Position Title: Senior Civil Estimator
Estimators who work on waterworks rarely get to see a bid become a built plant. This Senior Civil Estimator role offers that connection. The position sits at a privately owned heavy civil contractor with a backlog above $1 billion, where selective bidding means the work is chosen for a real chance of winning rather than to fill a schedule. The estimator prices treatment plants and pump stations from the Sacramento headquarters, with ownership of bids in the $1M to $10M range and a place on the team for larger pursuits.
Bids run primarily in the $10M to $30M range, with roughly one job a quarter exceeding $50M, and most are hard-bid public work where the submitted number becomes the number the company builds to. Waterworks estimating has been especially active, including design-assist work and a construction manager/general contractor project that evolved into a water job. The environment is hands-off and built around checks and balances. Every estimate receives a review before it goes out, and a project manager or division manager sits a short walk away in an open-concept office completed in 2022.
Salary Range: $110,000 - $160,000 / Year DOE + a discretionary, effort-based bonus program
Senior Civil Estimator Responsibilities - Estimate waterworks projects, primarily treatment plants and pump stations, covering clarifiers, mechanical equipment, underground work, and structural concrete
- Produce independent quantity takeoffs for equipment, flanges and fittings, concrete, backfill, trenching and pipe, and build each estimate in HeavyBid
- Lead bids in the $1M to $10M range with support from the senior estimator, and join an estimating team of about three on larger pursuits, including joint venture bids that add a project manager
- Estimate work across Northern and Southern California from the Sacramento office, and price waterline or plant cost codes when other divisions bring waterworks scope into a Caltrans bid
- Manage two or three active bids at a time as addenda move bid dates, prioritizing the most immediate deadline
- Contact subcontractors and suppliers to clarify quotes and secure competitive, accurate pricing
- Review each estimate with the waterworks manager before submission, and consult the general superintendent to validate production assumptions where needed
- Partner with project managers on progressive design-build and other alternative delivery work, and hand off awarded jobs to the project manager who will run them
- Participate in the weekly estimators meeting and walk project sites about once a month, with overnight travel for distant locations
Senior Civil Estimator Requirements - Waterworks estimating experience across mechanical, underground, and structural concrete work, with strength in all three or exceptional depth in at least two
- Approximately four to five years of estimating experience, with about ten years representing the strongest background
- Proficiency with HeavyBid or a comparable estimating system
- A career spent primarily in estimating, either as a dedicated estimator or an estimator/project manager hybrid with the majority of time in estimating
- Ability to complete takeoffs with minimal guidance or instruction
- A strong industrial background for candidates coming from the private sector
- Onsite attendance at the Sacramento headquarters five days a week, with occasional travel for site walks
- Municipal or prevailing wage experience, a background at a small to mid-sized contractor, and a business development mindset that includes comfort calling subcontractors and suppliers is preferred
Benefits - Medical, dental, and vision coverage, along with other subsidized benefits such as life insurance
- 401(k) retirement plan with a generous company match
- Paid time off, sick time, and company holidays
- Company vehicle for job sites and site visits, with travel costs covered for distant site walks
- Weekly pay
- Effort-based discretionary bonus program
- Greater schedule flexibility once established, and time off after major bids are submitted
Estimators with deep waterworks experience and a preference for working in a hands-off, privately owned environment should apply today. We appreciate your time and responsiveness.
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