DescriptionSome estimators build numbers. This role reads jobs: where the market's heading before it gets there, and which general contractors put you on the invite list without being asked. Ascent Electric is a lean electrical contractor in Ridgefield, Washington, bidding commercial and multifamily work in the $500K to $8M range. Once we're awarded a project, we perform; that's never been the gap. The gap has been getting deals across the line, and that's the seat we're filling.
You'll own each bid from the invitation through the signature: the estimate, the strategy, the relationship with the general contractor, and the close. Our current estimator is sliding over into more of a pre-construction role. He'll be your partner on design, current costs, buyout, and quantities. You'll lean on him to keep every number both competitive and profitable. You'll report directly to the owner, with no layers in between.
WHAT THE WORK ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKEDay to day, you're moving between reading new bid invitations, building estimates, and getting general contractors on the phone, often more than one of these at once. You'll lose more bids than you win; that's the nature of the work, and the ones you land carry real weight. Deadlines don't move for a late addendum, even when it lands the afternoon before a bid is due. Between bids, you're keeping the pipeline moving so the field never runs out of the next job.
WHO BELONGS HERE- Own Your Role: When a bid comes in under target, you look at your own read on the job before anyone else's.
- Strong Work Ethic: An honest day's work for an honest day's pay, with no shortcuts on the number even when the deadline doesn't move.
- Be Real: You tell Todd a number is soft before it becomes his problem, not after.
- Win Together: Tom is your partner on costs and buyout, not a hand-off point. You use him instead of working around him.
- Excellence: Today's process is the starting point, not the finish line, so you're looking for the next edge instead of defending the last one.
PAY AND PATH$135,000 base to start. On top of that, a bid-win incentive of 0.10% of every signed contract you close, paid quarterly: book $6M in a year, and that's $6,000; book $14M and it's $14,000. After the probationary period, we build a commission plan around what you're actually producing, so it's based on real numbers instead of a guess. Profit sharing sits on top of both, tied to company performance. Realistic cash in a strong year lands between $135,000 and $150,000, with a total package, including benefits, of roughly $175,000.
- Health and dental coverage for you and your spouse
- Company vehicle
- 401(k) with company match
- 17 days of paid time off
- Profit sharing tied to company performance
- Direct access to the owner: no layers between your recommendation and the decision
Responsibilities$48
Qualifications$49
