CAD Technical Lead

Leidos; United States; Hybrid; USD 59,000 - 107,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Health & Wellness

Income protection

Leave & retirement

Job summary

Leidos seeks a skilled CAD Technical Lead to support our Chicago office or work remotely. You will manage CAD standards, templates, workspaces, and workflows to ensure efficient and accurate project delivery across disciplines.

Responsibilities include leading CAD production, maintaining libraries, and mentoring junior staff. Strong communication and organizational skills are essential to drive improvements and collaboration with IT and project teams.

Qualifications

• Associate degree in Computer-Aided Design, Drafting, Engineering Technology, or a related technical field preferred.
• Minimum of 5-7 years of progressively responsible CAD technical lead experience, or lead support responsibilities.
• Experience supporting substation, utility, or infrastructure design projects strongly preferred.
• Proficiency with CAD software and related drafting tools used in technical design environments.
• Strong understanding of drafting standards, design documentation practices, and quality control procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to lead CAD production efforts, coordinate work across project teams, and support schedule and deliverable management.
• Strong attention to detail, organizational skills, and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to collaborate across engineering, design, and project management teams.
• Ability to mentor and support junior CAD staff and promote consistent drafting standards and best practices.

Responsibilities

• Create and maintain CAD workspaces, templates, and project standards.
• Install, configure, and update CAD software and related applications.
• Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues related to CAD systems, files, and hardware.
• Manage CAD blocks, 3D models & CAD libraries.
• Develop and maintain technical guides for client standards, workspace configuration, tool installation, and related setup procedures across projects and disciplines.
• Maintain file organization, plotting standards, and drawing management procedures.
• Support designers and engineers with CAD best practices and workflow improvements.
• Collaborate with IT and project teams to improve system performance and productivity.
• Develop and document CAD processes, procedures, and training materials.
• Assist with software licensing, version control, and implementation of new tools.
• Review and optimize drawing setup, sheet standards, and file structure as needed.
• Monitor CAD system usage and recommend improvements to increase team efficiency.

Skills

CAD software proficiency

Drafting standards

Leadership in CAD production

Attention to detail

Verbal & written communication

Mentoring junior CAD staff

Project coordination

Education

Associate degree in CAD/Engineering Tech

Tools

CAD software

Job description

We are looking for a skilled and experienced CAD Technical Lead to work out of our Chicago office or remotely. In this role, you will support engineering and design teams by managing CAD standards, software, workspaces, and technical workflows to ensure efficient and accurate project delivery.

CAD Technical Lead responsibilities include:

• Create and maintain CAD workspaces, templates, and project standards.
• Install, configure, and update CAD software and related applications.
• Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues related to CAD systems, files, and hardware.
• Manage CAD blocks, 3D models & CAD libraries.
• Develop and maintain technical guides for client standards, workspace configuration, tool installation, and related setup procedures across projects and disciplines.
• Maintain file organization, plotting standards, and drawing management procedures.
• Support designers and engineers with CAD best practices and workflow improvements.
• Collaborate with IT and project teams to improve system performance and productivity.
• Develop and document CAD processes, procedures, and training materials.
• Assist with software licensing, version control, and implementation of new tools.
• Review and optimize drawing setup, sheet standards, and file structure as needed.
• Monitor CAD system usage and recommend improvements to increase team efficiency.

Qualifications:

• Associate degree in Computer-Aided Design, Drafting, Engineering Technology, or a related technical field preferred.
• Minimum of 5-7 years of progressively responsible CAD technical lead experience, or lead support responsibilities.
• Experience supporting substation, utility, or infrastructure design projects strongly preferred.
• Proficiency with CAD software and related drafting tools used in technical design environments.
• Strong understanding of drafting standards, design documentation practices, and quality control procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to lead CAD production efforts, coordinate work across project teams, and support schedule and deliverable management.
• Strong attention to detail, organizational skills, and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to collaborate across engineering, design, and project management teams.
• Ability to mentor and support junior CAD staff and promote consistent drafting standards and best practices.
• Equivalent combinations of education and related experience will also be considered, including experience in CAD drafting, CAD leadership, substation or utility design, infrastructure projects, or closely related technical design support work.

Original Posting: October 9, 2026

Pay Range: Pay Range $59,150.00 - $106,925.00

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $17.2 billion for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2026.

For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers.

• competitive compensation
• Health and Wellness programs
• Income Protection
• Paid Leave and Retirement

More details are available here.

Securing Your Data

Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information at any part of the employment application process. And Leidos will communicate with you only through emails that are sent from a Leidos.com email address. If you receive an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information, please report the email to [e-mail].

Commitment and Diversity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.