This is a full-time, remote position anywhere in the contiguous United States, with national travel expected up to 60%.  This position is supported by grant funds and has a projected term of 2 years; continued employment is contingent upon the availability of additional funds.

What You’ll Do

The Senior Director of the AI Learning Tour leads the organization’s efforts to study the intersection of artificial intelligence and K–12 instruction through a rigorous, two-year grounded learning initiative. The Senior Director conducts extensive field visits, interviews with teachers and leaders using specific products, and building their own solutions and examines research on product impact overall and for particular student groups to evaluate the instructional quality of student-facing tools.  The Senior Director of the AI Learning Tour also helps synthesize, analyze and communicate findings from the tool to ensuring states, districts, and developers have reliable, evidence-grounded insights to inform how they are thinking about the range of AI use cases and the factors that matter to impact and value. 
 

Responsibilities:

Field Research and Data Collection

• Leads the design and execution of annual school visits to observe technology-supported instruction and capture field notes on pedagogical practices and student engagement
• Develops and adapts rigorous observation protocols and interview tools that evolve alongside the emerging technological landscape
• Facilitates structured interview protocols with diverse stakeholders including students, educators, and system leaders to yield comparable insights across varied contexts
• Conducts in-depth technical interviews with product teams to evaluate model architecture, content alignment, and pedagogical commitments
• Analyzes product impact data by reviewing internal and third-party research to distinguish between proven results and emerging signals
• Ensures delivery of transformative results by managing ethical data use, consent processes, and data governance across all research activities

Synthesis and Knowledge Management

• Authors comprehensive product specific and cross-cutting information
• Drafts high-stakes essays and briefs that translate complex technical findings into clear instructional implications for a broad audience
• Maintains a centralized evidence database organized by use case, training approach, and implementation patterns to support organizational strategy
• Navigates change with resilience by adjusting research strategies in response to new findings while supporting the broader organization through transitions

• Shapes the organizational narrative by partnering with communications colleagues to produce learning artifacts that are credible to both educators and technologists
• Represents findings in high-level conversations with state leaders, district administrators, and funders to influence field-wide decision-making
• Maintains the integrity and intellectual honesty of the project by balancing curiosity with a rigorous, evidence-based stance
• Acts as a steward of organizational culture by modeling a growth mindset and deep curiosity throughout all external engagements

Candidate Qualifications and Traits:
 

• 12+ years of professional experience in education, with a proven track record of driving student achievement growth at the classroom or system level
• Instructional Mastery: Extensive expertise in K–12 instructional practices, specifically in math and English Language Arts, with the ability to identify high-quality pedagogy in diverse environments
• Qualitative Research Design: Proven experience designing and conducting rigorous field observations, interviews, and synthesis to produce credible, evidence-based findings
• Technical Literacy: Ability to analyze AI-enabled tools, including understanding of model selection, data curation, and evaluation methodology to assess instructional impact
• Strategic Writing and Synthesis: Exceptional ability to translate raw technical and observational data into precise, clear, and persuasive public-facing content without the use of jargon
• Strategic Individual Contribution: Demonstrated ability to drive complex projects autonomously, communicating proactively and taking personal responsibility for the integrity of high-stakes work
• Evidence-Based Decision Making: Strong commitment to objective data analysis with the ability to maintain intellectual honesty and navigate areas of ambiguity with precision

Instruction Partners provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Instruction Partners complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Compensation:

The salary for this role is $143,750.00. Detailed information about the organizational compensation philosophy can be found here. Competitive benefits and private retirement investment options are available, as well as a generous vacation policy. See our detailed benefits package here: Benefits in Brief Overview. Additionally, Instruction Partners participates in E-Verify. Please see the E-Verify “Notice of Participation” and the Department of Justice “Right to Work ” posters for more information.

Our Mission: 

We strengthen instructional leadership in schools, school systems, and states to ensure teachers have the support they need to improve learning experiences and learning outcomes for students— with attention to students of color, students experiencing poverty, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities.

Our Vision:

All students experience an excellent education that prepares them to contribute to their community, achieve economic security, and pursue their dreams.