Professional Program Development Instructor Cybersecurity

JOB#CYP100

Under the general supervision of a program manager, the Professional Program Development Instructor will collaborate with UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) staff to design and develop a six-month, cohort-based professional learning program. This work is a “work for hire” focused on the design and creation of program materials. The development timeline, scope, and deliverables will be established during the planning phase and agreed upon by all parties. The Program Development SME serves as the primary subject matter expert in Cybersecurity works in close partnership with an assigned instructional designer, program manager, and other UC Davis support team members. This role is explicitly collaborative: program design decisions, learning architecture, assessment strategy, and learner experience are developed jointly with the instructional designer, who is responsible for instructional quality, alignment with learning outcomes, and adherence to UC Davis instructional standards.

The targeted domain for this UC Davis Professional Program is Cybersecurity.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate actively and professionally with an instructional designer throughout the full program development lifecycle, including learning design, assessment strategy, sequencing, and learner experience.
• Create the curriculum design for the offering, including learning objectives, description of learning activities, sequence of activities, timing of activities, and overall outcome of the offer as articulated in the syllabus.
• Curate and align existing online learning content from third-party platforms (e.g., Coursera or similar providers) to meet defined program learning objectives.
• Design and develop hands-on, applied learning activities, including practice exercises, assessments, and skill-building opportunities, and support the development of the technical environments that will enable these practices.
• Design the parameters, scope, and learning objectives for a real-world, project-based experiential learning component, delivered in partnership with a third-party experiential learning provider (e.g., Riipen or similar platforms).
• Contribute subject-matter expertise to ensure program content reflects current professional and industry practices.
• Participate in structured review cycles and incorporate feedback from UC Davis stakeholders.
• Deliver agreed-upon development artifacts, which may include content maps, project briefs, assessment outlines, rubrics, and supporting instructional materials.

The resulting program will represent approximately 250 hours of structured learning, plus additional time for applied project work and independent study, delivered over a six-month period. This role does not include instructional delivery, facilitation, mentoring, or learner support during program delivery. Instructional delivery will be handled by a separately contracted instructor; the same individual may be considered for both roles under separate agreements.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity, engineering, computer science, information technology or other related field and/or deep domain and professional expertise.
• Five additional years of professional experience focused academic work and/or relevant work experience in cybersecurity, information assurance, or network security with demonstrated expertise in areas covered by the CompTIA Security (SYO-7010 exam, including threat management, incident response, risk management, cryptography, identity and access management, and network security operations.
• Current CompTIA Security certification (SYO-601 or newer).
• Proficiency with cybersecurity tools, technologies (e.g. firewalls, SIEM, IDS/IPS, vulnerability scanners, packet analysis tools, and endpoint protection).
• Proficiency with cyber ranges.
• Familiarity with operating systems (Windows, Linux) and network protocols relevant to Security objectives.
• At least 6 months experience as a trainer, instructor, teacher, lecturer or faculty with specific experience teaching online with experience in creating and documenting curricula or lesson plans.
• Experience using third party materials as part of a learning progression.
• Proven experience collaborating with instructional designers, program managers, and cross-functional teams with high dependability of on-time project delivery.
• Experience contributing to applied, project-based, or experiential learning initiatives in professional or workforce education contexts.
• Effective communication skills and demonstrated ability to work within a structured, collaborative development process and the ability to explain technical requirements to non-experts.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Two or more years' experience as a trainer, instructor, teacher, lecturer, or faculty.
• Additional credentials such as CISSP, CEH, CSA, CISM, GIAC or CASP .
• Project management skills.
• Experience creating project-based on scenario-based learning experiences.
• Experience developing labs using virtual environments, cloud platforms, and/or cyber ranges or simulation platforms.
• Familiarity with cybersecurity workforce frameworks such as NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework or NIST Cybersecurity Standards.
• Experience with learning via self-study massive open online courses.
• Experience with managing company internships or interns.

Appointment:

The Professional Program Development Instructor position is an exempt by-agreement appointment. The incumbent will be hired into the UC Davis payroll title of Teacher-University Extension Contract YR and will be subject to Federal and State Income Tax Withholdings.

Compensation:

Compensation will be a set, negotiated amount per assigned course development or instructional services.

Benefits:

Position is not eligible for UC health & welfare benefits. As a by-agreement instructor, the employment is considered “part-time” and will participate in the Defined Contribution Plan (the “DC Plan”) as a Safe Harbor† participant. By-Agreement instructors are automatically enrolled in the DC Plan per their eligible appointment. Safe Harbor participants contribute 7.5% of their wages, on a pretax basis, in lieu of contributing to Social Security. Please review the Retirement Savings Program Information for Safe Harbor Participants and the DCP Summary Plan Description for more information.

Apply:

Apply By 4/20/26

Instructor Interest Application Please insert CYP100 in the Job Code Section.

Department Overview

UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) is the lifelong learning arm of the university. The division maintains the most diverse portfolio on the campus, with programs spanning pre-college, professional continuing education, workforce development, international academic and cultural exchange, and training services for corporate and agency partners. As a global leader in continuing education, CPE serves learners regionally, nationally and globally, and posts more than 55K enrollments annually making it the third largest UC Extension by enrollment. Beyond its community-facing role, CPE serves as the internal hub for online education in support of other academic units on the campus. CPE employs approximately 180 employees and draws on the expertise of approximately 1,700 instructors.