Structural Designer - Planter Boxes (Structural Drafting & Analysis)

OpenKrill; United States; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenKrill seeks an experienced structural drafting specialist to own planter box jobs end-to-end, from take-off through to fabrication-ready files. You will perform structural analysis and design within established parameters, ensuring load performance on high‑rise balustrades.

The role emphasizes accurate take-offs, ASI-style drafting outputs, and responsible estimation. You’ll work closely with a dedicated team in a full‑time capacity, Monday–Friday.

Qualifications

• 7–10 years hands-on experience in structural drafting and stress analysis for fabricated products.
• High proficiency in SolidWorks; capable of producing structural reports and sign‑offs.
• Structural engineering background with ability to perform stress analysis and sign‑offs.
• Ability to read architectural, landscape and structural drawings and extract take‑offs.

Responsibilities

• Take-off from drawings and determine planter box size and footprint.
• Determine stiffener arrangement and placement for each job.
• Produce customer-approved drawings and fabrication/cut-ready files.
• Quote using company estimating formulas and review scope.
• Support other departments during quiet periods.

Skills

SolidWorks

Structural drafting

Reading drawings

Take-off

Estimating

Client liaison

Education

Structural engineering background

Tools

DXF file preparation

Job description

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Our client is an Australian laser cutting and sheet metal fabrication business supplying a wide range of businesses nationally. One division of the company designs and manufactures architectural planter boxes, also supplied nationally to construction companies. The division has grown steadily over recent years and is now expanding, and currently includes an estimator and a designer.

ABOUT THE ROLE

-This role owns the whole path of a planter box job, from reading the architect's, landscape or structural drawings and completing the take-off, to drafting and structurally assessing the planter box against the project's specific dimensions and quoting the job, and (on won jobs) producing the drawings the customer approves and the cut‑ready files the factory works from.

-This is a structural drafting and stress‑analysis‑led role, with estimating as the lighter component. The planter box's overall design has already been established by the company, so the core skill isn't ground‑up product design, it's working out the stiffener count and placement for each job's specific dimensions, and carrying out the structural/stress analysis (particularly where planter boxes are used as balustrades on high‑rise developments) to confirm the structure won't tip or fail under load. Quoting runs on the company's own standard estimating formulas, so take‑off accuracy and this structural judgement matter far more than estimating technique.

-The role is dedicated to this company and works as part of its existing team (which already includes an estimator and a designer), rather than being shared across multiple clients.

-During quieter periods (for example the construction industry's December‑January shutdown), the candidate may be asked to support other departments, such as general estimation or laser‑machine programming, to keep them productively engaged.

PRIMARY PURPOSE

To independently take a planter box job from an architect's or construction drawing through take‑off, structural drafting and quoting, and (once a job is won) through to customer approval drawings and factory‑ready cut files, applying sound structural judgement and commercial scope awareness throughout.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Take‑Off & Scope Review (Every Enquiry)
  • Review architectural, landscape and structural drawings submitted by construction companies
  • Complete accurate take‑offs from these drawings, working out the planter box's size and footprint even where the construction plan shows little more than its marked location
  • Apply commercial judgement to identify what is, and isn't, covered within the scope of each job
• Design (Every Enquiry)
  • Determine the stiffener arrangement, quantity and placement required for each planter box's specific dimensions, working within the company's established design, rather than designing the product from scratch
  • Work from architect/construction drawings to a practical, fabrication‑ready drafting output
  • The successful candidate will be responsible for using SolidWorks for product design and drafting, as well as undertaking structural assessments and analysis to ensure designs meet relevant construction and project specifications
  • Undertake structural/stress analysis for planter boxes used as balustrades on high‑rise developments, including working out anchoring/bolting‑to‑ground arrangements and stiffener design so the structure does not tip or collapse under load
• Estimating & Quoting (Every Enquiry)
  • Quote each job using the company's standard estimating formulas
  • Apply commercial judgement on scope inclusions and exclusions when quoting
  • Receive training from the company's internal estimators on costing and estimation formulas, drawing interpretation and structural/stress analysis are skills the candidate must already bring
• Approval & Fabrication Documentation (Won Jobs)
  • Produce drawings for customer approval on won jobs
  • Produce fabrication drawings and cut‑ready files for cutting, folding and fabrication on the shop floor
  • In the first few months, quotes and drawings are reviewed internally before anything is sent to the client's customers; as confidence builds, the candidate will progress to liaising directly with them
• Working Hours
  • Full‑time, standard 8‑hour days, Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Australian time

Working Hours

Full‑time, standard 8‑hour days, Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Australian time

MUST-HAVE (ESSENTIAL)

• 7–10 years of hands‑on experience in structural drafting and stress/structural analysis for fabricated products such as tanks, pressure vessels or retention structures (for example oil tanks, hydraulic tanks or water tanks) where side‑wall stress under load must be calculated, the client's own benchmark for relevant experience. General sheet‑metal or structural fabrication experience alone is not considered sufficient.
• High proficiency in SolidWorks, as this will be a primary software tool used in the role
• A structural engineering background (formal qualification or clearly demonstrated equivalent competency), sufficient to produce structural/stress analysis reports comparable to local council or regulatory sign‑off standard. Philippine certification/qualification is accepted as equivalent validation; Australian registration is not required.
• Able to undertake detailed structural/stress analysis of planter boxes used as balustrades in high‑rise developments, including working out anchoring/bolting‑to‑ground arrangements and stiffener placement so the structure does not tip or collapse under load, and to validate designs against relevant construction and project specifications
• Confident, independent reading and interpretation of architectural, landscape and structural drawings
• Demonstrated take‑off experience (translating drawings into accurate measurements and quantities)
• Accurate structural drafting against the company's established planter box design: determining stiffener quantity and placement for each job's specific dimensions. This is a drafting and structural‑assessment role working within an existing design, not ground‑up product design.
• Commercial judgement (able to identify what is, and isn't, included in a job's scope before quoting it)
• Comfortable producing both customer‑facing approval drawings and factory‑ready fabrication/cut‑ready files
• Able to work standard full‑time, eight‑hour days, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Australian time, Monday to Friday, Weekends Off
• Comfortable working as a dedicated, embedded member of a single company's team, rather than spread across multiple shared clients

NICE‑TO‑HAVE (DESIRABLE)

• Experience working with aluminium, mild steel and Corten steel products
• Experience preparing DXF files for CNC laser cutting
• Prior specific experience with planter boxes used as architectural balustrades on high‑rise developments
• Experience quoting or estimating using a company's own standard formulas or templates, rather than building pricing from scratch
• Experience producing fabrication or cut‑ready files specifically for laser cutting, folding or sheet‑metal fabrication
• Experience working as a dedicated, remote, embedded team member for a single Australian business
• Willingness to support other departments during quieter periods, for example general estimation or laser‑machine programming

Highly Desirable

• Experience working with aluminium, mild steel and Corten steel products
• Experience preparing DXF files for CNC laser cutting
• Prior specific experience with planter boxes used as architectural balustrades on high‑rise developments
• Experience producing outputs specifically for laser cutting or sheet‑metal fabrication
• Experience working as a dedicated, embedded remote team member for a single business
• Willingness to support other departments during quieter periods (for example general estimation or laser‑machine programming)