Senior AutoCAD Project Drafter & Shop Drawing Coordinator
Company: Steel Traditions LLC
Location: Vista, California
Position: Full-time, on-site
About Steel Traditions
Steel Traditions designs and manufactures custom steel windows, doors, sliding systems, bifolding systems, and specialty architectural products for high-end residential and commercial projects.
Every project is custom. Our drawings must accurately coordinate design intent, field conditions, product requirements, hardware, glass, fabrication methods, installation conditions, and information received from numerous project participants.
We are seeking an experienced AutoCAD professional who can do more than produce drawings. We need someone who can understand a complete project, gather and reconcile information from multiple sources, identify conflicts before they reach production, and take ownership of a shop-drawing package from initial turnover through fabrication release.
Position Summary
The Senior AutoCAD Project Drafter & Shop Drawing Coordinator will prepare and manage detailed shop drawings for custom steel window and door projects.
This position is best suited for someone with experience preparing construction documents, shop drawings, fabrication drawings, or other detailed project-specific drawing packages.
A background working in an architecture firm, custom manufacturing company, glazing contractor, millwork company, metal fabrication business, or similar project-driven environment would be highly valuable.
This is not a position for someone who simply waits for redlines and reproduces them. The successful candidate will actively investigate missing information, recognize inconsistencies, ask informed questions, propose solutions, and ensure the drawings are complete and buildable before they are released.
Primary Responsibilities
- Prepare and draft detailed AutoCAD shop drawings for custom steel windows, doors, sliders, bifolds, and specialty products.
- Take ownership of multiple active projects and manage drawing priorities, deadlines, revisions, and outstanding information.
- Review architectural plans, specifications, schedules, approved proposals, field measurements, customer selections, and project correspondence.
- Coordinate information received from dealers, general contractors, architects, interior designers, installers, steel suppliers, hardware suppliers, glass suppliers, and Steel Traditions’ fabrication team.
- Identify discrepancies, missing dimensions, conflicting requirements, unclear design intent, and constructability concerns.
- Prepare clear requests for information rather than making unsupported assumptions.
- Translate design intent into accurate, complete, and fabrication-ready drawings.
- Produce elevations, plans, sections, details, hardware information, installation conditions, and other information necessary for approval and production.
- Confirm handing, swing direction, active panels, interior and exterior orientation, dimensions, quantities, finishes, glass, hardware, unit numbers, and revision information.
- Incorporate customer and project-team redlines accurately while identifying changes that affect other portions of the drawing package.
- Review and check your own work before drawings are submitted for internal or external review.
- Coordinate directly with the fabrication team to ensure drawings accurately reflect how products will be built.
- Capture fabrication knowledge, lessons learned, and recurring details in the drawings, templates, detail library, or company standards.
- Help improve Steel Traditions’ AutoCAD templates, standard details, drawing organization, and drafting procedures.
- Maintain organized project files and clear revision histories.
- Participate in internal drawing reviews and project coordination meetings.
Required Qualifications
- Strong proficiency in AutoCAD.
- At least five years of relevant drafting, detailing, construction-document, or shop-drawing experience preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to read and understand complete construction-document sets.
- Experience coordinating complex information from multiple project participants.
- Ability to manage multiple projects and competing deadlines without losing accuracy or organization.
- Strong understanding of plans, elevations, sections, details, dimensions, tolerances, and construction assemblies.
- Ability to identify incomplete or conflicting information and communicate questions clearly.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- High level of attention to detail and personal accountability.
- Ability to work on-site at our Vista facility and communicate directly with fabrication and production personnel.
Preferred Experience
Experience in one or more of the following areas is highly desirable:
- Architecture or construction-document production
- Custom windows and doors
- Glazing, storefronts, or curtain wall
- Custom millwork or cabinetry
- Structural or miscellaneous steel
- Ornamental metals
- High-end residential construction
- Custom manufacturing
- Fabrication or installation shop drawings
- Bluebeam
- SolidWorks or other three-dimensional modeling software
A degree in architecture, construction, engineering, industrial design, drafting, or a related discipline is preferred but not required. Equivalent professional experience will be considered.
The Right Person for This Position
The right candidate:
- Wants to understand how the entire project works.
- Does not guess when information is missing.
- Knows how to ask a clear, specific question.
- Can communicate effectively with designers, contractors, clients, and tradespeople.
- Understands that a shop drawing is an instruction document used to manufacture a real product.
- Takes pride in producing drawings that are coordinated, accurate, understandable, and buildable.
- Is comfortable walking into the shop, looking at a product, and discussing details directly with the people building it.
- Can accept redlines and feedback without defensiveness.
- Looks for recurring problems and helps create standards that prevent them from happening again.
Application Requirements
Please submit:
- Your résumé.
- A brief description of your AutoCAD and project-coordination experience.
- Examples of construction documents, shop drawings, fabrication drawings, or similar technical work. Confidential client information may be removed.
- A short response describing a project where you received conflicting or incomplete information and how you resolved it.
Selected candidates will be invited to complete a paid practical exercise involving the review and coordination of a sample drawing package.
Steel Traditions LLC is an equal-opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, demonstrated ability, experience, and the requirements of the position.
Pay: From $26.00 per hour
Benefits:
Work Location: In person
