Chief Estimator, Construction and Environmental Services

Weston Solutions; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

401K with matching

Paid time off

Life and disability plans

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

Weston Solutions, Inc. seeks a Chief Estimator to lead estimating and preconstruction across commercial, federal, civil, and environmental projects with values from $1MM to $200MM. The role reports to senior leadership and collaborates across procurement, operations, and project delivery teams.

Remote position offering expert guidance on ROM, conceptual and final estimates, and risk-informed pricing strategies to improve bid-to-execution handoffs and pursuit outcomes.

Qualifications

• 15+ years estimating experience in construction, infra, or environmental projects.
• Led fixed-price, design-build and large-scale estimates.
• Knowledge of subcontractor pricing, quantities, escalation, and contingencies.
• Ability to lead estimate reviews and challenge assumptions.

Responsibilities

• Lead Weston’s estimating and preconstruction discipline across sectors.
• Own estimate strategy for major opportunities, aligning scope and risk.
• Establish standards, tools, templates, and review gates.
• Lead ROM, conceptual, parametric, and final estimate development.
• Validate assumptions, pricing, production rates, and contingencies.
• Review subcontractor pricing for completeness and risk.
• Partner with procurement on sourcing and buyout strategies.
• Identify scope gaps and risks before submission.
• Develop estimators through training and mentorship.
• Improve bid-to-execution transition with actionable guidance.
• Support strategy development and market research.

Skills

Estimating leadership

Leadership in estimating

Communication skills

Job description

At Weston Solutions, Inc. you will do meaningful work and make valuable contributions. Employee ownership at Weston is a path to professional growth and access to diverse opportunities in a highly connected community that works together across key service areas to make a difference in the environment. Weston has continued to evolve and adapt to our changing world as a premier provider of environmental and infrastructure services for over sixty years. In both the public and private sectors our teams help identify, solve, mitigate, and manage critical environmental issues to help clients achieve a more sustainable future.

Weston Solutions is seeking a Chief Estimator, Construction and Environmental Services to lead and mature the company’s estimating and preconstruction discipline across commercial, federal, civil, infrastructure, environmental remediation, and design-build pursuits, with project values ranging from approximately $1MM to $200MM. This role will serve as the senior technical authority for estimating while helping build the early preconstruction capabilities needed to improve scope definition, constructability review, procurement strategy, risk planning, value alternatives, and bid-to-execution handoff.

The Chief Estimator will own estimate strategy for major, complex, and high-risk opportunities; establish scalable standards, tools, templates, and review gates; lead development and review of ROM, conceptual, parametric, budgetary, detailed, and final proposal estimates; and validate estimate assumptions, subcontractor and vendor pricing, production rates, escalation, indirect costs, contingencies, and risk allowances. The role will work closely with Operations, Capture, Proposal Development, Procurement, Project Management, technical teams, environmental professionals, safety, quality, scheduling, and executive reviewers to ensure estimates are complete, compliant, defensible, risk-informed, and aligned with the proposed execution approach.

Location: Remote

Expected Outcomes

• Lead Weston’s estimating and preconstruction discipline across commercial, federal, civil, infrastructure, environmental, and design-build pursuits.
• Own estimate strategy for major, complex, and high-risk opportunities, aligning scope, cost, schedule, procurement, risk, and execution approach.
• Establish scalable estimating standards, tools, templates, review gates, and governance based on project value, complexity, and risk profile.
• Lead development and review of ROM, conceptual, parametric, budgetary, detailed, and final proposal estimates.
• Validate assumptions, quantities, production rates, labor, equipment, materials, escalation, indirect costs, contingencies, and risk allowances.
• Review subcontractor and vendor pricing for completeness, reasonableness, exclusions, qualifications, coverage, and commercial risk.
• Partner with procurement to develop sourcing strategies, bid packages, quote-leveling tools, subcontractor coverage plans, and buyout assumptions.
• Identify scope gaps, overlaps, alternates, allowances, constructability issues, sequencing constraints, logistics risks, and execution exposures before submission.
• Develop/train estimators in scope ownership, technical estimating, benchmarking, subcontractor evaluation, basis-of-estimate documentation, and executive-ready estimate presentation.
• Improve bid-to-execution transition by converting estimate assumptions, risks, procurement plans, and scope decisions into actionable guidance for operations and project delivery teams.
• Support strategy development and market research by gathering competitive intelligence, analyzing market pricing trends, identifying subcontractor and vendor capacity, bid optimization and informing pursuit positioning, go/no-go decisions, pricing strategy, and long-term estimating priorities.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• 15+ years of estimating experience in construction, environmental remediation, infrastructure, civil, commercial, or federal project environments.
• Demonstrated experience estimating projects across a broad value range, preferably from approximately $1MM to $200MM, including smaller task-order work, mid-sized construction projects, and large strategic pursuits.
• Demonstrated experience leading estimates for fixed-price, design-build, commercial, environmental, civil, or infrastructure projects.
• Strong knowledge of construction means and methods, environmental field execution, subcontractor pricing, quantity takeoff, labor productivity, equipment, materials, escalation, general conditions, indirect costs, and contingency development.
• Experience developing ROM, conceptual, parametric, budgetary, and detailed estimates.
• Experience reviewing subcontractor proposals, vendor quotes, bid tabs, exclusions, inclusions, scope gaps, and qualifications.
• Ability to lead estimate reviews and challenge assumptions in a constructive, technically credible manner.
• Experience supporting proposal teams, capture teams, operations leaders, procurement, project managers, and technical professionals during competitive pursuits.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain estimate logic, risk, and pricing assumptions to executive leadership.

Preferred Experience

• Experience with both commercial construction and environmental estimating.
• Experience with federal agencies such as USACE, NAVFAC, AFCEC, DOE, USPS, or similar public-sector clients.
• Experience supporting a portfolio with both high-volume smaller projects and larger complex fixed-price pursuits.
• Experience developing estimating review thresholds, governance models, and approval processes based on project value and risk.
• Experience in design-build, infrastructure, utilities, environmental remediation, demolition, treatment systems, vertical construction, civil construction, or complex site development.
• Experience building estimating standards, templates, cost databases, production references, and review processes.
• Experience mentoring or leading a team of estimators.
• Prior experience in a mature general contractor, environmental contractor, EPC, infrastructure contractor, construction management, or federal construction organization.
• Professional credentials such as CEP, CPE, PSP, CCP, DBIA, PMP, CCM, PE, or equivalent are desirable.

We fully invest in our people: Weston provides a generous,comprehensive benefits package program that offers employees high value options with solid financial protection, meeting the personal needs of its people and their families.

• Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K with base and matching employer stock contributions.
• Paid time off includes personal, holiday and parental.
• Life and disability plans.
• Critical illness and accident plans.
• Work/Life flexibility.
• Professional development opportunities.

Compensation will vary based upon experience, education, skill level, and other compensable factors.