Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Learning Technology Specialist

🎯 Role Definition

The Learning Technology Specialist is a hands-on, cross-functional expert responsible for designing, deploying, administering and optimizing digital learning solutions that enable measurable learner outcomes. This role combines instructional design fundamentals, technical LMS administration, content production (SCORM/xAPI/HTML5/video), accessibility compliance, and learning analytics to deliver scalable online and blended learning experiences. The Specialist partners with L&D stakeholders, subject-matter experts, IT, vendors and end users to ensure high-quality, secure, and data-informed learning programs.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Instructional Designer or eLearning Developer transitioning to platform-focused responsibilities
Educational Technologist or Learning Operations Coordinator with hands-on LMS experience
Training Specialist or Classroom Trainer expanding into digital program development

Advancement To:

Senior Learning Technology Specialist / Lead Learning Technologist
Learning Technology Manager / Learning Operations Manager
Director of Learning Technologies or Manager of Learning Experience Design

Lateral Moves:

Learning Experience Designer (LxD)
eLearning Developer / Instructional Media Producer
Learning Data Analyst / Learning Insights Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead end-to-end administration of the organization’s Learning Management System (LMS), including configuration, user and role management, course publishing, enrollment rules, single sign-on (SSO) and security settings to ensure reliable delivery of online and blended training.
Design, develop and deploy high-quality e-learning modules using authoring tools such as Articulate Storyline, Articulate Rise, Adobe Captivate and/or Articulate 360, ensuring content is SCORM and xAPI/Tin Can compliant and performs consistently across devices.
Partner with instructional designers and subject-matter experts to convert instructor-led content into engaging, learner-centered digital experiences that incorporate microlearning, assessments, branching scenarios and performance support assets.
Implement and maintain learning content packaging standards (SCORM 1.2/2004, xAPI, AICC, cmi5), and validate upload/publishing processes to ensure tracking, completion, and reporting accuracy across systems.
Create and maintain detailed technical and process documentation including LMS configuration guides, course publishing checklists, version control, and runbooks for common administrative tasks and escalations.
Build and maintain integrations between LMS, HRIS, SSO providers, content libraries, video platforms and third-party vendors using LTI, API calls, SFTP, webhooks and middleware while ensuring data privacy and compliance.
Monitor system health, troubleshoot complex LMS issues and act as primary point of contact for escalated technical problems, coordinating with IT and vendors to triage incidents and implement long-term fixes.
Configure and maintain learning catalogs, curriculum paths, learning plans, competency frameworks and certification programs to support career pathways, compliance training and performance goals.
Implement assessment strategies and advanced quizzing (question pools, randomized delivery, timed exams, proctoring integration) and validate scoring, remediation and reporting logic to support credentialing and certification workflows.
Design and implement learning analytics and dashboards that translate LMS and xAPI data into actionable insights for stakeholders: course engagement, completion rates, time-to-proficiency, drop-off points and ROI indicators.
Lead course QA and accessibility testing against WCAG 2.1 and Section 508 standards, remediating issues for screen reader compatibility, keyboard navigation, captions, transcripts and color contrast to ensure inclusive learning experiences.
Produce and edit multimedia learning assets (video capture, screencasts, audio narration, motion graphics) and partner with in-house or external multimedia teams to deliver polished course artifacts on schedule.
Manage vendor relationships for off-the-shelf content libraries, LMS vendors, and specialized learning tools; evaluate proposals, conduct pilots, negotiate SLAs and integrate third-party content into the learning ecosystem.
Drive continuous improvement by running pilot programs, A/B testing instructional approaches, analyzing learner feedback and making iterative enhancements to content and platform configurations.
Coordinate rollout plans, change management communication and stakeholder training programs to ensure smooth adoption of new tools, course launches and system upgrades.
Maintain data governance practices for learning records: archiving policies, data retention, GDPR/CCPA compliance and secure transfer of learner data across systems.
Configure automation workflows and scheduled tasks (enrollment automation, certificate issuance, reminder notifications) using LMS built-in features or integrated automation tools to reduce manual administration.
Provide instructor and administrator training, create user guides, quick reference materials and host office hours to enable self-service and increase platform adoption across the organization.
Lead migration projects for LMS consolidation or upgrades: perform gap analysis, content remapping, test migrations, stakeholder validation and phased cutover while minimizing disruption to learners.
Establish and maintain taxonomy, metadata and tagging standards for learning assets to improve searchability, reuse and analytics across the content library.
Serve as the product owner for learning technology initiatives: define requirements, prioritize backlog items, write acceptance criteria and participate in sprint planning with engineering or vendor teams.
Ensure mobile learning readiness and responsive design for courses and the LMS experience; test across iOS/Android and major browsers for performance and usability.
Evaluate emerging learning technologies (learning experience platforms, adaptive learning, VR/AR, AI-driven tutoring) and pilot select solutions to recommend strategic adoption aligned to business goals.
Track and report on compliance training metrics and audit readiness; coordinate with legal and compliance teams to ensure training fulfills regulatory obligations and certification renewals.
Facilitate cross-functional stakeholder workshops to align learning strategy with business goals, define success metrics and prioritize high-impact learning initiatives.

