Virtual design & construction search
Last updated: October 15, 2026
Gulfstream Strategic Placements recruits BIM and VDC talent exclusively for commercial mechanical contractors: VDC managers, BIM coordinators, and piping, plumbing and sheet metal detailers who can carry a model from coordination through fabrication. We are a contingency search firm, based in Southern California and recruiting nationwide, founded in 2014, with hundreds of placements in commercial mechanical construction. Every search is confidential.
A BIM/VDC recruiter finds the modelers and coordination leads your job board posts do not reach, then proves they can do the work before you spend an hour interviewing them. At Gulfstream, Eric Dickerson, our owner, personally interviews every candidate before we present them, and every presented candidate comes with a one-page write-up: bio, highlights, concerns, reason for leaving, relocation and salary. You see the concerns up front, not after the second interview.
Department leaders who own the model, the standards and the coordination calendar across multiple projects and fabrication shops. We screen for people who have run a VDC group, not only used the software.
Coordination leads who run clash meetings with the GC and sister trades, keep the model current with field changes, and hold the schedule.
Detailers producing spool-ready, fab-ready output in Revit, AutoCAD MEP, CADmep, SysQue or EastCoast CAD/CAM, with the spool volume to prove it.
Ductwork detailers whose models drive the plasma table and the fab shop, not only the drawing set.
Trimble total station and robotic layout specialists, point-cloud and scan-to-BIM technicians who tie the model to as-built conditions.
VDC engineers and shop liaisons who connect the model to prefabrication and multi-trade racks.
Contingency search: you pay only when you hire, with a 90-day replacement guarantee.
Contingency search for commercial mechanical contractors. You pay only when you hire, with a 90-day replacement guarantee.
No fees to review. Confidential search.
Submit a Job OrderPost the job yourself when the seat is a junior detailer in a large market, your pay is at or above market, and you have time to screen applicants.
Use a recruiter when the seat leads a VDC department, needs a specific fabrication software and trade combination, is in a market with few experienced modelers, or must stay confidential because you are replacing someone. Those are the searches where the right person is employed, busy and not reading job boards.
Ask any recruiter, including us, these questions:
Our answers: commercial mechanical only; Eric interviews every candidate and you get the concerns in writing; we verify output, trades detailed and shop handoff; every search is confidential until both sides agree to a formal interview; contingency, due only when you hire, with a 90-day replacement guarantee.
Pay for VDC talent varies more by discipline and fabrication responsibility than by title. The biggest drivers are: whether the role leads a department or a single project, the trade (piping and sheet metal detailing with fab output pays differently from coordination-only roles), fabrication software depth, field layout experience, remote versus on-site, and the local market. For current ranges, see our VDC and BIM compensation guide and our regional VDC reports.
We source, screen and confidentially represent virtual design and construction talent for commercial mechanical contractors. That means validating real modeling output, not just software on a resume: coordination scope, trades detailed, spool volume, fabrication interface, and how the candidate runs clash resolution with GCs and sister trades.
Revit, AutoCAD MEP, Navisworks, CADmep, CAMduct, ESTmep, SysQue, EastCoast CAD/CAM, Trimble field layout and total station, and point-cloud workflows. We screen for the specific detailing discipline because HVAC sheet metal, process piping and plumbing detailing are not interchangeable.
Yes. Our searches are for commercial mechanical, plumbing, piping, sheet metal and building automation contractors, so we know how a VDC seat connects to the fab shop and the field.
Nationwide. We are based in Southern California and recruit across the United States, including Los Angeles, Orange County, the Inland Empire, San Diego, the Bay Area, Sacramento, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver, Seattle, Portland, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando and Northern Virginia.
Many detailing roles support remote or hybrid work, particularly senior detailers with a proven independent output record. VDC manager roles that own shop interface and field coordination are usually on-site or hybrid near the fabrication facility.
Eric Dickerson, our owner, interviews every candidate personally before we present them, on every search.
A one-page write-up with the candidate's bio, highlights, concerns, reason for leaving, relocation and salary.
It depends on the role, the market and the pay. We set expectations on the first call and update you as the search moves.
Yes. Every search is confidential by default. Your company name is not disclosed to a candidate until both sides agree to a formal interview.
Contingency. You pay only when you hire, with a 90-day replacement guarantee.