What are the responsibilities and job description for the Residential Drafter position at Nilson Homes?
NILSON HOMES
Weber County, Utah • Northern Utah’s #1 Homebuilder • Building Quality Homes Since 1978
Residential Drafter
Full-Time • Weber County, Utah • Competitive Pay & Benefits
ABOUT NILSON HOMES
Nilson Homes has been building high-quality move-in ready homes across Weber, Davis, and Morgan Counties in Northern Utah for over 40 years. Voted Best Builder in Northern Utah in 2023, we are one of the region’s largest and most respected homebuilders — offering townhomes, patio homes, ramblers, and single-family residences in thoughtfully planned communities.
Our mission is simple: build quality homes in a timely manner while delivering exceptional customer service with a personal touch. With an accelerating pace of growth, we are investing heavily in the people and technology that will shape the future of our operations.
ABOUT HIGHARC — THE PLATFORM YOU’LL PIONEER
Nilson Homes is transitioning to Higharc, the industry’s leading cloud-native homebuilding platform — and you will be at the center of that transformation. Higharc replaces Auto CAD with intelligent, generative 3D models that automatically produce permit-ready construction documents, material takeoffs, sales brochures, and buyer-facing 3D showroom experiences from a single digital source of truth.
This is not a conventional drafting role. Higharc operates more like a parametric design engine than a traditional drawing tool: when a plan changes, every downstream output — construction documents, purchasing data, sales materials — updates automatically across the entire organization. The drafter who builds and maintains a home template in Higharc is building a living, intelligent data model, not just a set of drawings.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Higharc Template Development & Management
• Build and maintain new home plan templates in Higharc from the ground up, translating Nilson’s existing floor plan library into intelligent 3D models within the platform.
• Configure structural options, community-specific variations, and buyer-selectable features so that all downstream outputs (construction documents, takeoffs, sales assets) remain automatically in sync.
• Apply Higharc’s generative design tools to produce permit-ready construction drawing sets, lot-specific plan packages, and dimensioned, labeled CD sets without manual redrafting.
• Leverage Higharc AI capabilities — including AutoLayout — to accelerate early-stage design and prototype floor plan iterations rapidly.
Cross Departmental Coordination
• Partner closely with the Drafting Manager, Construction, Purchasing & Estimating teams to ensure Higharc models reflect accurate field realities, material specs, and city permitting requirements.
• Serve as an internal Higharc resource, supporting team members across departments who interact with live plans, 3D models, and automated takeoff data.
• Coordinate with municipal jurisdictions across Weber County to ensure plan sets meet local code requirements and submission standards.
Drawing Accuracy & Compliance
• Prepare and maintain thorough, accurate working residential drawings per buyer home selections and city-specific requirements.
• Review and QC plan sets for dimensional accuracy, structural consistency, and compliance with applicable building codes and subdivision standards.
• Maintain organized, version-controlled plan libraries within Higharc to support rapid deployment across multiple active communities.
REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
Foundational Drafting Expertise
• 5–7 years of residential drafting experience, with direct exposure to production homebuilding environments.
• Drafting degree or technical training preferred; equivalent demonstrated experience considered.
• Deep understanding of residential construction methods, framing systems, and construction document standards.
• Familiarity with local Utah building codes and municipal permitting processes.
Higharc- Capabilities (On-the-Job Training Provided – No previous Higharc experience needed)
• Ability to think in systems and data, not just drawings — understanding that in Higharc, a home plan is a parametric model, not a flat file.
• Comfort working in cloud-based, browser-native 3D design environments; prior experience with Revit, SketchUp, or BIM tools is a strong differentiator.
• Aptitude for configuring option logic and plan variants — the ability to structure a master plan so that structural options, elevations, and community-specific changes propagate correctly across all outputs.
• Willingness to engage directly with AI-assisted design tools, including generative layout features, and to help establish internal workflows as Nilson grows its Higharc proficiency.
• Systems-oriented mindset: you understand that a change to a wall in Higharc affects purchasing takeoffs, permit drawings, and the buyer showroom simultaneously — and you approach your work accordingly.
Professional Attributes
• Aggressive problem-solving drive with a bias for finding efficient, scalable solutions.
• Open-minded adaptability to new tools and workflows — this role is about building a new way of working, not maintaining the old one.
• High precision and attention to detail balanced with the pace required in a high-volume production environment.
• Strong cross-functional communication skills; you will work daily alongside Construction, Purchasing, Estimating, and Sales.
WHAT WE OFFER
• Competitive salary commensurate with experience
• Comprehensive benefits package
• Full-time, stable position with a 40 year company that is growing
• Front-row seat to a major technology transformation within a leading regional homebuilder
• Collaborative team environment with direct access to leadership and cross-departmental partners
• On-the-job Higharc training and ongoing platform support
How to Apply
Send your resume to: jobs@nilsonhomes.com
Nilson Homes is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building diverse, inclusive teams that reflect the communities we serve.