VDC Coordinator

Job Description

Job Description

About Us

Catalpa Architects, PLLC is a small architecture and BIM/VDC practice based in Fayetteville, Arkansas. In addition to our architectural design work, a portion of our practice is dedicated to supporting contractors through BIM management, construction coordination, clash detection, and visualization.

On these projects, we work as part of the contractor’s team rather than as the project’s design architect. We apply our understanding of building design, documentation, and construction to help project teams better visualize, coordinate, and plan the work before it reaches the field. Our BIM/VDC services support estimating, constructability review, sequencing, coordination, and the reduction of conflicts and rework during construction.

This same emphasis on building information modeling and visualization carries through our architectural practice, where we use BIM technologies to improve design, coordination, and communication and to give clients a clearer understanding of what they intend to build before construction begins.

About the Role

We are seeking a BIM/VDC Coordinator to join our office for a one-year contract position and work primarily with our contractor-support and construction coordination projects. 

The BIM/VDC Coordinator will be responsible for assembling, reviewing, and coordinating multidisciplinary building models and using BIM technologies to identify potential conflicts before construction. This person will work closely with our team as well as contractors, subcontractors, fabricators, engineers, and other project participants.

This is not primarily an architectural design position. We are looking for a team member interested in the intersection of building design, construction, technology, and project coordination and who will be comfortable working with models as tools for understanding how a project will actually be constructed.

A significant part of the role will involve clash detection and model coordination. An ideal candidate can evaluate the resulting conflicts, understand their construction significance, organize and communicate issues clearly, and work collaboratively with project teams toward practical coordination solutions.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities may include:

• Aggregate and manage architectural, structural, MEP, fire protection, civil, and trade models for multidisciplinary coordination.
• Develop and maintain federated coordination models.
• Perform clash detection and model review using Navisworks Manage and other BIM coordination platforms.
• Establish appropriate clash tests, tolerances, search sets, and coordination workflows based on project requirements.
• Review clash results to distinguish meaningful construction conflicts from modeling noise or acceptable conditions.
• Organize, prioritize, document, and track coordination issues through resolution.
• Prepare clash reports, coordination viewpoints, markups, and other visual communication materials.
• Participate in or facilitate BIM/VDC coordination meetings with contractors, subcontractors, consultants, and project teams.
• Attend periodic coordination meetings at active construction sites.
• Observe field conditions as needed to better understand coordination issues and reconcile model information with construction conditions.
• Review models for alignment, coordinates, model organization, completeness, and general compliance with project BIM requirements.
• Assist with BIM Execution Plans, model-sharing procedures, file organization, and project-specific BIM standards.
• Support the development of construction and coordination models where supplemental modeling is required.
• Assist with shop drawing and fabrication-model coordination as appropriate to the project.
• Develop 3D views, renderings, diagrams, and other visualizations to communicate construction sequencing, logistics, phasing, or complex building conditions.
• Assist project teams in using BIM models for estimating, planning, constructability review, and construction coordination.
• Coordinate information between design documents, trade models, field conditions, and contractor requirements.
• Maintain clear records of model revisions, coordination decisions, and outstanding issues.
• Work collaboratively with architects, contractors, engineers, subcontractors, and field personnel.

Required Qualifications

A potential candidate should have:

• Professional or academic background in Architecture, Construction Management, Engineering, Building Construction, or a related AEC field .
• Demonstrated experience with BIM coordination and multidisciplinary clash detection.
• Strong proficiency with Autodesk Navisworks Manage .
• Proficiency with Autodesk Revit and an understanding of Revit model organization, linking, worksharing, coordinates, and model exchange.
• Ability to read and interpret architectural, structural, and MEP construction documents.
• Working knowledge of building systems and the relationships between architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire-protection systems.
• An understanding of construction sequencing and how coordinated models relate to installation in the field.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage and document numerous coordination issues simultaneously.
• Strong verbal, written, and visual communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with both design professionals and construction teams.
• Strong attention to detail and an aptitude for identifying and resolving spatial and technical problems.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in any of the following would be beneficial:

• Autodesk Construction Cloud / Autodesk Forma
• Bluebeam Revu
• AutoCAD or Civil3D
• Rhinoceros
• Blender
• Construction sequencing or 4D modeling
• Construction visualization and rendering (Twinmotion, Enscape, or Lumion)
• BIM Execution Plan development
• MEP coordination
• Shop drawing or fabrication-model coordination
• General contractor, construction manager, or subcontractor BIM/VDC experience
• Field construction experience
• Model-based estimating or quantity takeoffs

Candidates with an architectural background who have developed significant construction and BIM coordination experience are encouraged to apply, as are candidates from construction management backgrounds who have strong modeling and visualization skills.

Because our practice works at the intersection of architecture and construction, this position is particularly well suited to someone who enjoys both the technical rigor of building modeling and the collaborative problem-solving of construction coordination.

Jobsite and Work Environment

This position includes periodic visits to active construction sites and attendance at on-site project and coordination meetings. Site visits may involve exposure to typical construction-site conditions, including noise, dust, weather, uneven or unfinished walking surfaces, temporary access routes, stairs, construction equipment, and ongoing construction activities.

The employee will be expected to safely access the portions of a project site reasonably necessary to perform the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation , and to comply with all applicable company, contractor, owner, and project-specific safety requirements.

Required personal protective equipment may include hard hats, high-visibility apparel, eye protection, protective footwear, hearing protection, or other equipment appropriate to site conditions. Required PPE and safety training will be addressed in accordance with applicable regulations and individual project requirements.

Site-specific safety orientations or additional safety training may be required before entering certain projects.

To Apply

To apply, please submit a résumé and, if available, examples of BIM coordination, construction modeling, clash detection, visualization, or related project work.