Position Summary. The CAD Manager oversees all programming and design functions within the CAD Department, ensuring the accurate and efficient creation of dies, print plates, graphics, and rule-processing programs that support production. The role balances deep technical CAD expertise with leadership - guiding CAD Programmers (GD300) and Senior CAD Programmers (GD200), managing workflow, and maintaining quality standards - and is the senior technical authority for CAD at the operating company. Reports to the General Manager.
Key essential functions:- Oversee all CAD programming/design - dies, print plates, graphics, rule-processing - and approve programming before release to production.
- Supervise, train, and mentor the CAD team (GD200 / GD300); manage scheduling, coaching, and performance.
- Establish and enforce CAD programming standards, documentation protocols, and quality control.
- Manage daily workflow and job prioritization to meet production deadlines.
- Communicate with customers, customer service, and production to clarify requirements and resolve technical issues.
- Monitor department metrics (programming hours, accuracy, throughput, rework) and drive lean process improvements.
- Maintain working programming capability; step in during peak load, training, or coverage; maintain/upgrade CAD software and recommend technology/capital investments.
Supervisory responsibility. Full supervisory authority over the CAD department (GD200 Senior CAD Programmers, GD300 CAD Programmers) - hiring, training, performance management, scheduling, and discipline, in partnership with the General Manager and HR.
Supplemental Duties Addendum (same reporting line & FLSA):- Quote-to-Production Validation - technical checkpoint between estimating and the floor; verify foil coverage, layouts, pass counts, tooling/make-ready reuse, and stock/press compatibility before pricing is finalized and jobs release; reduce underquoted jobs and setup surprises.
- SOP & Process Documentation (beyond CAD) - own SOPs with revision control, visual setup guides, and a troubleshooting database.
- ERP / Data Integration - operations-side technical lead on the ERP implementation; define routing, setup standards, labor tracking, and CAD-to-production data flow.
- Customer Service & Technical Support - technical resource behind CS; spec/artwork review at intake; own the Sales12CS12CAD12Production technical handoff.
- Cross-Plant Support & Standardization - extend practices to sister operating companies; shared SOP library and centralized CAD knowledge base; support group technical training.
- Business Development Support (Specialty Markets) - technical partner in the sales process for specialty embellishment work; maintain a capabilities package and accurate group-wide quoting.
