How to Land Remote Curriculum Development Jobs
Many teachers dream of working beyond the classroom – something that offers more flexibility, is still meaningful, and lets them use their teaching skills and experience in new ways. Remote curriculum development jobs provide all of this and more.
As a teacher (or former teacher), you’re well-positioned to move into curriculum development. You’ve designed lessons, built activities from scratch, and supported diverse learners (the list goes on!). You know what works (and what doesn’t) for students and for educators. You have the skills it takes to succeed in curriculum development remote jobs.
At Educator Forever, we’re actively working in the exciting world of curriculum development through our curriculum agency, where we partner with leading education organizations to build meaningful learning experiences.
In this blog post, we’ll explore how to make a successful leap into curriculum development - and how to find the remote curriculum developer jobs that are right for you.
But First… What Exactly Is Curriculum Development?
At its core, curriculum development is all about creating engaging learning experiences to improve student learning and support teachers.
Curriculum developers create a variety of materials, including lesson plans, full learning units, worksheets, assessments, activities, textbooks, teacher guides, etc.
As a curriculum developer, you can work remotely with:
EdTech companies
Education nonprofits
Publishers and textbook companies
Museums and cultural institutions
Online learning platforms
Children’s media outlets
Educational agencies (and more!)
When applying to remote curriculum development jobs, be on the lookout for these common job titles in the field:
Curriculum Developer or Designer
Subject Matter Expert (SME)
Instructional Designer
Learning Experience Designer
Curriculum Alignment Specialist
Assessment Coordinator
Curriculum and Training Specialist (and more!)
But you don’t have to apply to traditional curriculum development jobs to work in the field.
Curriculum development is a diverse and growing field with countless opportunities (both part-time and full-time).
Freelance curriculum developers, for example, may also advise organizations on developing learning plans that support their product, mission, or service.
3 Keys to Successfully Landing Curriculum Development Jobs
Whether you want to find a full-time remote curriculum developer job, prefer to work part-time or even want to start your own curriculum development business, it’s important to prepare to land roles within the field.
1. Tailor your resume
Your teaching resume that you’ve used in the past (to land teaching positions) likely won’t fully capture what you can bring to a curriculum development role.
Curriculum roles look for specific skills, like instructional design, standards alignment, assessment writing, and differentiation. So you’ll need to tailor your resume to specific curriculum opportunities.
Reframe your experience. Reword your teaching experience using the language of curriculum development. For instance:
Instead of “Taught high school English,” you could write:
“Designed and implemented standards-aligned instructional units for grades 9-12, incorporating scaffolding, formative assessments, and cross-curricular strategies.”
Instead of “Taught 4th grade,” you could write:
“Developed engaging project-based learning units aligned to Common Core standards, integrating social studies and science content.”
Pull language from job descriptions. Use ideas and keywords from the specific job description and incorporate them into your resume. This helps your resume get through applicant tracking systems (ATS) and shows you’re speaking their language.
Use strong action verbs. Try starting your bullet points with verbs like: designed, developed, implemented, evaluated, aligned, collaborated, revised, etc. Use past tense for past positions and present tense for current positions.
Keep it focused. Your resume should be 1-2 pages and should include your most relevant experience and skills.
2. Create a compelling portfolio
While your resume can get an employer’s attention, a strong curriculum design portfolio is proof that you can do the job well. Through your portfolio, you'll demonstrate your writing skills and curriculum development expertise.
Your portfolio doesn’t need to be fancy, but it should be clear, well-organized, and easy to navigate.
Within your portfolio, you might feature sample lesson plans, unit plans, assessments, or rubrics you’ve created. You could also create a sample(s) from scratch that directly relates to the job you’re applying for, perhaps a particular grade level or subject.
Make sure your samples are user-friendly and easy to read with enough details so teachers feel supported to follow all the steps that you’ve laid out. (This also helps ensure you show off your curriculum development expertise!)
Consider using a Google Drive folder as your portfolio (with Google Docs or PDFs inside). You can also use Canva or website builders if you’d like. Most importantly, make sure your portfolio is easy for employers to view and understand.
3. Real experience is the best experience
When looking at remote curriculum development jobs, it’s easy to feel like you’re not qualified if you haven’t had “curriculum developer” as your job title… But remember, you’re not starting from scratch. You have valuable experience.
You’ve likely already been designing lessons and materials, adapting to meet diverse learners’ needs, collaborating on grade-level or districtwide curriculum, developing online learning experiences (especially during the pandemic), and so on. All of that counts, and it’s just a matter of framing it that way.
And if you want more hands-on, real-world experience, our Curriculum Development Foundations program is a great place to start. You’ll create exciting curriculum projects you’re passionate about, build a portfolio that shines, and get one-on-one support from a curriculum coach who gives you expert, personalized feedback.
Along the way, you’ll deepen your understanding of curriculum frameworks, strengthen your writing skills, and boost your confidence as a curriculum developer. Plus, you’ll earn certification and learn exactly where to find remote curriculum jobs that align with your interests.
Ready to go from teacher to curriculum developer?
Teachers make the best curriculum developers, and we’re here to help you step confidently into the new career path.
At Educator Forever, our curriculum agency specializes in training PreK-12 educators to become successful curriculum developers through the Curriculum Development Foundations Program.
Through this empowering 5-week program, you’ll:
✅ Master the skills you need to excel in PreK-12 curriculum development
✅ Craft a portfolio that impresses employers (with expert-reviewed curriculum samples!)
✅ Gain real-world experience in a supportive environment
✅ Benefit from personalized coaching and feedback
✅ Learn how to find curriculum development opportunities as well as strategies to position yourself as the ideal candidate for your dream opportunities
✅ Earn certification… and join a supportive community and network of educators and coaches cheering you on as you step into your new career
Sign up now to fast-track your success and step into flexible, creative, meaningful work that fits your life.