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McGraw Hill

Senior Academic Designer, Literacy/Primary Grades

🇺🇸 Remote - US

🕑 Full-Time

💰 $62K - $80K

💻 Product Development

🗓️ July 1st, 2025

K-2 K4/InCopy Smartsheet

Edtech.com's Summary

McGraw Hill is hiring a Senior Academic Designer, Literacy/Primary Grades. The role involves planning and developing content for K-2 literacy programs, collaborating with cross-functional teams, mentoring junior designers, and ensuring products meet curriculum standards and quality requirements. The designer also acts as a liaison between vendors and internal teams to maintain project timelines and quality.

Highlights
  • Develop content including learning objectives, lessons, and teacher resources for print, digital, and media projects.
  • Coordinate with Project Managers, Product Design, and Production teams to manage project workflows and schedules.
  • Train and mentor junior Academic Designers on content development and documentation standards.
  • Serve as primary contact among vendors, engineering teams, contractors, and Academic Design teams with decision-making authority.
  • Strong expertise in K-2 foundational literacy skills and curriculum development aligned with CCSS and other state standards.
  • Requires bachelor’s degree in elementary education, literacy, linguistics, or related field and at least 4 years of relevant experience.
  • Proficiency in MS Office, Adobe Acrobat, Smartsheet, and K4/InCopy markup; experience with accessible digital content is a plus.
  • Compensation ranges from $62,000 to $80,000 annually with potential benefits.
  • Effective communication, organizational skills, and ability to solve cross-functional problems are essential.

Senior Academic Designer, Literacy/Primary Grades Full Description

Senior Academic Designer, Literacy/Primary Grades

  • United States
  • Product Development
  • School
  • Remote

Overview

Make an Impact!   
At McGraw Hill we create best-in-class, next-generation learning platforms that are used by millions of students and educators worldwide from kindergarten through graduate school. Our goal is to accelerate student success through intuitive and effective learning tools and content that maximize a teacher’s time and a student’s learning experience. We do all of this in a supportive, collaborative environment where you can grow your career in a way that fits into your life.
 
How can you make an impact? 
McGraw Hill, the leading provider of digital and print educational resources, is looking for a Senior Academic Designer, Literacy/Primary Grades for our School division. Senior Academic Designers are content and curriculum experts. They assemble high-quality content based on specific product requirements for programs and understanding the solution design. They collaborate with the Academic Design Directors, Academic Design Managers, and Product Managers to help develop the solution design (both conceptualization and implementation). Depending on project needs, Senior Academic Designers are asked to take on specific project assignments, working with a small team of Academic Designers throughout the various stages of product development.
 
This is a remote position open to applicants authorized to work for any employer within the United States. This is a Project Status Worker (PSW) role with an end date of 12/31/2025.

What you will be doing:   
  • Plan and develop content (including learning objectives, scope/sequence, tables of contents, lessons, videos, and teacher resources) for teacher and student materials–including print, digital, and media projects
  • Develop and finalize prototypes, scope and sequence, project proposals, and project scope documentation, as needed
  • Train, mentor, and provide feedback to more junior Academic Designers on guidelines and expectations around content development, documentation, and planning
  • Act as the point of contact between a vendor, internal engineering teams, contractors, and Academic Design teams with some decision-making authority, including ensuring timeliness and quality of work
  • Coordinate with Project Managers, Product Design, Production and other cross-functional groups to establish workflows and maintain communication about project schedules/status
  • Demonstrate strong understanding of elementary (Grades K-2) Reading/Language Arts pedagogical issues
  • Produce and guide more junior team members to produce accurate, error-free, high-quality products that meet curriculum standards (including CCSS and other state standards), project scope, and market requirements and that display appropriate content, reading level, grammar, and style
  • Stay up to date on emerging educational/curriculum trends, educational technology, and research within field and adjacent to field
 
We’re looking for someone with: 
  • Bachelor’s degree in elementary education, literacy, linguistics, or related field
  • A minimum of 4 years of experience in literacy curriculum development and educational publishing with a focus on Grades K-2
  • Subject matter expertise in foundational literacy skills, including decodability of texts
  • Teaching experience an advantage
  • Ability to create and visualize content for various delivery formats and classroom settings
  • Highly organized, goal-oriented, and collaborative with ability to mentor others and provide guidance, direction, and leadership
  • Ability to understand concerns, needs, and issues raised by junior team members and create novel solutions, including cross-functional problem solving
  • Proactively identifies risks and develops contingency plans
  • Understanding of how research, pedagogy, and best practice applies to product design and apply broad views of perspectives in the discipline
  • Attention to detail and commitment to accuracy, quality, and on-time delivery
  • Knowledge of appropriate industry and subject-area content development practices, content standards (such as CCSS, B.E.S.T., and TEKS), and academic and pedagogical trends, with the ability to drive innovation in teams and products
  • Displays and acts with initiative, integrity, and professionalism
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, which include a thorough command of the English language, spelling, writing, and grammar and a strong attention to detail
  • Effective organizational and time management skills; productive, efficient work habits and the ability to prioritize, multitask, and exhibit flexibility
  • Diverse computer skills, expert-level in MS Office suite, proficiency with Adobe Acrobat, Smartsheet, and K4/InCopy markup
  • Experience building accessible content in digital authoring systems is a plus
 
Why work for us?  
The work you do at McGraw Hill will be work that matters. We are collectively designing content that will build the future of education. Play your part and experience a sense of fulfilment that will inspire you to even greater heights. 
   
The pay range for this position is between $62,000 - $80,000 annually, however, base pay offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location. Additionally, a full range of medical and/or other benefits may be provided depending on the position offered. Click here to learn more about our benefit offerings.
 
McGraw Hill recruiters always use a “@mheducation.com” or "@careers.mheducation.com” email addresses and/or from our Applicant Tracking System, iCIMS. Any variation of this email domain should be considered suspicious. Additionally, McGraw Hill recruiters and authorized representatives will never request sensitive information in email.
 
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