The Electrical Estimator will serve as a critical member of the preconstruction team, providing leadership and specialized expertise for electrical scopes of work, including electrical distribution, medium-voltage distribution, site dry utilities, low-voltage, communications/structured cabling, and fire alarm. The Electrical Estimator will be responsible for initial market research, conceptual budgeting, cost estimating, change order forensics, and buyout support for these scopes, working in concert with the Lead Estimator and Mechanical Estimator to deliver complete, well-coordinated project budgets.
Responsibilities:
Market Research & Analysis
• Conduct regionally-specific market research on electrical systems, including labor availability for electrical trades, commodity trends for copper, aluminum, conduit, and switchgear, equipment lead times for long-lead items (generators, switchgear, transformers, UPS, medium-voltage gear, busway), and other factors affecting costs.
• Maintain detailed records of historical project costs, including labor, materials, and equipment.
• Analyze historical data to identify trends, patterns, and opportunities for cost optimization.
Conceptual Budgeting & Cost Estimation
• Develop conceptual budgets for electrical scope elements based on market analysis and project scope.
• Prepare detailed estimates for labor, materials, and equipment, factoring in project complexity and location.
• Generate cost variance reports at major design milestones to track trends, inform stakeholder decisions, and identify value-engineering opportunities.
• Lead and support takeoffs using Bluebeam, On-Screen Takeoff, LiveCount or similar tools.
• Lead in the analysis of subcontractor, vendor, and OEM pricing for electrical distribution, generators, switchgear, UPS, medium-voltage distribution, site dry utilities, low-voltage/security, communications, and fire alarm scopes of work.
Cost Reconciliation and Change Order Support
• Collaborate with general contractors and trade-partners to reconcile project costs and ensure scope alignment.
• Provide support for change order forensics and perform cost reconciliation with trade-partners as needed to verify pricing accuracy.
Constructability Reviews and Value Engineering
• Conduct thorough constructability reviews focused on electrical, medium-voltage, low-voltage, communications, and fire alarm scopes to identify potential challenges and improvements in design, including coordination of electrical systems with the building structure, mechanical systems, and architecture.
• Work with project stakeholders to implement value-engineering solutions that optimize efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
• Evaluate alternative materials, methods, and technologies to enhance constructability and reduce long-term maintenance expenses.
Trade Procurement & Buyout Oversight
• Contribute electrical scope requirements and specifications to WWMC-prepared RFP documentation for general contractor (GC) procurement, ensuring clarity, accuracy, and complete scope coverage.
• Provide review-and-assist oversight of the GC-led buyout of electrical trade partners, reviewing bid packages across electrical distribution, medium-voltage, site dry utilities, low-voltage/security, communications, and fire alarm for completeness and alignment with the project scope.
• Review and assist with bid-leveling, analyzing trade-partner proposals to normalize pricing and identify scope gaps, exclusions, and pricing anomalies.
• Participate in GC and trade-partner selection meetings, offering independent input on firm suitability, qualifications, and cost competitiveness.
• Assist with pre-bid RFIs and site walks by reviewing responses and flagging issues relevant to electrical scopes.
• Provide oversight of the GC-led post-bid interview and negotiation process, validating assumptions and confirming pricing accuracy on the owner's behalf.
• Occasional travel to project sites for kick-offs, pre-bid walks, and constructability reviews.
Requirements
• 5+ years of estimating experience with a strong emphasis on electrical, medium-voltage, low-voltage, communications, and fire alarm scopes in mission-critical, data center, or other heavy industrial projects.
• Proven ability to estimate projects $50M+ in total electrical contract value.
• Ability to perform quantity takeoffs for electrical distribution and conduit/feeders, equipment (generators and switchgear, UPS, etc), medium-voltage distribution, site dry utilities, structured cabling/low-voltage, communications, and fire alarm systems.
• Proficiency with estimating software (Accubid, or similar) and Microsoft Excel.
• Solid understanding of data center-specific electrical challenges, including critical power topologies, redundancy concepts, and the ability to read and interpret electrical drawings, single-line diagrams, and specifications.
• Familiarity with electrical equipment lead times and procurement strategy for long-lead items such as generators, switchgear, transformers, UPS systems, and medium-voltage gear.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment while collaborating with the estimating team.
• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, or a related field, or equivalent estimating experience in lieu of a degree.
