Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Newsela is a leading education technology company dedicated to meaningful classroom learning for every student. They are seeking a Learning Experience Designer (LXD) to design and produce high-quality instructional materials for ELA and Multilingual Learning, focusing on creating engaging and standards-aligned lessons and assessments for multilingual learners.
Responsibilities
- Support in the design of ELD scopes and sequences (initially for secondary grades), including the selection and vetting of grade-appropriate texts that align to language and content objectives across listening, speaking, reading, and writing
- Directly write, design, and structure prototype lessons, student-facing activities, and ancillary materials that model rigorous, scaffolded instruction for multilingual learners based on established instructional frameworks and product specifications
- Develop clear formative and summative assessment items and rubrics that meaningfully measure language growth and content mastery against state-specific ELD standards and learning outcomes
- Build embedded scaffolds and differentiation—graphic organizers, sentence frames, leveled vocabulary, and translanguaging supports—so complex, high-interest content is accessible across English proficiency levels
- Support the design and iterative refinement of AI prompts that support key stages of lesson design and production, translating instructional blueprints into specifications that help us produce consistent, high-quality D-ELD content at scale
- Review lessons, providing focused editorial and pedagogical feedback grounded in Newsela guidelines and ELD best practices to ensure accuracy, fidelity to the curriculum model, and student engagement
- Support manager in developing and maintaining the rubrics, quality checklists, and naming conventions that guide contributors and AI tools, ensuring repeatability and consistency across grade levels and units
- Maintain knowledge about and act as an internal authority on state and national English Language Development standards and frameworks (e.g., California ELD Standards / ELPAC, WIDA, ELPS), ensuring all content adheres to the relevant standards across the grade-level continuum
- Apply the latest evidence-based principles of second language acquisition, biliteracy, and the Science of Reading for multilingual learners to the design of every lesson, activity, and assessment
- Ensure materials uphold the goal of grade-level access, pairing high expectations with the right language scaffolds rather than diluting rigor
- Collaborate closely with the core ELA team to integrate ELD supports into standards-aligned ELA content (prototypes, AI prompts, and pilot-unit review), applying your MLL lens to ELA lessons, texts, and assessments so they work for multilingual learners—and with product and technology teams on content digitization and platform experience
- Act as a grade-level lead and subject-matter point of contact for external contributors, fielding questions and resolving content and alignment issues across workstreams
- Prioritize and re-prioritize in line with business needs, delivering work on time and to Newsela’s standards of quality, and communicating progress and blockers proactively
Skills
- Bachelor's degree in Education, Linguistics, TESOL, Curriculum & Instruction, English, or a related field
- A specialized degree, endorsement, or certification related to multilingual learner education, ELD, TESOL/ESL, or language acquisition
- 3+ years of experience in K–12 curriculum development, instructional design, or content creation with a significant focus on multilingual learners, preferably for an educational technology or publishing company (school- or district-based content development experience also considered)
- Strong working knowledge of multilingual learner pedagogy, second language acquisition, and ELD standards and frameworks (e.g., California ELD/ELPAC, WIDA, or ELPS), across the four language domains
- Familiarity with ELA pedagogy across K–12, including reading development, foundational literacy (e.g., phonics), and assessment best practices, particularly as they intersect with the Science of Reading for multilingual learners
- Experience developing, adapting, or scaffolding English Language Arts content—such as standards-aligned lessons, texts, or reading and writing assessments—with a demonstrated ability to apply MLL expertise within an ELA context
- Excellent English writing and editing, with a demonstrated ability to produce polished, standards-aligned instructional content and to give clear, useful feedback to other writers
- Comfort and fluency with AI tools, and an interest in using them to accelerate high-quality content development without sacrificing pedagogical rigor
- Strong organizational and verbal communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams and prioritize in conjunction with business needs
- Experience with multilingual learners across both elementary and secondary grade bands (secondary emphasis is welcome given near-term needs)
- Prior classroom teaching experience with multilingual learners / English learners
- Experience contributing to a supplemental ELA product (e.g., fiction, nonfiction, or assessment content) in an EdTech environment
- Master's degree in TESOL, ESL, Multilingual Education, Curriculum & Instruction, or a related field
- Experience managing or mentoring contributors, freelancers, or vendor teams
- Experience with digital content authoring tools or content management systems (CMS)
- Familiarity with the dual language market and biliteracy frameworks
Benefits
- Comprehensive medical benefits with employer contribution to premiums and to HSA accounts.
- Additional benefits such as gym reimbursement, pet insurance, free access to the Calm app, Rocket Lawyer and more to help you stay healthy: mind, body, and soul.
- We are a fully remote company.
- We provide a monthly tech stipend to support your WFH needs!
- Inclusive benefits to support you and your family, including parental leave, fertility support, adoption, and more!
- 401(k) plan, which includes a employer match to help you build long-term financial security.
- Flexible PTO, paid sick time off, company holidays plus winter break (Dec 24th - Jan 1st).
- Newsela offers an annual learning and development allowance to employees to attend external training sessions, classes, workshops, conferences, and educational materials to foster professional growth within their current role and career aspirations at Newsela.
Company Overview