Position Title: Instructional Assistant (Cloud Systems Engineering)

Location: Remote

Hourly: $20.00

Employment Type: Contract (4-5 months)

Reports To: Senior Director, Technical Instruction

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

Per Scholas seeks a dynamic, team-oriented individual to serve as an Instructional Associate. The Instructional Associate will play an essential role in our organization's mission as he/she trains Per Scholas learners to be outstanding entry and mid-level technicians.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

Classroom Facilitation

• Using a structured and approved curriculum, assist the Technical Instructor in conducting technical training to prepare learners for entry to mid-level Information Technology jobs. Technical training competencies include but are not limited to hardware, software, networking, security, server, mobility, virtualization, cyber security, web development, quality assurance, and project management.
• Assist classroom facilitation in a highly interactive, hands-on style. The IA will consult with the Instructor before providing current learners with any review materials, videos, or other support.
• The IA will form and lead study groups using the instructor's evaluations. The instructor and the learners will determine topics. These study groups can be held during class time (as the instructor approves) or before/after class.
• The IA will consult with the instructor to determine the activities for the present and upcoming days and assist in gathering the necessary tools to conduct the lectures and hands-on labs.
• The IA will understand the curriculum and be prepared to conduct a lesson if the instructor needs to be out of the classroom.
• • Please note an IA will not be asked to facilitate a lesson for an extended period.
• The IA will ensure that all equipment loaned to or used by the learners is returned to the instructor, the storage closet, or the person from whom it was borrowed.
• Utilize an in-house Learning Management System for assignments, tests, real-time performance monitoring, and assisting in entering learner attendance/grades/scorecards.
• The Per Scholas curriculum calls for a maximum of 1.5 hours of lecture in a 6-hour teaching day. The rest of the time is dedicated to interactive, hands-on lab activities led by the Technical Instructor.
• Class sizes range from approximately 15-30 learners.

Managing Learner Performance

• Provide learners with ongoing feedback, recognize any challenges early, and work with the instructor and/or coaches and learners to overcome them.
• Coordinate closely with learners' instructors and career coaches on enforcing program rules and promoting learner success.
• Implement individualized study plans for learners who are struggling in the class.
• Participate in all required learner progress meetings with other members of the team.
• Monitor and enforce learner class attendance, dress code, and other program policies.

Administrative

• Participate in staff meetings
• Conduct real-time learner data entry in Salesforce and/or Canvas

WHAT YOU'LL BRING TO US:

Technical Capabilities

• Backend Development (Java / Spring Boot): Working knowledge of Java and Spring Boot fundamentals; able to support learners with RESTful API development, controllers/services/repositories, basic layered architecture, CRUD operations, request/response lifecycles, exception handling, validation, and core Spring concepts such as dependency injection, configuration, and application properties.
• APIs & Integration: Able to consume and test RESTful CRUD APIs using Postman; read and understand basic OpenAPI/Swagger documentation; assist with extending or debugging simple API endpoints under instructor guidance.
• Databases: Comfortable with SQL fundamentals (SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, simple joins); experience querying relational databases from a schema; familiarity with JPA/Hibernate and database-backed applications; exposure to MongoDB or NoSQL concepts is a plus.
• Version Control: Daily use of Git/GitHub (clone, branch, commit, pull requests); able to resolve simple merge conflicts and follow established team workflows.
• CI/CD & Quality: Experience running or monitoring CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins); able to read logs and identify failing steps; awareness of unit testing concepts and basic test execution.
• AWS (foundational): Ability to navigate the AWS Console; familiarity with IAM users and roles, EC2, S3, RDS, and VPC fundamentals; able to deploy or update a simple application by following a runbook; high-level understanding of cost awareness and best practices.
• Containers (foundational): Build and run Docker containers locally; understand images versus containers; use Docker within CI pipelines as instructed.
• Infrastructure as Code (exposure): Ability to read and make small, low-risk edits to Terraform or CloudFormation under review (e.g., instance sizing, tagging).
• Delivery Practices: Understanding of Agile/Scrum ceremonies and workflows; able to support learners with user stories, task breakdowns, and technical documentation; communicate technical trade-offs clearly and accessibly.
• Team & Teaching Support: Comfortable facilitating labs, debugging with learners, documenting solutions, and escalating issues appropriately; strong collaborator who supports both instructional staff and learners.

Personal Characteristics

• You thrive in a creative, inventive, fast-paced startup environment with people who are passionate about their work and mission.
• You are data-driven, result-oriented, and a forward-looking catalyst for social change.
• You have a collaborative and flexible work style. You're excited to work cross-functionally with other departments and independently.
• You are an effective communicator with strong oral and written skills.
• You are tech-savvy and can learn quickly.
• You are strong at time management and can balance multiple projects and tasks.
• You stand behind our mission, believing that individuals from any community should have access to well-paying career positions and that talent should be recognized and recruited from diverse sources.
• You have a passion for teaching others.
• You have an interest in being part of a culture of continuous improvement.

Compensation

For this role specifically, we are targeting a salary range of $20.00/Hr where the difference in salary is typically determined by several factors, including geography in which the selected candidate resides, and alignment with qualifications and experience.

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