Instructional Designer for Learning Innovation (Open Rank)

Role overview

The Instructional Designer for Learning Innovation collaborates closely with the Teaching and Learning Specialist, faculty, and academic staff to create, test, and review forward-looking teaching and assessment practices. The position focuses on thoughtfully incorporating AI and other emerging tools into teaching so they strengthen student learning, discipline-specific thinking, motivation, and intellectual effort rather than substitute for them.

Working from evidence-based learning principles, this role turns pedagogical ideas into practical course structures, assignments, and assessments that build core skills, encourage critical thinking, and deepen student engagement. It also involves hands-on partnership with faculty to trial new approaches, adjust assessments as learning needs evolve, and build models that can be used more broadly across programs. The role reports to the Director of the Hilary Ballon Center for Teaching and Learning.

About the center

The Hilary Ballon Center for Teaching and Learning supports faculty, academic staff, and collaborators across NYU Abu Dhabi in advancing inclusive, innovative, and evidence-informed teaching. Through faculty support, interdisciplinary exchange, teaching communities, and the scholarship of teaching and learning, the center promotes reflective practice and responds to evolving educational challenges and emerging technologies within a global liberal arts setting.

Core responsibilities

• Work with faculty to redesign courses, assignments, and assessments that make meaningful use of AI and other learning technologies.
• Convert teaching and learning theory into practical instructional approaches tailored to specific disciplines.
• Support the alignment of learning outcomes, class activities, and assessments in technology-enabled learning environments.
• Assist faculty in updating assessments to reflect AI-enabled student practices.
• Develop assignment approaches that are AI-integrated, AI-aware, or designed to minimize inappropriate reliance on AI where needed.
• Encourage ethical and pedagogically sound use of AI in academic work.
• Co-develop and launch pilot projects that explore new ways of teaching and learning with AI and emerging technologies.
• Refine projects based on feedback, student results, and faculty perspectives.
• Help extend successful innovations across courses and programs.
• Apply learning science concepts such as motivation, cognitive load, and skill development to instructional design.
• Create course experiences that support deeper learning, critical thinking, and sustained engagement.
• Assess how technology influences student effort, persistence, and learning habits.
• Design metrics to measure the effectiveness of teaching and technology interventions.
• Review student learning data and feedback to guide ongoing improvements.
• Support evidence-based decisions related to teaching innovation.
• Produce guides, templates, and examples that help faculty use AI and technology in teaching.
• Contribute to workshops and training sessions on instructional design and AI in education.
• Stay informed about emerging technologies and judge their value for teaching and learning.

About NYU Abu Dhabi

NYU Abu Dhabi is a highly selective global liberal arts and research campus and is part of NYU’s international university network. The university brings together students and faculty from many countries and disciplines, supporting advanced research, scholarship, and a broad undergraduate curriculum. It emphasizes global learning, intercultural exchange, and preparation for an interconnected world.

Working at NYU Abu Dhabi

NYU Abu Dhabi offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes a generous relocation allowance, educational assistance for dependents, access to health and wellness services, and other support. The university also prioritizes support for dual-career families and faculty/academic staff success across the academic journey.

Qualification requirements

A master’s degree in Instructional Design, Learning Sciences, Educational Technology, Education, or a closely related area is required, or an equivalent mix of education and professional experience.

Applicants should have 3 to 5 years of experience in instructional design, educational technology, or teaching-and-learning support in higher education.

Experience is expected in partnering with faculty to design or revise courses, assignments, and assessments.

Strong familiarity with learning sciences is needed, including motivation, cognitive processes, and the development of foundational abilities such as critical thinking and problem-solving.

Candidates should have experience applying evidence-based teaching practices in technology-enhanced learning environments.

Knowledge of generative AI and other emerging technologies, along with their implications for teaching, learning, and assessment, is important.

Applicants should be able to integrate AI and digital tools into course design in ways that improve, rather than replace, student learning.

The ability to assess AI-based applications critically and align them with learning outcomes and academic integrity is required.

Experience designing and evaluating assessments tied to learning outcomes is needed.

Candidates should be able to build and use metrics that measure student learning, engagement, and the impact of instructional interventions.

Experience analyzing student feedback and data to improve course and assessment design is expected.

Strong collaboration skills, clear communication, and the ability to create practical guidance and resources are essential.

Project management ability and comfort handling several initiatives at once are required.

A commitment to inclusive, student-centered teaching and an interest in innovation within a global liberal arts environment are important.

Application materials

• Curriculum vitae
• Cover letter
• Three professional references with names and email addresses, which may be contacted later in the process

Additional information

Applications will begin to be reviewed on June 8.

Questions about the position may be sent by email to nyuad.academicrecruitment@nyu.edu.

NYU Abu Dhabi is an equal-opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates.

The university’s values include belonging and respect, and it seeks people who will contribute to a vibrant, multidisciplinary academic community.

NYU also states that it does not discriminate in recruitment or hiring on the basis of age, alienage, caregiver status, childbirth, citizenship, color, creed, disability, domestic violence victim status, ethnicity, familial status, gender identity or expression, marital status, military status, national origin, parental status, partnership status, genetic characteristics, pregnancy, race, religion, reproductive health decisions, sex, sexual orientation, unemployment status, veteran status, or any other legally protected status.

NYU aims to be among the greenest urban campuses in the country and to reach carbon neutrality by 2040.

For people in the EU, privacy rights information under GDPR is available on NYU’s website.

The posting also notes the university’s broader mission of multidisciplinary research, exceptional teaching, and a global campus community.

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