Teen Tech Launchpad (TTL) Tech Instructor

Teen Tech Launchpad (TTL) Tech Instructor

Seasonal Instructional Role — Summer 2026

Start Date: May 26th

End Date: August 28th

Hours: 30 hours/week

Location: Bronx, NY; Newark NJ; Atlanta GA; Los Angeles CA; Washington D.C / DMV area

Reports to: Teaching and Learning Manager (Youth and Community Development Programs)

Employment Type: Temporary part-time position

The Knowledge House is hiring Tech Instructors across multiple regions to lead Teen Tech Launchpad (TTL), a 6-week summer technology learning program for high school students. Instructors facilitate live instruction, guide learners through hands-on technical activities, coordinate Teaching Assistants, and support students as they explore foundational skills in coding, digital literacy, and computational thinking. This role is ideal for educators, technologists, and youth development professionals interested in leading beginner-friendly technology learning experiences that build confidence and curiosity.

About The Knowledge House (TKH)

Established in 2014, The Knowledge House (TKH) has provided high-quality technology education to thousands of students from historically underestimated communities across the country. What began as an initiative in the South Bronx has grown into a national organization serving learners in Newark, Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, DC.

Our mission is to expand access to technology education and career pathways by equipping young people with technical skills, confidence, and exposure to opportunities in tech.

Teen Tech Launchpad (TTL) is TKH’s introductory summer technology learning program for high school students. The program helps learners explore how technology works and how it shapes the world around them through hands-on activities, guided experimentation, and collaborative projects. Students build foundational digital literacy and problem-solving skills while gaining exposure to multiple areas of technology. The program emphasizes curiosity, confidence-building, and exploration rather than prior technical experience.

During the program, learners explore topics such as:

• introductory web development concepts
• programming with Python
• working with simple datasets and recognizing patterns
• experimenting with AI-assisted tools responsibly
• presenting reflections and project highlights to peers

Instructors lead this exploratory learning environment and support students as they experiment with unfamiliar tools and develop confidence in their technical abilities.

Role Overview

Reporting to the Teaching and Learning Manager (Youth and Community Development Programs), the TTL Tech Instructor is responsible for leading technical instruction and supporting classroom implementation of Teen Tech Launchpad.

Many learners in Teen Tech Launchpad are exploring technology topics for the first time. Instructors play a critical role in guiding experimentation, supporting persistence through challenges, and helping learners build confidence as they try new tools and concepts.

The ideal candidate will be an energetic and flexible educator with strong facilitation skills and a collaborative mindset who communicates effectively and possesses the ability to:

• Lead engaging live instructional sessions for beginner learners
• Coordinate classroom support with Teaching Assistants
• Maintain strong classroom culture and participation expectations
• Monitor learner progress and pacing across activities
• Provide timely and actionable assignment feedback
• Communicate instructional needs, successes, and challenges with the TTL instructional team

Program Timeline & Availability Requirements

Each instructor is assigned to one regional cohort group. Training is shared across all instructors, but preparation, delivery dates, and close-out timelines depend on the region you support. Travel between regions is not required. All instructional staff participate in a required virtual training period before program delivery begins.

Core Training Dates: May 26 – May 29, 2026 (~12–15 hours total)

After this initial training period, additional preparation time and program delivery schedules differ slightly by region.

Atlanta (Hybrid) Los Angeles (Fully Remote)

• Additional preparation and instructional planning: June 1 – June 12, 2026
• Program delivery: June 16 – July 23, 2026
• Program close-out activities(documentation, and final coordination): July 27 – July 31, 2026
• Typical weekly commitment: 30 hours per week
• Delivery format:
  • Los Angeles: Fully Remote
  • Atlanta: Hybrid (includes in-person sessions)

Instructional staff supporting these regions typically conclude their engagement in late July 2026

NYC · Newark (Hybrid Programs) DMV (Fully Remote)

• Additional preparation and instructional planning: June 22 – July 3, 2026
• Program delivery: July 7 – August 13, 2026
• Program close-out activities (documentation, and final coordination): August 17 – August 21, 2026
• Typical weekly commitment: 30 hours per week
• Delivery format:
  • NYC · Newark: Hybrid (includes required in-person engagements)
  • DMV: Fully Remote
• Location requirement: Candidates supporting NYC and Newark must be located in NYC or Newark

Instructional staff supporting these regions may remain engaged through late August 2026

Weekly Instructional Schedule (All Regions)

• Live class sessions take place: Tuesdays – Thursdays
  • Atlanta / Los Angeles: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM EST (8:00 AM – 12:00 PM PST)
  • NYC / Newark/DMV: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST
• Teaching Assistants must be available during all scheduled class sessions.

Remaining weekly hours include: grading, office hours, lesson preparation support, internal meetings, learner check-ins, instructional coordination. These hours are scheduled flexibly between 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM local time

Responsibilities

Teaching and Classroom Leadership (60%)

Lead facilitation of Teen Tech Launchpad sessions for high school learners through live virtual and hybrid instruction. This includes creating an engaging, supportive, and well-structured classroom experience that helps students build confidence as they explore introductory technology concepts and tools.

