Instructional Designer

Skills: Instructional Design, Technical Writing, Visual Storyboarding, E-Learning, Content Structuring, LLM Tools

Compensation: $500 - $1500 / month USD

Work Hours: Remote, weekdays 3:00 PM to 12:00 AM IST

SkillCat is America's largest online trade school, with over 400,000 students trained in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and other skilled trades. We're a venture-backed startup on a mission to get non-college-educated workers into great careers. We're looking for an Instructional Designer who can take technical source material from subject matter experts and turn it into structured, visual, beginner-friendly e-learning lessons. You won't be working alone. You'll coordinate daily with content leads, visual designers, and animators to bring each lesson to life.

What You'll Do

• Receive topic outlines and learning objectives from subject matter experts and turn them into step-by-step written lessons for complete beginners
• Write detailed visual briefs for each lesson: describe exactly what a diagram, animation, or labelled photo should show, what should be highlighted, and why it helps the learner at that point
• Collaborate with visual designers and animators to make sure the final visuals match your intent, and iterate until they do
• Coordinate across multiple teams to keep content moving through review, revision, and publishing
• Gather course feedback from students and use it to improve content quality over time
• Maintain accuracy and consistency across all lessons, catching errors in terminology, sequencing, and visual direction before content goes live
• Ensure the content in each lesson stays within the scope of its learning objectives and does not drift beyond what the learner needs to know
• Work directly with subject matter experts to verify that technical content is accurate before it goes live

Who This Is For

• Strong English writing skills with sharp attention to detail: grammar, spelling, consistency, and structure
• Able to break down technical concepts into plain language for someone who has never seen the material before
• Visual thinker who can describe what a diagram or animation should look like clearly enough that a designer can build it without asking follow-up questions
• Comfortable learning new technical topics quickly from source material
• A team player who communicates proactively and works well across multiple teams. This is not a freelance or solo role.
• Coachable, open to feedback, and willing to revise work based on team input
• Background in basic science, instructional design, or e-learning content development preferred. Our courses cover HVAC, electrical, and plumbing concepts that involve physics.
• Experience working at a startup, preferably US-based
• Familiarity with LLM tools and how to use them responsibly in a content workflow

What This Is Not

• Not a writing-only role. You will direct visuals, not just write text.
• Not a role for someone used to working independently. You will coordinate with multiple teams every day.
• Not a video editing or motion graphics role. You direct what the visuals should be; other team members execute them.

Company Perks

• Employee Provident Fund
• Paid yearly company meetup in mid-December

Requirements

• A personal computer and a reliable internet connection
• A webcam for team meetings