Instructional Systems Designer

Position Overview 

At Carney, we believe that great organizations are built on a foundation of continuous learning and exceptional performance. For decades, Team Carney has partnered with federal agencies and defense sectors to deliver cutting-edge training solutions, intentional instructional design, and impactful human performance initiatives. We cultivate a collaborative, highly motivated environment where innovation meets national security, empowering our clients to adapt and succeed in an ever-changing world. When you join Carney, you join a passionate team dedicated to shifting paradigms in federal and industrial security training.

• Location: Linthicum, MD (1 day a week on site)

• Position Type: Full-Time

• Clearance Requirement: Current Personnel Security Clearance / Eligibility at the Secret level

We are seeking a high-performing, highly motivated Instructional Systems Designer (ISD) to support a critical federal client program. In this role, your primary responsibilities will be to analyze, design, develop, and maintain instructional content for web-based and instructor-led courses, while simultaneously nurturing and sustaining strategic client partnerships.

The ideal candidate is deeply passionate about instructional design, industrial security training, and driving innovative learning solutions. You will closely support the client’s Training Division to meet a continuously changing security environment, utilizing your technical expertise to seamlessly apply the ADDIE model across a variety of instructional products.

• ADDIE Application: Assist and provide technical guidance on the comprehensive application of the ADDIE methodology.

• Training Needs Analysis (TNA): Collaborate with client personnel to conduct thorough TNAs that identify security competencies, training requirements, learning objectives, instructional strategies, media selection, and tailored recommendations.

• New Content Development: Rapidly support immediate development needs through front-end analysis, training design plans, storyboards, assessments, and beta tests.

• Curriculum Maintenance: Maintain existing training products by identifying necessary updates driven by policy changes, real-world events, or the Department of Defense Security Skill Standards (DS3).

• Design Documentation: Document all curriculum changes on storyboards and develop detailed course design documents (including content outlines, media treatments, technical specifications, assessment strategies, and recommended design approaches).

• Quality Assurance & Implementation: Ensure all revisions are accurately applied after a client programmer completes technical updates. Conduct and participate in beta tests to evaluate products for technical accuracy and instructional effectiveness.

• Assessments & Evaluation: Develop, update, and evaluate robust course assessments to accurately measure learning outcomes and instructional impact.

• Master’s Degree Track: Master’s degree in Instructional Systems Design or Adult Education from an accredited university AND at least five (5) years of applied ISD experience.

• Bachelor’s Degree Track: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university AND at least eight (8) years of applied ISD experience.

• Security Clearance: Must hold an active Secret personnel security clearance or eligibility.

• Systematic Instructional Design: Proven experience using a systematic approach to design and develop synchronous/asynchronous online, instructor-led, or instructor-facilitated courses.

• Curriculum Mapping: Demonstrated capability to conduct thorough needs analyses, map courseware to organizational goals/skillsets, and align assessments directly to learning content.

• LMS Familiarity: Experience building and updating distance-delivered courses within collaborative learning environments and Learning Management Systems (e.g., Moodle, Blackboard, Adobe Connect, etc.).

• Project Leadership: Demonstrated experience leading instructional development projects from concept to execution.

• Federal Sector Expertise: Experience supporting federal agencies in the execution of security-related training, education, or certification programs.

• Higher Education Lens: (For CDSE’s Education Division specifically) Instructional design experience supporting higher education, undergraduate-, or graduate-level programs.

Carney is committed to supporting the total well-being of our team members and their families. We offer a competitive, comprehensive benefits package designed to provide peace of mind, promote continuous professional growth, and foster a healthy work-life balance:

• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans with extensive provider networks.

• Financial Security: Competitive base salary, 401(k) retirement savings plan with company matching contributions, and flexible spending accounts (FSA).

• Time Away: Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) program along with standard observed Federal Holidays to ensure you have time to recharge.

• Professional Development: Tuition reimbursement and professional certification assistance to support your career progression and continuous learning.

• Life & Disability Protection: Company-paid life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability coverage.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Disabled/Veteran