• Lead live instruction for beginner learners participating in Teen Tech Launchpad, including facilitation of whole-group lessons, interactive activities, discussions, and collaborative exercises.
• Model and set a strong culture of high expectations, curiosity, and growth mindset through clear facilitation, consistent classroom routines, and responsive instructional leadership.
• Guide learners through exploratory activities related to introductory web development, Python-based computational thinking, data exploration, AI-assisted tools, and digital problem-solving.
• Support students in building confidence with unfamiliar tools and concepts by modeling persistence, encouraging experimentation, and helping learners work through challenges in a productive way.
• Establish and maintain clear classroom expectations for participation, behavior, collaboration, and engagement across live sessions.
• Coordinate Teaching Assistants during class sessions to ensure aligned support for breakout rooms, chat moderation, learner questions, attendance, and classroom operations.
• Delegate and communicate responsibilities to Teaching Assistants clearly so that instructional support is well organized before and during each session.
• Monitor learner engagement, pacing, and understanding throughout class, and make real-time facilitation adjustments as needed to support student participation and comprehension.
• Review a high volume of student assignments and provide timely, actionable feedback and scores in accordance with the grading schedule and rubrics. In this 6-week program, meeting tight grading deadlines and providing learners with meaningful feedback are critical aspects of ensuring student success.
• Support the ongoing assessment of learner progress through monitoring participation, assignment completion, and progress toward program learning goals.
• Meet regularly with the Teaching Assistants assigned to your classroom to ensure shared expectations for facilitation, grading, classroom management, instructional resource preparation, and learner support.
• Provide additional support to students outside of live sessions during designated office hours via Slack, LMS, and web conferencing tools.
• Elevate classroom challenges and solicit support from the Instructional Lead and Teaching and Learning Manager as needed on instructional delivery, classroom management, pacing, learner support, and classroom resources.
• Lead by example as a technology professional and educator, serving as a strong role model for students through professionalism, encouragement, and inclusive instructional practice.
• Attend professional development and training sessions as needed.

Instructional Material Preparation (30%)

Prepare, adapt, and organize instructional resources to support high-quality program delivery and ensure students and Teaching Assistants are set up for success.

• Review existing TTL instructional resources prior to program launch and identify areas where revisions, clarification, or additional scaffolding may be needed.
• Prepare and adapt instructional materials for high-quality facilitation. This may include slide decks, hands-on activities, discussion prompts, group work exercises, individual exercises, reference materials, and facilitator notes.
• Conduct regular review of instructional materials and adjust lesson pacing, activity flow, or content emphasis in response to learner needs, feedback, and classroom observations.
• Ensure that assignments, reference materials, relevant links, and class resources are well organized and available to learners through the LMS before, during, and after class, as appropriate.
• Coordinate with Teaching Assistants on instructional preparation tasks and communicate clearly about what materials, resources, or facilitation supports are needed for upcoming sessions.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen instructional materials during program delivery and elevate recommendations for improvement to the Instructional Lead and Teaching and Learning Manager.
• Support preparation for unique programming needs, showcase moments, or special learning activities as needed.

Team Meetings and Reporting (10%)

Work collaboratively with TTL instructional and program staff to support strong learner outcomes and smooth program implementation.

• Work with Regional Program Managers to resolve challenges or concerns related to TTL fellows’ behavior, participation, or performance.
• Attend weekly meetings to align with the TTL team on cohort progress, challenges, priorities, and outcomes.
• Attend scheduled meetings with the Teaching and Learning team to address instructional challenges, opportunities, and implementation needs.
• Attend scheduled 1:1s with the Teaching and Learning Manager.
• Communicate proactively and clearly about classroom successes, instructional challenges, learner needs, and support required for effective program delivery.
• Contribute to a collaborative instructional team culture by sharing observations, surfacing needs early, and helping ensure strong coordination across staff.

Qualifications

Required:

• Experience leading instruction or facilitating learning experiences in technology-related subjects (professional, academic, youth development, or community-based settings)
• Demonstrated working knowledge of foundational web development concepts, including HTML and CSS
• Strong foundational knowledge of programming concepts, including variables, conditionals, loops, and functions (Python or similar language)
• Experience preparing instructional materials such as slide decks, activities, guided exercises, or learner-facing resources
• Ability to lead beginner learners through structured technical activities and exploratory learning experiences in real time
• Ability to explain technical ideas clearly to learners with little or no prior experience
• Strong classroom facilitation skills and ability to maintain engagement in live instructional environments
• Ability to coordinate closely with Teaching Assistants and communicate clear expectations related to classroom support and learner engagement
• Strong organizational skills and ability to balance lesson preparation, facilitation, grading, and learner support across a fast-paced program schedule
• Comfort facilitating instruction using tools such as Zoom, Slack, Google Classroom, and other learning management systems

Preferred

• Experience working with high school-aged learners
• Experience facilitating virtual or hybrid classrooms
• Experience supporting exploratory or project-based learning environments
• Experience mentoring or coordinating instructional support staff (e.g., Teaching Assistants or tutors)
• Experience working in youth-serving or summer learning programs
• Familiarity with communities served by TKH
• Prior participation in a TKH program (alumni encouraged to apply)

Compensation

• $28.50/hour for 30 hours/week
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• 10 days of sick time per year

How to Apply

Please submit:

• Resume
• Short cover letter addressing the following:

1. Which region(s) you are available to support
2. (Atlanta, DMV, Los Angeles, NYC, Newark)
3. Your experience supporting high school aged learners
4. Your approach to maintaining engagement in a virtual classroom
5. An example of how you collaborated with a team to support a learner experiencing challenges
6. If you are a TKH alumnus, please indicate the program and year

It is the policy of The Knowledge House Fellowship, Inc. to promote and provide equal employment opportunities without discrimination based on age, race, creed, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, Veteran status, genetic predisposition, or carrier status.