Assistant Director of Instructional Technology - Office of Academic Innovation - Penn Engineering

Job Description Summary

Penn Engineering Online is seeking a leader with expertise in instructional technology, operational management, and emerging technologies to lead the Instructional Technology Team. This role will oversee day-to-day course operations and manage AI-related projects and initiatives across the Office of Academic Innovation to ensure a cutting-edge learning experience.

Job Description

Penn Engineering Online is seeking a leader with instructional technology and operational expertise to lead the Instructional Technology Team-a fast-paced, agile team in a growing and dynamic office. The Assistant Director will manage the team of approximately four full-time employees responsible for ensuring a successful and seamless learning experience for over 2,000 students in multiple online programs.

This role will manage and supervise day-to-day operations, including maintaining and innovating a comprehensive customer service strategy focused on outcomes and student success. Beyond core operations, the Assistant Director will act as a strategic lead for the Office of Academic Innovation's AI initiatives, managing the lifecycle of AI-related projects and their integration into the digital ecosystem. The Assistant Director will serve as the go-to expert in supporting operations in an online learning program, implementing best-in-class instructional technology, and leading and growing a team of high-performing contributors.

The job will follow a hybrid work schedule. Some evening and weekend work is required.

Responsibilities

• Team Management As the supervisor of the Instructional Technology Team, manage employees responsible for day-to-day operations of at-scale online, for-credit, courses. Specifically, review and refine existing processes, responsibilities and operations to ensure a smooth course experience for faculty, TAs, students and staff. Develop and manage a complex course support system, ensuring the responsibilities are distributed evenly among all staff members. Oversee TA hiring and exam proctoring. Work with the Instructional Design Team to refine processes related to revisions and preparations for the following semester. Ensure the staff has regular training and professional development to increase their understanding of instructional technology and team operations.
• Instructional Technology In concert with other Instructional Technologists on the team, serve as an expert in instructional technology, troubleshoot all platform or course challenges, and develop workarounds as needed. Perform quality assurance checks on a number of systems and platforms to ensure bugs are caught early and remedied quickly. Maintain and update a comprehensive knowledge base for various stakeholders including staff, faculty, and TAs to use as a reference when they encounter challenges during the semester. Stay abreast of new technologies in EdTech, regularly provide suggestions for platform improvements, and evaluate new tools.
• AI Integration and Strategy Lead the management and implementation of AI-related projects and initiatives across the Office of Academic Innovation, ensuring AI tools are ethically and effectively integrated into the curriculum and administrative workflows. When informed of a platform or AI tool update, manage the education and training of faculty, TAs, and staff so they can easily adapt to the change. Stay current on generative AI and machine learning applications in EdTech and identify opportunities for adoption and innovation.
• Student Success Support the Student Affairs Team in helping every student in the degree programs to succeed. Specifically, track quantitative and qualitative information from multiple systems, work closely with the Faculty, TAs and Student Affairs team to monitor student progress, coordinate interventions and track accommodations.
• Other Duties as Assigned

Desired Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree, Master's in a related field strongly preferred, and a minimum of 3-5 years experience, preferably in higher education, technology or a closely related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated experience managing AI integration projects, pilot programs, or AI-driven educational tools.
• Demonstrated experience managing online courses and/or instructional technology.
• Demonstrated experience managing teams that need to meet daily, weekly and semester goals, i.e., both strong project management skills and supervisor skills.
• Strong customer service skills, positive attitude and attention-to-detail.
• Intermediate Excel skills such as pivot tables, vlook-up and filters.
• Experience with LMSs, LTIs, and associated instructional technology.
• Proficient with GSuite and comfortable using project management tools.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience working in a highly collaborative team environment preferred.
• Experience working with students in higher education environment.

Note: Cover Letter strongly recommended.