Learning Experience Designer - eLearning Simulations

Headquarters: Santa Fe, NM
URL: http://www.HandcraftedLearning.com ^[1]

What We Do

We create custom eLearning and virtual training for our clients.

We simulate the job environment and then learners get to play the "game" of doing their job. By making choices and then seeing the results of their choices they develop their skills. Interactivity is key to our design philosophy. Not passive lectures, or reading, or videos. If learners aren't actively participating (which includes making mistakes and experiencing the consequences) they aren't going to get better at their jobs.

One of the best parts of the work we do is the variety. One week it's helping therapists learn how to work with borderline personality disorders, the next week it's manager training for a large technology company, and the weeks after that we're designing a simulation of electrical circuits for car mechanics.

You can read more about the work we do and about us at http://www.HandcraftedLearning.com.

What's The Job?
This can vary, as do the projects, but here are some common tasks:
- Designing interactive simulations
- Writing content (scenarios, introductions, dialogue, etc.)
- Reading and synthesizing source material quickly
- QC reviews of courses in development (finding the spelling and grammar errors, which buttons don't work, etc.)

Who We're Looking For
Over the years we've found that these are the four most important traits for people who do well at this job: attention to detail, creative intelligence, excellent writing skills and general computer fluency.

Everyone talks about attention to detail, but it really is a valuable and uncommon quality. We don't just mean attention to spelling or grammar, though that's important too. We mean whether someone pays attention to the details of an image (Why is that image of a professional woman perfect for this scenario and that other one isn't?) or the details of a client's feedback (A subject matter expert just said we should emphasize objection handling skills, but last month our target audience ranked objection handling as one of the skills they do best) or the details of simultaneous projects (On this healthcare course I have a prototype deadline on Thursday morning, and on this IT project I have a content deadline on Friday EOD). So by "attention to detail," we really mean: can someone take hundreds and hundreds of small inputs -- interpersonal, visual, technical -- and continuously make sound decisions based on the context of a particular project?

Creative intelligence is also hard to quantify. And it doesn't always appear on SAT scores or an IQ test. Rather, we're looking for people who are curious, who are interested in how multi-core processors work and how the soft art of leadership is learned. These people tend to have a wide range of interests and may be experts on the new avant-garde knitting movement as well as glacial geological formations. They tend to have a good memory, they're articulate, and they pick up on new things fast. We're looking for raw, intellectual horsepower and a desire to learn new things.

It's the 21st century and we hate to sound like curmudgeons (technically we're too young to be curmudgeons), but not many people have the writing skills we require. Conciseness, creativity, sound mechanics, heck, even varying the sentence length now and then to create a sense of rhythm. We can teach people how to design instruction and we can teach them how to use software, but hoo-boy, it's pretty hard to teach someone to write better. Some of our best folks have a journalism background and a few have creative writing degrees. If someone told you that your language-based liberal arts degree isn't worth anything, we beg to differ.

Computer fluency just seems to be one of those things people have or they don't. It's like a foreign language: there's a big difference between being able to order off a menu and being able to have a sophisticated discussion about domestic policy. We need people who know how to use a computer inside and out. We're not talking about programming, though that's nice too. We mean someone who has worked with lots of different programs, so when they start using a new one it's relatively easy because it maps to many prior experiences. And it's just not that big a deal. :)

Here are some specific requirements:
- Excellent written and verbal English
- Great at meeting deadlines
- Consistently creates high quality work with minimal errors
- Can devour a wide variety of content quickly and synthesize something new from it
- A creative spark and the ability to brainstorm new ideas with teammates
- Intermediate-high MS Office skills

Here are some nice-to-haves, with bonus points:
- Interest in how people learn (+4)
- Sense of humor (can be goofy, witty or dry) (+3)
- Articulate Storyline or media skills (+2)
- Interactive game or simulation experience (+4)
- Project management skills (+2)

Who We Are
We're a small, but growing, custom learning company. We are a woman and minority-owned business and we value the diverse group of people we work with. Our headquarters are in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but we work with folks all over the country.

We work hard, we're dedicated to our craft, and we really value the community aspect of our work. We've built a great team of people who are smart, relaxed and pleasant. We laugh a lot, even when we're working on a tight deadline.

Work can be enjoyable and challenging (in a good way.) That's what we strive for.

You can check out our website here: http://www.HandcraftedLearning.com

This Position
This is a 40 hours a week contract position. If you're looking for a half-time contracting position then this would not be a good fit.

We pay folks in this position $25-$35/hr depending on experience. We'd consider going slightly higher than that if someone was especially skilled and/or experienced.

This is a work from home contract position. You supply your own computer, desk, etc. We don't care where you're located so long as you have a good internet connection and you're in the main US time zones.

This 1099 contract position could eventually lead to an employee position with benefits.

Hiring in a Pandemic
We've been 100% remote since we founded the company in 2009, so we've been fortunate to not have to change the way we work. Also, we specialize in online learning (eLearning simulations as well as virtual workshops) and our business has continued to grow in 2020.

In this historic year our work has actually been a source of stability. We're still checking the news for murder hornet updates like everyone else, but at least what we do and the amazing people we work with provides some solace in these times.

Interested?
Send us a copy of your resume and some samples of your written work or links to your work online. Ideally non-fiction, non-academic writing samples.

You can email Jason directly, his email address is on our website in the "Founders" section.

To apply: https://weworkremotely.com/remote-jobs/handcrafted-learning-learning-experience-designer-elearning-simulations ^[2]

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