Drafting Capacity, Built In:
A Massachusetts Design-Build Firm's Remote Drafter
9 Hours
Full workday on Eastern
Time, same as the office
5 Years
Drafting experience
with U.S. clients
6 Months
On the team since
April 2026
Employees
10-50 employees
Location
Massachusetts
Industry
Architecture and Design-build
The Challenge
We needed someone who could model a house the way we do, so our project managers could get back to managing projects
Project Manager
Massachusetts Design-Build Firm
For a design-build firm, drafting is the link between design and construction. Every new home and renovation needs detailed drawings and 3D models, and as the project pipeline grew, that work increasingly landed on the firm’s project managers and architects, who were already coordinating clients, consultants, and job sites.
The firm needed a full-time architectural drafter and modeler with strong residential skills and fluency in the building information modeling and rendering software its team uses every day. Finding that profile locally was difficult. Experienced drafters are in short supply in the region, and competing for them with larger firms in nearby metro areas meant a long search and a high salary.
Without added capacity, project managers would keep drafting in the margins of their day, and projects risked slowing down at exactly the point where drawings need to be ready.
The Approach
The firm found Wow Remote Teams through an AI assistant search and shared its need for a full-time residential Architectural Drafter and Modeler. Wow presented a short list of screened candidates, and the firm interviewed them directly. Within about 2 to 3 weeks, it had its hire.
At the center of this story is an architectural drafter from Colombia with a bachelor’s degree in architecture and 5 years of experience in the role. He works in the same CAD and building information modeling software the firm uses and had already supported U.S.-based clients on commercial and interior design projects. He communicates in upper-intermediate English that works well for day-to-day project collaboration.
Onboarding was planned carefully. The firm set up his accounts and credentials before his first day, and Wow coordinated the details so he could start ready to work. To learn the office’s drawing standards and file structure, he was paired with a project manager on a smaller-scale guest house project before moving on to larger work.
He works 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, the same hours as the office. The firm also added the local holidays he observes to the company calendar, so the whole team knows when he is out. His day-to-day contact is one of the firm’s architects, with project managers and operations as backup.
Starting him on a smaller project let him learn our standards before taking on more
Project Manager
Massachusetts Design-Build Firm
The Outcome
He was ready from day one: accounts set up, software he already knew, and a clear first project.
Architect
Massachusetts Design-Build Firm
Six months later, the drafter is a full part of the project team.
Drawings and models now have a dedicated owner. Project managers spend less of their day drafting and more time on clients, consultants, and job sites.
The structured start paid off. Learning the firm’s standards on a smaller project first meant he could move on to larger residential projects with fewer revisions and less hand-holding.
Most importantly, working the same Eastern Time hours as the office means questions get answered in real time and drawings move forward on the same day they are discussed.
“Having him on our hours makes him feel like he’s right here in the office. He’s simply part of the team.”
Hire the Perfect Specialist
Hire the Perfect Specialist