CAD Specialist

About the role

The CAD Specialist plays a crucial role in Ashley Furniture's mission to inspire the love of home. They are responsible for creating, modifying, and maintaining store floorplans that support various merchandising initiatives and sales strategies.

Responsibilities

• Create and update store layouts on a recurring basis to reflect new product assortments, promotions, seasonal displays, and marketing campaigns.
• Ensure product placement aligns with merchandising strategies, visual standards, and established selling stories.
• Partner with Visual Merchandising, Category Management, and Retail Operations teams to execute floor plans that maximize product presentation and sales performance.
• Analyze store layouts and traffic patterns to optimize space utilization, improve customer flow, and enhance the overall shopping experience.
• Maintain accurate and detailed CAD drawings for multiple store locations while ensuring consistency with company standards.
• Communicate floorplan updates and layout changes effectively to store teams, regional leadership, and cross-functional partners.
• Provide clear documentation, instructions, and support to store teams during floor transitions and merchandise resets, including occasional onsite assistance as needed.
• Aid in additional AutoCAD-related projects, including new store layouts, remodel projects, fixture placement planning, and operational playbooks.
• Ensure floorplans are completed accurately and delivered within established timelines.

Qualifications

• Associate degree in Drafting, Design Technology, Interior Design, Architecture, Merchandising, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in CAD design, space planning, visual merchandising, or a related discipline.
• Proficiency with AutoCAD and other design software such as SketchUp or similar applications.
• Understanding of retail space planning, furniture merchandising, and visual presentation principles.
• Ability to interpret and utilize sales data, merchandising plans, and business objectives to inform layout decisions.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills with the ability to work effectively across departments.
• Strong attention to detail, problem-solving skills, and commitment to accuracy.

Additional Qualifications, Preferred Experience

• Supporting retail store layouts, remodels, or large-scale merchandising initiatives.
• Knowledge of furniture retail environments and customer shopping behaviors.
• Experience developing visual merchandising plans or planograms.
• Familiarity with project management processes and cross-functional team collaboration.