Instructional & Content Designer

McMillan Pazdan Smith is an award-winning architecture, interior design, and advisory services firm with eight studios located in the southeast. We pride ourselves on strong client relationships and community partnerships. Our projects represent the work of a collaborative group of dedicated design professionals driven by a solitary goal: to deliver a functional solution that inspire collaboration, function, imagination, constructability, and attributes of a well-constructed environmental design.

McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture (MPS) is seeking a hands-on Instructional & Content Designer to build, organize and support comprehensive Learning & Development initiatives within a dynamic architectural and design environment. This role requires a resourceful, tech-savvy, creative and capable designer who understands the nuances of adult learning and possesses depth and breadth of knowledge in multi-media delivery methods. This role will be crucial to developing training programs, crafting engaging learning content, and facilitating professional development initiatives.

This key team member will play a pivotal role in ensuring that employees—from emerging designers to seasoned architects and operational staff—have access to high-quality learning experiences that enhance their technical expertise, leadership skills, and professional growth.

Training Program Development & Delivery

• Curriculum Design: Design comprehensive instructional materials, including course outlines, learning objectives, lesson plans, and assessment strategies, aligned with learning objectives and industry standards.

• E-Learning Development: Design and develop e-learning courses using authoring tools. Ensure courses are compliant and compatible with various learning management systems (LMS).

• Multimedia Production: Create multimedia elements, including AI, graphics, animations, videos, simulations, and audio recordings, to enhance the learning experience and promote learner engagement.

• Instructional Development: Develop engaging and interactive learning activities, multimedia content, and assessments using instructional design principles and appropriate technology tools.

• Project Management: Manage multiple instructional design projects simultaneously, adhering to deadlines. Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including L & D Leader, learning facilitators, other instructional designers, and subject matter experts.

• Professional Development: Stay current with emerging trends, best practices, and technologies in instructional design, e-learning, and adult learning theory. Continuously improve instructional design skills through professional development opportunities and networking.

Learning Analytics & Continual Improvement

• Content Analysis: Collaborate with subject matter experts (SMEs) to analyze learning needs and content requirements. Conduct thorough research to understand the target audience and learning objectives.

• Quality Assurance: Review and evaluate instructional materials to ensure accuracy, clarity, and effectiveness. Conduct usability testing and gather feedback from stakeholders to make continuous improvements.

• Analyze instructional problems and develop, implement, and evaluate potential solutions to these problems.

• Analyze and evaluate new instructional tools and technologies and recommend tools and approaches to improve course design.

• Establish metrics and KPIs to assess the effectiveness of training programs, using data-driven insights to refine learning initiatives.

• Collect and analyze employee feedback to continuously improve L&D offerings, ensuring they remain relevant in the evolving architecture and design landscape.

• Track industry trends and best practices in architectural education to keep MPS at the forefront of learning and development.

Collaboration & Team Support

• Partner with architectural leadership, HR team, and technical experts to align L&D initiatives with business needs.

• Work closely with the Operations team to coordinate learning opportunities across multiple departments, ensuring knowledge sharing and cross-functional collaboration. with architectural leadership, HR team, and technical experts to align L&D initiatives with business needs.

• Perform other related duties as assigned by management.

Requirements

• BA/BS degree from a four-year accredited college or university required.

• Minimum 5 years proven experience in learning and development, instructional design, and facilitation with portfolio examples of work.

• Experience in an architecture, design, engineering, or professional services environment is highly preferred.

• Strong ability to roll up sleeves and execute—this is a builder role that requires hands-on content creation and training delivery

• Ability to create engaging training materials (e-learning, presentations, facilitator guides, CEU- compliant content).

• Strong facilitation and presentation skills, with the ability to engage professionals at all levels, from junior designers to firm leadership.

• Analytical mindset—comfortable using data to measure training effectiveness and make improvements.

• Strong understanding of adult learning principles, instructional design models (e.g., ADDIE, SAM), and learning theories (e.g., constructivism, cognitivism).

• Advanced Excel skills; experience with Power BI or other analytics tools is a strong plus. Collaborative and adaptable, able to thrive in a fast-paced, creative environment.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey complex concepts clearly and effectively.

• Creative problem-solving skills and attention to detail.

• Develop technical training to enhance expertise in design software (Revit, AutoCAD, etc.), project management tools, and industry best practices is a strong plus.

• Self-driven, resourceful, and excellent at project management.

• Comfortable taking risks, communicating new ideas to a variety of audiences, being a trusted consultant and partner, and propelling current thinking about leader development to the next level.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. A reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to grasp objects; reach with hands and arms; balance, stop, kneel, or crouch; speak or listen. The employee must occasionally lift and/or carry up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Workplace Environment

Work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be exposed to hazardous working conditions in conjunction with construction site visits. The noise level in the construction zone may be loud.

While performing the duties of this job in the office work environment, the employee will not be exposed to hazardous working conditions. The noise level in the office work environment is usually moderate.

McMillan Pazdan Smith is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, religion, color, national origin, age, disability, veteran’s status or any classification protected by state or local law. If you need a reasonable accommodation to access the information provided on our web site careers page, please contact Human Resources at: for further assistance.