Construction Estimator (Underground Utilities)

Lucid Search Group; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Lucid Search Group is seeking an experienced senior estimator to own bids from plan review through submission in the Missouri City area, onsite. The role requires deep knowledge of underground utilities and a proven track record of defensible bids.

You will work directly with ownership on go/no-go decisions and pricing strategy, with immediate responsibility and a fast-paced environment. The base compensation ranges from $100,000 to $150,000 plus bonus, commensurate with experience.

Qualifications

• 4+ years estimating underground utility, heavy civil, or wet utility construction.
• Fully self-sufficient on a bid from plans to submission with no oversight.
• Deep working knowledge of water, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and force main installation methods.
• Fluent reading of civil plan and profile sheets, specifications, and geotechnical reports.
• Houston market experience: City of Houston, Harris County, Fort Bend County, Montgomery County, MUD and utility districts.
• Working command of public bidding and unit price bid forms.
• Strong takeoff and estimating software proficiency plus advanced Excel.
• Bilingual English and Spanish.

Responsibilities

• Own bids start to finish: plan and spec review, quantity takeoff, production and crew rate analysis, equipment and material pricing, and final number.
• Price the full self-perform scope including water line, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, force main, lift station, detention, and fire line, plus the concrete, electrical, and site scopes performed in house.
• Price trench safety and shoring, dewatering, traffic control, SWPPP, surface restoration, and testing accurately rather than as line item guesses.
• Solicit, level, and negotiate supplier and specialty subcontractor quotes for boring, hauling, paving repair, and testing scopes.
• Prepare and submit complete bid packages in compliance with City requirements, including unit price bid forms and deadlines.
• Attend pre bid meetings and walk sites, and translate what you see into pricing.
• Track bid results and post job variance, and feed real production data back into the pricing database.
• Sit in on go / no go strategy directly with ownership.
• Hand off awarded work to operations with a clean budget, assumptions log, and scope narrative.
• Support change order pricing and buyout on awarded work.
• Step into project management support on active jobs when workload calls for it.

Skills

Bid estimating

Vendor negotiation

Plan reading

Bilingual English and Spanish

Tools

Estimating software

Excel

Job description

Location: Missouri City / Sienna area, TX (onsite) Reports to: Owner / President Employment Type: Full-time, direct hire Compensation: $100,000 to $150,000 base plus bonus, commensurate with experience

The Company

A privately held, self-funded underground utility general contractor in the southwest Houston area, roughly ten years in business and built from the ground up with no outside capital.

The company self-performs the full scope of underground and site infrastructure work: domestic water lines, sanitary sewer, storm sewer and drainage, lift stations and force mains, detention systems, fire line packages, hand tunnels, dry bore and trenchless crossings, water tanks, fire pump houses, and standby generators.

The company recently moved up a tier, landing large diameter water line, water storage tank, and fire pump house work, and is building the estimating bench to support that growth.

Why This Seat Exists

The company currently has one senior estimator and two junior estimators developed internally out of university. Bid volume has outgrown that structure.

This is not a training seat. The company needs someone who walks in on day one, picks up a set of plans, and produces a complete, defensible bid without hand holding. The person who takes this job will be trusted with real bids immediately and will have direct access to ownership on go / no go and pricing strategy.

What You Will Do

• Own bids start to finish: plan and spec review, quantity takeoff, production and crew rate analysis, equipment and material pricing, and final number
• Price the full self-perform scope including water line, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, force main, lift station, detention, and fire line, plus the concrete, electrical, and site scopes performed in house
• Price trench safety and shoring, dewatering, traffic control, SWPPP, surface restoration, and testing accurately rather than as line item guesses
• Solicit, level, and negotiate supplier and specialty subcontractor quotes for boring, hauling, paving repair, and testing scopes
• Prepare and submit complete bid packages in compliance with City of Houston, county, MUD, TxDOT, and utility district requirements, including unit price bid forms and public bid opening deadlines
• Attend pre bid meetings and walk sites, and translate what you see into pricing
• Track bid results and post job variance, and feed real production data back into the pricing database
• Sit in on go / no go strategy directly with ownership
• Hand off awarded work to operations with a clean budget, assumptions log, and scope narrative
• Support change order pricing and buyout on awarded work
• Step into project management support on active jobs when the workload calls for it

Required

• 4 plus years estimating underground utility, heavy civil, or wet utility construction, with recent work at a senior or lead level
• Fully self-sufficient on a bid from plans to submission with no oversight required
• Deep working knowledge of water, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and force main installation methods, including open cut, shoring, bedding, and grade requirements
• Fluent reading of civil plan and profile sheets, specifications, and geotechnical reports
• Houston market experience: City of Houston, Harris County, Fort Bend County, Montgomery County, MUD and utility districts
• Working command of public bidding and unit price bid forms
• Strong takeoff and estimating software proficiency plus advanced Excel
• Bilingual English and Spanish

Strongly Preferred

• Lift station, force main, water storage tank, and fire pump house pricing experience
• Fire line scope experience including TS&V, risers, FDC, backflow, and meter vaults
• Trenchless and dry bore pricing experience
• Field background as a foreman, superintendent, or project engineer before moving into estimating
• Experience pricing self-performed concrete and electrical scopes
• Prior experience at a small or mid sized owner operated contractor

Who Succeeds Here

Read this part carefully, because it matters more than the bullet points above.

This is a small office inside a company that does big work. There is no estimating department to hide inside, no layer of junior staff to push takeoffs down to, and no corporate amenities. The person who thrives here is hungry, wears several hats without being asked twice, and takes personal ownership of whether the company wins the job and makes money on it.

Candidates coming out of large national contractors who are accustomed to delegating takeoffs, working a narrow slice of the bid, or operating inside a heavy support structure typically do not adjust well to this environment. Candidates who want to be close to the decisions, see their bids turn into real work, and grow with a company that is scaling do very well.

Attitude carries as much weight here as resume.