Director of Preconstruction

Director, Preconstruction Purpose - The Director of Preconstruction provides strategic leadership of all preconstruction and estimating activities across the company's core markets - water and wastewater, industrial (refineries, power plants, food and beverage), streetscapes, parks, commercial, and civil construction. This is a senior leadership role within both Pace Contracting and LPX Group, where a demonstrated commitment to our core values is essential. The Director of Preconstruction is expected to embody these values in every aspect of leadership, decision-making, collaboration, and accountability, serving as a role model for employees, clients, and partners. This individual will build, mentor, and lead an estimating team while working in close partnership with operations, field leadership, and business development to produce accurate, executable estimates that the company can be proud to build. The role also supports measured growth into commercial construction, contributing to business development efforts in a sector where the company is intentionally expanding its presence. The Director of Preconstruction is a collaborative leader who earns trust across departments, actively involves operations in the preconstruction process, ensures seamless handoffs from estimate to execution, and helps shape the company's strategic outlook. The ideal candidate brings deep technical estimating expertise, a proven ability to build estimating functions, and the relationship-driven mindset required to align the entire company around winning and executing great work across all markets. Duties and Responsibilities: • Lead all estimating activities across water/wastewater, industrial, streetscapes/parks, and commercial markets • Develop, implement, and continuously improve estimating standards, workflows, software tools, and bid packages • Ensure estimates are risk-adjusted and reflect realistic field productivity, material pricing, subcontractor coverage, and overhead allocation • Own bid/no-bid decision process in collaboration with senior leadership • Collaborate with operations and business development teams on pursuit strategy, qualifications, and proposal preparation across all markets - water/wastewater, industrial, streetscapes/parks, and commercial • Maintain awareness of market conditions, competitor activity, and client procurement trends across all primary markets • Build and maintain long-term relationships with owners, engineers of record, prime contractor partners, and key subcontractors and suppliers • Collaborate across divisions on aligned pursuits, shared market intelligence, and coordinated business development where appropriate • Contribute to Pace's strategic outlook - providing market intelligence, win/loss analysis, and a point of view on where the company's business development energy should be focused • Recruit, hire, onboard, and develop an estimating team capable of supporting growth across all market sectors • Establish clear performance expectations, provide regular coaching and feedback, and build a culture of accuracy and accountability • Build a preconstruction culture where operations is involved and invested in the pursuit process • Own and optimize the company's estimating software platform (InEight, Procore, Bluebeam, Agtech) • Develop and maintain historical cost data and productivity benchmarks collaboratively with field operations. • Establish clear, repeatable bid review and sign-off processes that include operations input before submission • Support post-bid analysis and continuous improvement of win rates and margin outcomes in partnership with operations and senior leadership Education and Experience: • Strong facilitation skills - able to lead constructability reviews, estimate reviews, and cross-functional pursuit meetings • Demonstrated experience estimating self-perform civil scopes: concrete structures, underground/aboveground pipe, earthwork, and site construction • 5+ years in a senior estimator, chief estimator, or preconstruction leadership role • Proficiency with construction estimating software (HCSS, Timberline/Sage, ProEst, or similar) • Strong command of project delivery methods: lump sum, unit price, design-build, and GMP • Exceptional written and verbal communication, presentation, and negotiation skills • Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Construction Management, or related field - or equivalent experience • Experience estimating commercial construction (office, warehouse, retail, food/beverage, or industrial/commercial hybrid) alongside a strong civil/industrial base • Established relationships with subcontractors, suppliers, and owners across water/wastewater, industrial, and municipal markets in the region • Experience building or scaling a preconstruction department in a growth environment