Estimating Manager

Talentfoot Executive Search; Kennewick (WA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Talentfoot Executive Search is representing an Eastern Washington heavy civil contractor seeking an Estimating Manager. You will lead two estimators, own the bid process end-to-end, and drive accuracy by tying costs to job costing.

The role emphasizes speed, quality, and process discipline in a hybrid Eastern Washington setting. As the lead, you will standardize estimating practices, automate where possible, and collaborate with finance and operations to replace placeholder pricing with real

Qualifications

• Produces accurate, competitive estimates for cost-driven work.
• Owns bids from review to submission with clear documentation.
• Identifies and closes gaps between estimating data and job costing.
• Improves estimating processes and workflows for high-volume bids.
• Experience with public agency and state DOT bid boards is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of two estimators, setting priorities and reviewing work.
• Own the bid process from opportunity review to submission, including takeoffs and final proposals.
• Prepare detailed cost estimates with transparent, defendable assumptions.
• Link estimating data to job costing with finance and operations to replace placeholder pricing.
• Improve systems to streamline and automate a high-volume bid process.
• Prioritize opportunities from public agencies based on fit, capacity, and margin.
• Monitor bid volume, win rates, and margin to improve pricing strategies.
• Represent estimating in internal preconstruction meetings and present cost estimates.
• Attend agency meetings ahead of bid deadlines and conduct site inspections as needed.
• Run weekly bid reviews and track upcoming and awarded work.

Skills

Estimator leadership

Bid process

Takeoffs & specs

Process improvement

Public bids

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

Bid2Win

HCSS HeavyBid

AGTEK

Job description

Eastern Washington | Hybrid | Full Time

Our client is a heavy civil contractor in Eastern Washington whose crews keep regional highways and roadways safe, functional, and moving. The company holds a strong position in a specialized corner of public infrastructure work and is now expanding into new service lines, including pavement maintenance, markings, and signage, as it works toward a revenue target of $35 to $40 million over the next two years. Leadership is hands on and closely involved in the daily business, and the culture rewards people who spot a better way to do something and say so. As the company grows and diversifies, it is looking for an Estimating Manager to lead the estimating team and build the systems that will carry the business through its next phase.

Position Overview

This is a rare opportunity to take ownership of an estimating function rather than inherit a finished one. You will lead a team of two estimators, own the bid process from start to finish across a high volume pipeline that reaches up to 20 bids per week in peak season, and take on a project with real visibility: rebuilding how the company estimates so that pricing is tied to accurate part level costs and connects directly to job costing. Today the team leans on placeholder numbers, and closing that gap is the highest impact contribution this person can make.

Because work comes through public agency and state transportation bid boards rather than relationship selling, your energy goes into accuracy, speed, and process instead of chasing new business. You will work alongside the General Manager and a senior operations leader, both involved daily, so you have support while still owning your function. Within twelve months, the expectation is that you are fully leading the team, turning bids faster and more accurately, and identifying places to automate.

This is a hybrid role based in Eastern Washington, Monday through Friday and exempt, with heavier in office presence early on and occasional weekend work during peak season. For an estimator ready to step into leadership, or a manager who would rather build something than maintain it, this is a career defining project.

Position Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of two estimators, setting priorities, reviewing work, and building the group’s technical depth.
• Own the bid process from opportunity review through submission, including takeoffs, plan and specification review, and final proposal preparation.
• Prepare detailed cost estimates and clearly document the assumptions behind them so pricing decisions are transparent and defensible.
• Partner with finance and operations to connect estimating data to job costing, replacing placeholder pricing with accurate part level costs.
• Improve and standardize estimating systems and workflows, finding opportunities to streamline and automate a high volume bid process.
• Review incoming opportunities from public agency bid boards and prioritize which to pursue based on fit, capacity, and margin.
• Monitor bid volume, win rates, and margin performance, and use those results to sharpen future pricing.
• Represent estimating in internal preconstruction meetings, presenting cost estimates and proposals to the operations team.
• Attend meetings with public agencies ahead of bid deadlines, and conduct or delegate site inspections before bids are submitted.
• Run weekly bid reviews and maintain a clear view of upcoming and awarded work.

Position Qualifications

• A track record of producing accurate, competitive estimates on cost driven work, with specific examples of bids you owned from opening review through submission.
• A minimum of 5 years of estimating or construction industry experience, or a combination of education and experience providing equivalent knowledge.
• Proficiency with estimating software such as Bid2Win, HCSS HeavyBid, AGTEK, or comparable platforms, plus a strong command of takeoffs, blueprints, and specifications.
• Demonstrated success identifying and closing gaps in a process or system, particularly where estimating data has to reconcile with financial or job cost data.
• Comfort operating with ambiguity and building structure where little exists today.
• High school diploma or GED.

Preferred

• Experience in heavy civil, highway, or public agency construction work.
• Prior experience leading, mentoring, or training estimators.
• Familiarity with public agency and state department of transportation bid boards, and the requirements of federally or state funded projects.
• A collaborative mindset and real curiosity about how the business makes money.

If you are ready to build something and take your career to the next level, we would love to hear from you.