Who's Who: 10 Common L&D Roles

It takes a village to build a learning experience. Whether you're trying to find your niche within L&D, map your career trajectory, or staff your team, this article will help you learn about common roles in the L&D space.

Instructional Designer (or Learning Experience Designer)

Average salary: $78,052 ($83,372) Responsibilities: Design and/or develop instructor-led and eLearning experiences Settings: Private, public, academic, or non-profit What else: The titles instructional designer (ID) and learning experience designer (LXD) are often used interchangeably. Learning experience designers may emphasize user experience (UX) design practices, whereas instructional designers are typically grounded in learning theory and curriculum effectiveness.

Senior Instructional Designer (or Senior Learning Experience Designer)

Average salary: $88,620 ($106,302) Responsibilities: Design and/or develop learning experiences; may have managerial or team leadership responsibilities; may manage projects or programs; may possess a more advanced or specialized skillset Settings: Private, public, academic, or non-profit What else: In addition to their design responsibilities, senior instructional designers often mentor and oversee the work of an instructional designer team, with or without direct managerial duties.

eLearning Developer

Average salary: $88,929 Responsibilities: Develop eLearning experiences; may design or receive storyboards from an instructional designer Settings: Private, public, academic, or non-profit What else: eLearning developers use software tools to develop eLearning and multimedia elements. They may design storyboards or receive completed storyboards from an instructional designer.

Learning Solutions Architect

Average salary: $111,920 Responsibilities: Create learning solution concepts in collaboration with the sales team for client pursuits Settings: Typically larger organizations What else: This is a specialized role typically found in larger organizations. Learning solutions architects partner with the sales team to propose learning solutions to internal or external clients. The function of this role may vary by organization, and it may be performed by an instructional designer in a smaller organization.

Learning Consultant

Average salary: $98,243 Responsibilities: Define business objectives and make recommendations for learning solution designs Settings: Typically larger organizations What else: This is a specialized role typically found in larger organizations. Learning performance consultants partner with leadership or external clients to define business objectives and make learning recommendations to achieve those objectives. The function of this role may vary by organization, and it may be performed by an instructional designer in a smaller organization.

LMS Administrator

Average salary: $67,155 Responsibilities: Implement, maintain, troubleshoot, and manage reporting from the learning management system (LMS) Settings: Private, public, academic, or non-profit What else: LMS administrators are responsible for managing the LMS, providing end-user support, and resolving technical issues. They also may be involved in developing or implementing an LMS.

L&D Specialist

Average salary: $67,496 Responsibilities: Develop, implement learning solutions Settings: Private, public, academic, or non-profit What else: This is an operational role that will vary by organization. L&D specialists may be responsible for designing, developing, implementing, or even delivering learning experiences.

Learning Analyst

Average salary: $75,030 Responsibilities: Establish metrics to evaluate training effectiveness and evaluate learning experiences to drive improvements Settings: Typically larger organizations What else: This role will vary by organization and may overlap with the L&D Specialist function. Learning analysts may partner with instructional designers to develop measurement strategies and analyze data to identify improvements to learning experiences.

L&D Manager

Average salary: $103,466 Responsibilities: Manages and develops an instructional design team and determines learning program strategy Settings: Private, public, academic, or non-profit What else: L&D Managers typically have minimal design responsibilities and instead balance their time between people management, project management, and learning strategy; the balance between these areas will vary by organization.

Training Facilitator

Average salary: $54,109 Responsibilities: Delivers or facilitates training program Settings: Private, public, academic, or non-profit What else: Training facilitators typically have domain expertise in the training subject, and may serve as subject matter experts (SMEs) on L&D projects. Facilitators may work full-time or part-time in a salaried or contract position. Some travel may be involved to deliver training programs on-site.

Note: Glassdoor salary information was current as of November 2022.