist

   Once you have selected a candidate for the instructional design technologist position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new instructional design technologist. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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