At InStride, people are our purpose.

We believe that investing in people is the most powerful way to drive success—for individuals and organizations alike.

As a public benefit corporation, we partner with leading employers to unlock opportunities for their employees, providing access to top-tier education programs that align with their employees’ career goals and the company’s business goals.

Our mission goes beyond skill-building; we're here to empower our partners’ employees to advance their careers, elevate their expertise, and achieve meaningful personal and professional growth.

No matter the team you’re on, our dedication to the success of our partners and their employees is what drives us. If you're passionate about making a difference and driving educational and professional advancement, InStride is the place for you.

To get a better feel for our culture, watch more here.

Candidates must be located in one of the following states to be considered eligible for employment: AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, MA, MI, MO, NV, NH, NJ, NY, PA, OH, OR, TX, VA, WA, WI.

What we're looking for (role overview):

At InStride, we’re redefining how employers develop talent through applied, university-quality learning that drives measurable business impact. Our Capability Accelerators are cohort-based, role-aligned programs, co-developed with leading universities and employers, designed to build the skills that matter most for performance, productivity, and mobility at scale.

As demand accelerates for practical, responsible AI capability across the workforce, we’re hiring an Sr. Accelerator Design and Development Manager, AI Skilling to help lead this next chapter. This role will focus on designing and scaling AI Capability Accelerators that enable non-technical leaders and professionals to effectively apply AI in their day-to-day work, while partnering productively with technical teams and managing AI-related risk.

Reporting to the Director of Enterprise Learning, you will lead the end-to-end design and development of AI-focused Accelerators, translating employer business priorities into clear capability models, role-specific behaviors, and structured program blueprints. You’ll work closely with academic partners, faculty, and industry experts to bring these programs to life, embedding applied use cases, deliberate practice, and AI-enabled feedback mechanisms that drive real behavior change on the job.

Beyond individual programs, this role plays a critical part in evolving InStride’s AI Accelerator model. You’ll help codify repeatable design frameworks, templates, and quality standards for AI skilling, ensuring our offerings remain rigorous, scalable, and differentiated as the market rapidly evolves. This includes shaping how we integrate emerging AI tools and agents into learning experiences, while maintaining a strong focus on responsible use and business relevance.

This is a hybrid strategic and hands-on role. You’ll design flagship AI skilling programs for employers today, while building the systems and intellectual property that enable InStride to scale AI capability development across industries tomorrow.

Skills we’d love to see you show off:

End-to-end AI program delivery: Direct experience designing, launching, and delivering applied AI or advanced capability programs, with ownership from concept through live delivery and iteration.
Applied AI learning expertise: Hands-on experience using AI, simulations, and practice-based learning to build real capability for non-technical leaders and professionals.
Employer-facing program leadership: Proven ability to partner with senior L&D leaders and business stakeholders to translate priorities into delivered, high-impact programs.
Scalable learning system design: Ability to codify what works into repeatable models, templates, and playbooks that enable quality and scale.
Builder mentality: Energized by shipping real programs, learning from what lands, and continuously improving the model in ambiguous, fast-evolving environments.

Who you are (ideal profile):

This role is best suited for candidates who have personally delivered AI capability programs, not just advised on AI strategy or learning design.

You’ve delivered AI capability programs end to end. You’ve designed, built, launched, and iterated applied AI programs that went live and drove real learner and business outcomes.
Your AI experience is applied, not theoretical. You’ve helped non-technical leaders and professionals use AI in real workflows, decisions, and business contexts, not just understand the tools.
You’ve done this work in a credible delivery environment. This includes enterprise L&D or AI Centers of Excellence, top consulting firms where you owned execution, or high-quality workforce or executive education organizations.
You bring strong applied learning judgment. You know how to design cohort-based, practice-heavy programs that drive behavior change, and you’ve proven it through delivery.
You can partner directly with enterprise clients. You’re comfortable translating business priorities into delivered programs and navigating senior stakeholders.
You’re a builder and operator. You thrive in ambiguity, make practical trade-offs, and improve the model by shipping and learning, not over-designing.
Willingness to travel occasionally to collaborate with clients, academic partners, and internal teams.

