Instructional Systems Design Specialist - Air Force Language Training program

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Contingent Upon Contract Award

LEVEL: Mid-Level / Technical Specialist

LOCATION: Hybrid preferred, but exceptional candidates who are fully remote will be considered.

TYPE: Full Time Regular Employment, with Benefits

DEADLINE: Rolling

McColm & Company (McColm) is a mission-driven and customer-focused consulting firm that equips change makers with the knowledge, skills, and insights they need to succeed in an increasingly complex world. McColm specializes in supporting U.S. federal customers with national security and foreign affairs focused portfolios by managing bespoke professional training programs, delivering effective training support solutions, and providing highly specialized technical assistance and analysis expertise to decision makers.

McColm seeks an Instructional Systems Design (ISD) Specialist / Instructor Development Manager to support a U.S. Air Force foreign language training program.

This role serves as the instructional authority and instructor development lead, responsible for ensuring instructional quality, consistency, and performance across a distributed cadre of language instructors (eMentors).

The ISD Specialist will oversee instructor training, certification, and continuous professional development, ensuring all instruction aligns with client-provided curricula, ILR proficiency standards, and contract performance requirements. This role directly supports achievement of Service Summary (SS) performance metrics related to instructional quality, lesson adherence, and student feedback. The position description below details the duties and qualifications of the anticipated position, contingent upon contract award.

• Ensure all instructor-developed materials (e.g., lesson delivery, slides, activities, supplemental resources) align with client-provided curricula, lesson objectives, required content, and expected instructional behaviors.
• Lead instructor onboarding, certification, and continuous professional development, including training in synchronous online delivery, learner engagement, and structured feedback techniques.
• Establish and enforce instructional quality standards to ensure consistency across instructors, languages, and delivery formats.
• Ensure instructors provide high-quality, one-on-one feedback to support Scholar language development in alignment with program expectations.
• Monitor and evaluate instructional delivery through session reviews, performance data, and student feedback to ensure compliance with performance thresholds.
• Develop and implement processes to ensure instructors can effectively manage routine technical issues during live instruction sessions.
• Support integration of mission-relevant content, including geopolitical context, military terminology, and operational communication skills, particularly at ILR 2+ and above.
• Collaborate with Program Lead and training support team to address client-identified issues, including responding to student feedback and implementing corrective actions within required timelines.
• Apply instructional design principles (e.g., ADDIE) and foreign language acquisition methodologies to support curriculum execution and continuous improvement.
• Support quality assurance efforts through observation, coaching, and performance improvement initiatives.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or higher degree in Applied Linguistics, Foreign Language Education, TESOL/TEFL, or a closely related field, and a minimum of five (5) years of experience teaching foreign languages to adult learners, including supervision of foreign language instructors in a highly regulated or specialized environment (e.g., government or military). Experience in closely related technical or operational fields that demonstrate instructor oversight, evaluation, and program execution may be considered transferable.
• Must have certification in ISD, or demonstrated equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated experience in instructional design within foreign language training environments (not localization or translation services), with strong knowledge of curriculum development and instructional design frameworks (e.g., ADDIE or equivalent).
• Experience recruiting, interviewing, and evaluating foreign language instructors across multiple languages.
• Experience leading instructor development programs supporting large, distributed instructor cadres (10+ languages preferred).
• Experience supporting Department of Defense (DoD) or military language training programs.
• Strong facilitation skills in virtual and blended learning environments.
• Knowledge of cross-cultural communication frameworks (e.g., Hofstede, Purnell).
• Demonstrated ability to align instructors to learner needs and provide individualized coaching and feedback in culturally diverse environments.
• Familiarity with ILR-based assessment frameworks and performance evaluation models.
• Strong knowledge of foreign language acquisition methodologies and proficiency-based instruction aligned to the ILR scale.
• Experience supporting or delivering instruction in virtual or web-based learning environments.
• Demonstrated ability to train, coach, and evaluate foreign language instructor cadres.
• Experience working with structured curricula, lesson plans, and standardized instructional frameworks.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Adobe Acrobat.
• Ability to legally work in the United States.

Benefits

McColm offers a competitive compensation and benefits package to all of our staff. Compensation is offered according to job requirements, market dynamics, and experience/skills of the successful candidate. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, and life insurances, generous Paid Time Off, 11 paid federal holidays, and annual performance-based bonuses.

We are an equal opportunity employer offering employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, gender identity or expression, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Due to the high volume of applications McColm receives and to ensure we comply with our internal hiring policies, we regret we are not able to respond to individual phone calls or emails regarding application status.