Senior CAD Designer (SolidWorks, Aerospace)

Airbus Ventures; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Health insurance

Dental

Vision

HSA

FSA

Retirement plans

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Job summary

CesiumAstro is seeking a Principal CAD Designer to provide advanced CAD design and drafting support across the product development lifecycle for satellites and aerospace systems. You will develop, modify, and maintain detailed 3D models, drawings, and documentation while ensuring accuracy, configuration control, and compliance with engineering standards.

The role requires strong SolidWorks expertise, GD&T, PDM workflow experience, and the ability to lead design initiatives, mentor junior

Qualifications

• Associate degree or technical certification in Drafting, Design Technology, Mechanical Design, Engineering Technology, or related field.
• 7+ years of progressive CAD design and drafting experience in manufacturing, aerospace, engineering, or product development.
• Advanced proficiency in SolidWorks, including part modeling, assemblies, and engineering drawing creation.
• Strong understanding of GD&T, mechanical drafting standards, and engineering documentation best practices.
• Proficiency with DraftSight, Lucidchart, Draw.io, or equivalent tools.
• Experience using Jira or similar issue-tracking tools.
• Knowledge of engineering change control processes and configuration management principles.
• Experience creating and managing BOM structures and hardware documentation.
• Exposure to ERP and PLM systems (SAP, Windchill, ENOVIA, or similar).
• Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and problem-solving skills related to CAD models and documentation workflows.
• Exceptional attention to detail and documentation accuracy.

Responsibilities

• Provide advanced CAD drafting and design support throughout the product development lifecycle using SolidWorks.
• Generate, modify, and maintain detailed 3D models, assemblies, engineering drawings, and associated technical documentation.
• Ensure drawings and models comply with engineering standards, GD&T, and company documentation procedures.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, manufacturing, quality, and program teams to support design development and product release activities.
• Support prototype, development, and production design updates as required.
• Manage and maintain mechanical CAD files, engineering drawings, and digital design documentation within PDM systems.
• Administer file structures, version control, and drawing release processes within SolidWorks PDM.
• Prepare, process, and incorporate ECOs/ECRs into released documentation packages.
• Maintain accurate BOM structures and associated hardware configurations.
• Ensure proper configuration control and traceability of engineering documentation.
• Review CAD models and drawings for completeness, manufacturability, accuracy, and compliance with design requirements.
• Identify design issues, drawing discrepancies, configuration conflicts, and support corrective actions.
• Partner with engineers and cross-functional teams to resolve technical drafting and documentation concerns.
• Support root cause analysis and corrective action implementation related to drawing or documentation errors.
• Support standardization and continuous improvement of CAD processes, templates, libraries, and documentation workflows.
• Assist in developing drafting standards, best practices, and internal design procedures.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior designers or drafters as needed.

Skills

SolidWorks

GD&T

Engineering documentation

PDM

ECO/ECRs

BOM management

Cross-functional collaboration

Drafting standards

Mentorship

3D modelling

Education

Associate degree or technical certification in Drafting/Mechanical Design

Tools

SolidWorks

DraftSight

Lucidchart

Draw.io

Jira

Windchill

ENOVIA

SAP

Job description

CesiumAstro is seeking a Principal CAD Designer to provide advanced CAD design and drafting support across the product development lifecycle for satellites and aerospace systems. You will develop, modify, and maintain detailed 3D models, drawings, and documentation while ensuring accuracy, configuration control, and compliance with engineering standards.

The role requires strong SolidWorks expertise, GD&T, PDM workflow experience, and the ability to lead design initiatives, mentor junior