Residential Drafter and Submittal Manager
Acton ADU | The Design Team | California | Remote (with ongoing collaboration)
Build. Deliver. Create.
About Acton ADU
Acton ADU is a design-build company that has spent more than 35 years helping California homeowners get more from the properties they love. We build ADUs that homeowners are proud to call home, and proud to have built. We are growing across California with purpose, and we are looking for someone who wants to grow with us.
We operate on one promise: no surprises. Thoughtful procedures and pride in quality make that promise real, on every project, for every homeowner.
The Role
We are looking for an exceptional Revit drafter who is also a leader. Someone who can take a project from initial site research all the way through permit issuance, and who treats every roadblock as something to be solved, not reported. This is a high-volume, high-accuracy role: you will produce detailed construction documents and manage submittals across dozens of California jurisdictions, each with its own quirks, forms, and personalities.
Above all, this role demands exceptional interpersonal intelligence. Timely permit issuance depends on how effectively you communicate with city staff, many of whom manage heavy caseloads with little incentive to move quickly. The single biggest driver of project speed on our team is the ability to read people, build genuine rapport with reviewers and building department staff, and keep projects moving through efficient, productive communication. This is not a secondary skill here. It is the most important one.
You will also function as a drafting project manager: owning the full design lifecycle from site research through permit issuance, managing consultant timelines, homeowner approvals, and fee triggers, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks across dozens of moving pieces per project. That is how we keep our promise to homeowners. No surprises. You will own, or closely support, site research, site plan development, coordination with structural and Title 24 consultants, drawing production, permit submittal, and driving projects through city review. This is not a “draw and hand off” position. It is a role for someone who drives a project across the finish line.
We are also looking for someone genuinely excited about where AI and technology are taking this industry. At Acton ADU, we encourage innovation. Change is healthy, and this role will not look the same in a year. If you see AI as a tool to work faster and better, and you are eager to bring new breakthroughs into how we design and submit the moment they are ready, you will fit right in here.
What You'll Do
- Produce accurate, code-compliant Revit drawings for Type Five, on-site ADU construction under California residential code
- Manage high-volume interactions with building departments and city staff across multiple California jurisdictions, tracking the specific requirements, forms, and submittal quirks that differ from one city to the next
- Serve as the drafting project manager on each job, tracking consultant timelines, homeowner approvals, jurisdiction requirements, and fee triggers so every project stays on schedule
- Review and redline the work of others. You do not need an architectural license, but you need the experience and judgment to know what is right
- Own site research and site plan development, coordinating findings across sales, consultants, and the homeowner
- Coordinate with structural engineers, Title 24 consultants, and other specialists to keep drawing production moving in parallel with consultant work
- Monitor city review timelines proactively and follow up with reviewers at the right moments. Not too often, not too late
- Read and respond to city comments thoroughly and strategically, looping in the right consultants immediately to avoid unnecessary resubmittal cycles
- Track and flag cost- and timeline-impacting site conditions early (fire hydrant distances, flood zones, protected trees, sloped lots, sprinkler and AMMR requirements, water meter and electrical panel upgrades) so pricing and scheduling stay accurate. No surprises, for the team or the homeowner
How We Work
Our culture is built on eight core behaviors. Nobody is perfect at all of them. But if you recognize yourself in most of these, we should talk.
- Make a positive impact. Every project puts a family in a home. The work matters, and we treat it that way.
- Empower each other. We are a distributed team. Listen first, come prepared, and share what you know.
- Encourage innovation. Change is healthy. If you are 80% sure, go for it.
- Measure what's important. We track our work in software, not in our heads.
- Make measurable progress. Set deadlines. Close loops. End every conversation with who does what by when.
- Be candid. Give honest, respectful feedback, and lead with your intentions.
- Be a customer advocate. We see every project through the homeowner's eyes.
- Help people thrive. We succeed together. Reach out, offer help, and build each other up.
What You Bring
People Skills That Move Projects Forward: The Most Important Qualification for This Role
- Exceptional interpersonal intelligence: a genuine ability to read what motivates city staff, appeal to their better instincts, and keep a stalled project moving without burning a relationship
- A track record of getting timely results from people who have little inherent incentive to move fast
- Patience with process, paired with real urgency about outcomes. You understand that every day a project sits in a city inbox is a day of lost progress, and you are driven to close that gap
- A collaborative mindset that actively makes the people around you better
Technical Expertise
- Deep, hands-on mastery of Revit. This is non-negotiable
- Extensive experience with high-volume building department submittals throughout California
- Strong knowledge of Type Five construction and California residential code (CRC)
- Regular, confident use of BlueBeam
- Familiarity with BuilderTrend is a plus
- The accuracy and experience to review and correct others' work
Project Management and How You Work
- Strong drafting project management skills: able to juggle multiple concurrent projects, consultants, and jurisdictions without losing track of details
- Exceptionally efficient. You find the fewest steps to get something done right, every time
- A true self-starter who moves forward with incomplete information and lands on the right solution
- Someone who brings solutions, not just problems, to every conversation
- Detail-obsessed, especially with the kind of minutiae that separates one building department from another
- Energized working remotely while staying fully engaged and collaborative with the team
Who You Are
- Someone who sees the big picture and wants to grow into more responsibility as the company scales
- Impatient, in the best way, to get things done and see results
- Excited to help build a company that is expanding across California with purpose
Excited by AI and the Future of the Role
- A complete grasp of the technical fundamentals of this role, paired with genuine excitement about the latest breakthroughs in AI and technology
- Highly motivated to bring new AI tools and capabilities into the job the moment they are feasible, not waiting to be told to adopt them
- Views AI as an opportunity, not a threat: a way to do the work faster, more accurately, and at a higher level
- Not looking for this job to stay the same over time. Energized by the chance to drive and embrace constant change and improvement
Why Acton ADU
This is a rare opportunity to join a company at an inflection point, with real room to grow as we expand across California. We build ADUs that homeowners are proud to call home, and we build careers the same way: with intention, candor, and quality. If you take real pride in exceptional, high-volume technical work, and you get restless when a project sits still, we want to hear from you.
