Drafting Manager / Façade Technical Lead

Drafting Manager / Façade Technical Lead *Bolton Cladding | Wayne, NJ* *Salary: $110,000–$125,000+ depending on experience* Bolton Cladding is growing, and we are looking for an experienced *Drafting Manager / Façade Technical Lead* to take ownership of our drafting department and help us scale. We currently have a drafting team of approximately 5–6 people and are continuing to grow as our project volume increases. We are looking for someone who can lead the team, improve our processes, and—most importantly—bring strong technical knowledge of *architectural drawings, exterior cladding, fabrication, and installation*. This is *not simply a CAD management position*. We need a technical leader who understands how a building goes together and can take an architectural design and turn it into *accurate, coordinated, practical, and fabrication-ready shop drawings.* The right person will be comfortable identifying problems before they reach the shop or field, developing solutions, communicating with project stakeholders, and holding the drafting team accountable for quality and deadlines. What You Will OwnDrafting Department Leadership * Lead and manage our internal and overseas drafting team. * Assign projects and establish priorities based on project schedules and company needs. * Monitor workload, productivity, turnaround time, and quality. * Establish clear drafting standards, procedures, and review processes. * Train, mentor, and develop team members. * Build a department that can handle increasing project volume without sacrificing quality. Technical & Architectural Review * Review architectural drawings, specifications, elevations, sections, details, and project requirements. * Understand architectural intent and translate it into practical cladding solutions. * Identify missing information, conflicts, inconsistencies, and constructability issues. * Review existing conditions, field dimensions, and project constraints. * Identify potential fabrication and installation problems before drawings are released. Façade / Cladding Knowledge The ideal candidate should have strong working knowledge of exterior building envelope and cladding systems, including: * ACM / aluminum composite material * Aluminum and metal panels * Rainscreen systems * Sheet metal and flashing * Panel layouts and joints * Returns, reveals, corners, transitions, and terminations * Subframing and attachments * Waterproofing and flashing interfaces * Tolerances and field conditions * Fabrication requirements * Installation requirements Experience with architectural metal, ACM, façade, curtain wall, rainscreen, or other exterior building-envelope systems is strongly preferred. Shop Drawings & Technical Coordination * Review all shop drawings before release. * Ensure drawings are accurate, complete, coordinated, and fabrication-ready. * Verify dimensions, panel layouts, returns, attachments, joints, flashing, and critical details. * Ensure drawings properly communicate fabrication and installation requirements. * Coordinate with production, CNC/fabrication, project management, estimating, and installation teams. * Help develop details that are both technically correct and practical to manufacture and install. RFIs & Project Coordination * Prepare and manage RFIs and technical questions. * Identify when architectural information is incomplete or unclear. * Develop practical solutions before presenting questions to the architect or GC. * Participate in coordination meetings with architects, engineers, general contractors, project managers, and other stakeholders. * Clearly explain technical issues and proposed solutions. * Follow up on outstanding questions and ensure approved changes are incorporated into the drawings. Process Improvement * Develop systems to track drafting workload, productivity, turnaround time, and quality. * Establish realistic production schedules for drawings. * Reduce drafting turnaround time while maintaining quality. * Standardize details and drafting procedures where appropriate. * Identify recurring problems and develop permanent solutions. * Create a quality-control process that catches errors before drawings reach fabrication or installation. What We Are Looking For We are looking for someone who is: * An experienced architectural / façade / cladding professional. * A strong technical thinker who can solve problems independently. * Comfortable reviewing complicated architectural drawings and details. * Able to understand how materials are fabricated and installed. * Able to lead and hold a drafting team accountable. * Comfortable communicating with architects, engineers, GCs, project managers, production, and installation teams. * Highly organized and able to manage multiple projects simultaneously. * Detail-oriented without losing sight of project deadlines. * Proactive—you identify problems instead of waiting for someone else to find them. * Comfortable making decisions and taking ownership. * Able to work in a fast-paced construction/manufacturing environment. Required Experience *Preferred: 5+ years of experience* in architectural drafting, façade/cladding, architectural metals, building envelope, or a closely related field. Strong candidates should have experience with: * AutoCAD and/or Revit * Architectural construction drawings * Shop drawings * RFIs * Construction coordination * Exterior cladding or façade systems * Reading architectural specifications and details * Fabrication and/or installation coordination * Managing or mentoring drafting teams Experience working directly with *ACM, aluminum panels, metal panels, rainscreen systems, or architectural façade systems* is highly preferred. What Success Looks Like Within this role, your goal is to build a drafting department where: *Drawings are accurate.* *Problems are identified early.* *RFIs are handled quickly.* *Drafters know what they are responsible for.* *Projects stay on schedule.* *Production receives drawings they can actually fabricate from.* *Installation receives drawings that work in the field.* *And management does not have to constantly chase the drafting department.* You will be expected to *take ownership of the department* and continuously improve how we operate. Exceptional candidates with significant façade/cladding and management experience may be considered above this range. Location *Wayne, New Jersey* This is a hands-on leadership position. The ideal candidate should be comfortable working closely with our drafting, project management, fabrication, and installation teams. If you are an experienced façade/cladding professional who knows how to turn architectural designs into real-world, buildable solutions, we want to hear from you. *Apply with your resume and examples of relevant shop drawing / façade projects you have worked on.* Pay: $100,000.00 - $125,000.00 per year Work Location: In person