Secondary Functions

Provide first- and second-line support for end-users, resolving login, enrollment and playback issues and escalating complex incidents to vendors or IT.
Support ad-hoc reporting requests from HR and business leaders, extracting LMS and xAPI data, cleaning datasets and delivering actionable summaries and visualizations.
Contribute to the organization’s learning technology roadmap by surfacing trends, vendor evaluations and scaling recommendations based on usage metrics and stakeholder feedback.
Collaborate with compliance, HRIS and security teams to ensure sender authentication, data encryption and access provisioning meet organizational policies.
Participate in agile ceremonies and cross-functional planning sessions to align learning technology work with broader product and IT priorities.
Maintain relationships with academic partners and external training providers to curate or co-develop content that fills skill gaps.
Audit learning assets periodically for currency, quality and brand alignment and run deprecation cycles for outdated content.
Create templates and starter kits (course shells, storyboard templates, accessibility checklists) to accelerate course development across the organization.
Assist with budget planning for learning technology spend, including license renewals, vendor subscriptions and media production costs.
Coordinate usability testing sessions with representative learners to capture qualitative insights and prioritize UX improvements.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

LMS administration (Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard, SuccessFactors Learning, Cornerstone, Docebo or equivalent) — setup, user provisioning, roles, catalogs and enrollment automation.
eLearning authoring tools: Articulate Storyline, Articulate Rise, Adobe Captivate, Lectora or similar for SCORM/xAPI content creation.
Content interoperability: SCORM 1.2/2004, xAPI/Tin Can, cmi5, LTI and knowledge of packaging and versioning best practices.
Learning analytics & reporting: experience building dashboards (Power BI, Tableau, Looker) from LMS or xAPI feeds to track engagement and learning outcomes.
API and integration experience: REST APIs, webhooks, SSO (SAML/OAuth), HRIS connectors and middleware for system integrations.
Multimedia production: video capture/editing (Camtasia, Premiere Pro), audio recording, compression and captioning workflows.
Accessibility and compliance: WCAG 2.1, Section 508 remediation, alt text, keyboard workflows and accessible authoring techniques.
Basic front-end skills: HTML5, CSS and basic JavaScript for troubleshooting course behaviors, responsive layout fixes and LMS theme tweaks.
Assessment and testing design: question pools, item analysis, proctoring integrations and secure exam delivery.
Version control and content management: Git or content versioning workflows, asset libraries and metadata/tagging systems.
Data privacy and security awareness: GDPR/CCPA implications for learner data, encryption best practices and secure file handling.
Familiarity with adaptive learning tools, microlearning platforms, mobile learning (responsive design) and modern LXP features.

Soft Skills

Strong stakeholder management: ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions and manage expectations across HR, compliance and business leaders.
Clear written and verbal communication: create concise user guides, technical documentation and executive summaries for non-technical audiences.
Project management and prioritization: manage multiple concurrent projects, timelines, vendors and release schedules reliably.
Problem-solving mindset: diagnose cross-platform issues, propose practical workarounds and implement robust long-term fixes.
Collaboration and facilitation: lead cross-functional workshops, training sessions and user acceptance testing with diverse teams.
Learner-centric design thinking: empathy for end users to create accessible, engaging and effective learning experiences.
Attention to detail and quality assurance orientation for thorough QA across devices and browsers.
Change management and training: ability to drive adoption through communications, job aids and hands-on training.
Analytical curiosity: interpret learning data to generate insights and inform continuous improvement cycles.
Adaptability and continuous learning: stay current with learning tech trends and rapidly prototype new approaches.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Instructional Design, Educational Technology, Learning Sciences, Computer Science, Communications, Human Resources or a related field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree in Instructional Design, Educational Technology, Learning Experience Design or MBA with a focus on HR/L&D is preferred for senior roles.
Professional certifications (ATD, Certified Professional in Learning and Performance, Articulate, xAPI Camp, WCAG/accessibility training) are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Instructional Design / Adult Learning
Educational Technology / Learning Sciences
Human-Computer Interaction / UX
Computer Science / Information Systems
Communications / Multimedia Production

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3 – 7 years of progressive experience in learning technology, LMS administration, or eLearning development.

Preferred:

5+ years of direct LMS administration and integration experience in a medium-to-large organization.
Demonstrated track record of shipping digital learning programs, creating SCORM/xAPI-compliant content, and using analytics to drive program improvements.
Experience coordinating cross-functional initiatives, managing vendors and working with compliance or regulated training programs is highly desirable.