How you will create impact (key responsibilities):

Co-lead employer engagements as the Practical AI capability SME: Partner with the VP, Professional Services and Director, Enterprise Learning to translate employer business needs into clear, outcome-driven AI Capability Accelerator designs and learning blueprints.
Design and deliver Practical AI Capability Accelerators end to end: Personally design, build, and help deliver early AI Accelerators, integrating applied use cases, practice, simulation, and feedback, and staying close to live pilots to drive continuous refinement.
Launch and scale ready-to-deploy Practical AI Accelerators: Lead the design, development, and launch of at least two ready-to-deploy AI Capability Accelerators in year one, including supporting multiple cohort runs of each.
Partner with academic faculty and industry experts: Work directly with academic partners to co-create programs that balance rigor with employer relevance, speed, and execution.
Build and codify the Practical AI Accelerator model: Capture what works through delivery by developing repeatable design frameworks, templates, and playbooks that enable faster customization and consistent quality.
Lead instructional design execution: Direct and support instructional designers and content developers, rolling up sleeves when needed to ensure high-quality, applied learning experiences.
Stay close to learners to drive impact: Engage directly with learners during early cohorts to support success, gather insight, and inform continuous improvement of content and delivery.
Operate as a builder in a scaling environment: Manage multiple workstreams with clarity and judgment, contributing to the broader vision and strategy for InStride’s AI Capability Accelerator portfolio.

Compensation

At InStride, final offer amounts are dependent on multiple factors including location, depth of experience, interview performance and equity with other team members.

We encourage you to talk with your recruiter to learn more about the total compensation and benefits available for this role.

Compensation range:

$120,000—$140,000 USD

We are looking for someone who is not only technically skilled, but also enthusiastic about making a meaningful impact. If this description resonates with you, we're excited about the possibility of having you on our team. As a skills-driven employer, we encourage you to apply if there is a skill-fit, even in the absence of years of experience.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At InStride, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role, but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this role!

Benefits @ InStride

As an organization that champions investing in people, it’s critical we walk the talk. That’s why InStride employees are eligible to enroll in 2,800+ online certificate and degree programs through our Step Forward program. Unlike traditional tuition reimbursement programs, InStride covers your tuition upfront, regardless of your course of study, degree type, or school - eligible to employees starting Day 1.

This role is also eligible for the following benefits:

401(k) plan with company match
Flexible vacation policy
Paid family leave
Best-in-class health care benefits
And more!

InStride Diversity and Inclusion Statement

At InStride, we foster a culture of belonging, we support authenticity and intersectionality, and we embrace and appreciate our differences. We do this by building a diverse pipeline of talent and ensuring equitable access to opportunities, information and leadership. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let your recruiter know.

Policies & Disclosure

InStride recommends employees have their COVID vaccinations. InStride may require employees to have COVID vaccination before entering the office or attending any InStride-related even in the future. However, we do not require this at this time.

For questions on how we use personal information of job applicants, please refer to InStride's Job Applicant Privacy Policy.

Beware of recruiting scams. InStride does not require a financial transaction or any financial account information to be eligible for employment. If you receive a message purporting to be from InStride asking you for a financial transaction, your financial account information, or any other sensitive information, please do not respond and let us know immediately at recruiting@instride.com.

About InStride

InStride is a human capital management company that helps organizations retain talent, upskill employees, and fill critical workforce roles through education programs. By breaking down barriers to learning, fostering career growth aligned with organizational goals, and simplifying program management, InStride delivers lasting impact. Partnering with forward-thinking companies like Labcorp, Adidas, and SSM Health, InStride drives meaningful social and business outcomes by providing access to life-changing education. Visit instride.com or follow InStride on LinkedIn for more information and up-to-date news.

InStride

Open Positions (1)

Sr. Accelerator Design & Development Manager (AI Skilling)

Company Details