Why You'll Love This Role:

We are seeking a Learning Experience Designer (LXD), ELA and Multilingual Learning to be a key driver in the design and production of high-quality instructional materials for Newsela’s ELA and English Language Development (ELD) products. This role is ideal for a hands-on curriculum builder with deep expertise in multilingual learner (MLL) pedagogy and second language acquisition—and enough familiarity with English Language Arts standards to apply that expertise sharply within ELA contexts—who is passionate about creating engaging, standards-aligned lessons, texts, and assessments that give multilingual learners genuine access to grade-level content.

In the near term, you’ll be a central contributor to our designated ELD curriculum for grades 9–12—supporting the design of scopes and sequences, building prototype lessons, refining AI prompts to support production, and serving as a trusted point person who reviews and guides the work of external contributors. In the longer term, this role carries opportunities for helping shape how Newsela serves multilingual learners across all of its offerings.

If you have a heart for multilingual learners and love bridging research-based practice with practical, scalable content, this role may be the perfect opportunity to make a lasting impact on all of the multilingual learners who use Newsela products.

What You'll Be Doing:

Curriculum Design & Content Creation

• Scope & Sequence Design: Support in the design of ELD scopes and sequences (initially for secondary grades), including the selection and vetting of grade-appropriate texts that align to language and content objectives across listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
• Prototype & Lesson Authoring: Directly write, design, and structure prototype lessons, student-facing activities, and ancillary materials that model rigorous, scaffolded instruction for multilingual learners based on established instructional frameworks and product specifications.
• Assessment Design: Develop clear formative and summative assessment items and rubrics that meaningfully measure language growth and content mastery against state-specific ELD standards and learning outcomes.
• Scaffolding & Accessibility: Build embedded scaffolds and differentiation—graphic organizers, sentence frames, leveled vocabulary, and translanguaging supports—so complex, high-interest content is accessible across English proficiency levels.

AI-Powered Content at Scale & Quality Assurance

• Lesson-Generation Prompt Iteration: Support the design and iterative refinement of AI prompts that support key stages of lesson design and production, translating instructional blueprints into specifications that help us produce consistent, high-quality D-ELD content at scale.
• Human Review at Scale: Review lessons, providing focused editorial and pedagogical feedback grounded in Newsela guidelines and ELD best practices to ensure accuracy, fidelity to the curriculum model, and student engagement.
• Quality Control & Process Documentation: Support manager in developing and maintaining the rubrics, quality checklists, and naming conventions that guide contributors and AI tools, ensuring repeatability and consistency across grade levels and units.

ELD Standards & Evidence-Based Practice

• Standards Expertise: Maintain knowledge about and act as an internal authority on state and national English Language Development standards and frameworks (e.g., California ELD Standards / ELPAC, WIDA, ELPS), ensuring all content adheres to the relevant standards across the grade-level continuum.
• Second Language Acquisition: Apply the latest evidence-based principles of second language acquisition, biliteracy, and the Science of Reading for multilingual learners to the design of every lesson, activity, and assessment.
• Grade-Level Access: Ensure materials uphold the goal of grade-level access, pairing high expectations with the right language scaffolds rather than diluting rigor.

Collaboration & Workflow

• Cross-Team Partnership: Collaborate closely with the core ELA team to integrate ELD supports into standards-aligned ELA content (prototypes, AI prompts, and pilot-unit review), applying your MLL lens to ELA lessons, texts, and assessments so they work for multilingual learners—and with product and technology teams on content digitization and platform experience.
• Grade-Level Leadership: Act as a grade-level lead and subject-matter point of contact for external contributors, fielding questions and resolving content and alignment issues across workstreams.
• Organization & Delivery: Prioritize and re-prioritize in line with business needs, delivering work on time and to Newsela’s standards of quality, and communicating progress and blockers proactively.

About You:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Education, Linguistics, TESOL, Curriculum & Instruction, English, or a related field.
• MLL/ELD Specialization: A specialized degree, endorsement, or certification related to multilingual learner education, ELD, TESOL/ESL, or language acquisition.
• Experience: 3+ years of experience in K–12 curriculum development, instructional design, or content creation with a significant focus on multilingual learners, preferably for an educational technology or publishing company (school- or district-based content development experience also considered).
• ELD and ELA Knowledge: Strong working knowledge of multilingual learner pedagogy, second language acquisition, and ELD standards and frameworks (e.g., California ELD/ELPAC, WIDA, or ELPS), across the four language domains. Familiarity with ELA pedagogy across K–12, including reading development, foundational literacy (e.g., phonics), and assessment best practices, particularly as they intersect with the Science of Reading for multilingual learners.
• ELA Context: Experience developing, adapting, or scaffolding English Language Arts content—such as standards-aligned lessons, texts, or reading and writing assessments—with a demonstrated ability to apply MLL expertise within an ELA context.
• Content Skills: Excellent English writing and editing, with a demonstrated ability to produce polished, standards-aligned instructional content and to give clear, useful feedback to other writers.
• AI Fluency: Comfort and fluency with AI tools, and an interest in using them to accelerate high-quality content development without sacrificing pedagogical rigor.
• Ways of Working: Strong organizational and verbal communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams and prioritize in conjunction with business needs.

Preferred

• Experience with multilingual learners across both elementary and secondary grade bands (secondary emphasis is welcome given near-term needs).
• Prior classroom teaching experience with multilingual learners / English learners.
• Experience contributing to a supplemental ELA product (e.g., fiction, nonfiction, or assessment content) in an EdTech environment.
• Master’s degree in TESOL, ESL, Multilingual Education, Curriculum & Instruction, or a related field.
• Experience managing or mentoring contributors, freelancers, or vendor teams.
• Experience with digital content authoring tools or content management systems (CMS).
• Familiarity with the dual language market and biliteracy frameworks.

All offers of employment are contingent upon the successful completion of a background check as part of our pre-employment process.

Why you’ll love working at Newsela:

• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical benefits with employer contribution to premiums and to HSA accounts. Additional benefits such as gym reimbursement, pet insurance, free access to the Calm app, Rocket Lawyer and more to help you stay healthy: mind, body, and soul.
• Work From Home: We are a fully remote company. We provide a monthly tech stipend to support your WFH needs!
• Supporting ALL Families: Inclusive benefits to support you and your family, including parental leave, fertility support, adoption, and more!
• Financial Wellbeing: Invest in your future with our 401(k) plan, which includes a employer match to help you build long-term financial security.
• Time Off: Flexible PTO, paid sick time off, company holidays plus winter break (Dec 24th - Jan 1st).
• Professional Development: Newsela offers an annual learning and development allowance to employees to attend external training sessions, classes, workshops, conferences, and educational materials to foster professional growth within their current role and career aspirations at Newsela.
• Make A Difference: No matter your role or department, the work you do each day helps share the future of education and improves the lives of students and teachers.

About Newsela:

Newsela is a leading education technology company dedicated to meaningful classroom learning for every student. We deliver integrated, AI-powered solutions designed to unlock student engagement, empower teachers, and drive meaningful learning outcomes. Our suite of products supports knowledge and skill development, writing practice, daily instruction, assessment, and data-informed decision-making across K–12 classrooms. Grounded in learning science research, Newsela’s solutions integrate content, assessment, and analytics to help educators track progress, understand student outcomes, and deliver high-impact instruction that supports every learner.

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Final compensation will be determined based on the candidate’s individual skills, qualifications, and experience. Total compensation for this role also includes incentive stock options and benefits.

Base Compensation Range$60,000—$70,000 USD