Senior CAD Architect – Vehicle Master Model & PDM

Actalent; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 83,000 - 117,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

401(k) plan

Onsite onsite

Job summary

Actalent is seeking a senior CAD Designer to lead the CAD and PDM ecosystem for an autonomous vehicle development program in Costa Mesa, CA. You will own the vehicle master model, top-level assembly structure, CAD standards, release processes, and data-management workflows across mechanical engineering teams.

The role requires 7+ years of CAD experience with NX/SolidWorks/Creo/CATIA, strong GD&T, and hands-on PDM/PLM expertise.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of CAD design experience supporting physical hardware development.
• Expert-level proficiency with NX, SolidWorks, Creo, CATIA, or similar enterprise CAD platforms (NX strongly preferred).
• Demonstrated experience developing and managing master-model or assembly architecture for complex products.
• Extensive experience with engineering drawing creation, review, release, and document control processes.
• Strong command of Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing (GD&T).
• Hands-on experience with PDM/PLM systems and configuration management workflows.
• Experience managing permissions, release states, workflow creation, and revision control.
• Strong understanding of mechanical systems, assemblies, manufacturing methods, and product development processes.
• Proven ability to manage and optimize large CAD assemblies and complex product structures.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain the vehicle master model and top-level assembly structure for a highly complex hardware platform.
• Establish and enforce CAD standards, modeling conventions, and design best practices across the engineering organization.
• Lead drawing creation, review, release, and revision control processes to ensure high-quality engineering documentation.
• Administer and optimize PDM/PLM workflows, permissions, release states, and configuration controls.
• Architect and maintain assembly structures, configuration schemes, and release strategies for a clean-sheet vehicle program.
• Support engineering change orders (ECOs), product configurations, and design baseline management.
• Develop and maintain technical data packages including 3D models, drawings, and supporting documentation.
• Monitor and improve large assembly performance, CAD system health, and overall design-data integrity.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Mechanical, Structural, Systems, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Configuration Management teams.
• Mentor engineers and designers on CAD standards, GD&T, model-based definition practices, and release processes.
• Support CAD/PDM migration initiatives and continuous improvement efforts.
• Drive implementation of Model-Based Definition (MBD) methodologies and standards such as ASME Y14.41.

Skills

CAD design

master-model

assembly architecture

GD&T

PDM/PLM

CAD administration

change management

large assemblies

Tools

Teamcenter

Windchill

SolidWorks PDM

NX

Creo

CATIA

Job description

Actalent is seeking a senior CAD Designer to lead the CAD and PDM ecosystem for an autonomous vehicle development program in Costa Mesa, CA. You will own the vehicle master model, top-level assembly structure, CAD standards, release processes, and data-management workflows across mechanical engineering teams.

The role requires 7+ years of CAD experience with NX/SolidWorks/Creo/CATIA, strong GD&T, and hands-on PDM/PLM expertise.