Estimator - Heavy Civil Sitework & Utilities

Sunset Valley Construction, LLC; Ellington (CT); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Plane tickets (2 pre-paid, USA)

Mentorship and training

Equipment access for personal use

Job summary

Sunset Valley Construction, LLC is seeking the first full-time Estimator to join our Ellington, CT team. You will work closely with the owner on bidding, costing, and developing estimates that feed field and project management teams.

This role focuses on front-end work, from bid pursuit to detailed takeoffs, with a path over ~2 years to a Senior/Chief Estimator role as the company scales.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of heavy civil estimating experience in site work, excavation, earthwork, utilities, and/or paving.
• Experience with takeoffs, plans, drawings, specifications, and contracts.
• Ability to manage bid dates and ensure accurate cost estimates.

Responsibilities

• Identify bid opportunities and procure projects to bid on (schools, apartments, roads, infrastructure).
• Create estimates aligned with field and PM requirements for clean handoffs.
• Coordinate excavation, utilities, grading, paving, subcontractor scopes, alternates and value engineering in a master estimate.

Skills

Estimating

Bid coordination

Takeoffs

Tools

Construct-Connect

Cloudrig

Microsoft Office

Job description

Estimate the work, optimize the process, and help build what comes next.

About Sunset Valley Construction

We're a sitework and underground utilities contractor focused on building and maintaining essential infrastructure. We’re projecting to double in size over the next four years, and looking to bring more consistency, tracking, and clean handoffs to estimating as bid volume grows.

How You'll Contribute

As our first full-time Estimator, you’ll work directly with the owner to carry forward the estimating process he’s built and help it keep pace as SVC grows. You'll bring dedicated focus to the front end of our work, from the bids we pursue to the estimates our field and PM teams build from. Over the next two years, the goal is for this seat to grow into a Senior or Chief Estimator role.

What You’ll Get To Do

• Put the right work in front of SVC by seeking out and procuring projects to bid on, including new schools, apartment buildings, roads, subdivisions, infrastructure rebuilds, and warehouses ranging from $100K to $10M.
• Create estimates the field and PM team can trust, hand off cleanly, and build from.
• Bring full civil/site packages into one usable estimate by lining up excavation, utilities, grading, paving coordination, subcontractor scopes, alternates, and value engineering.
• Help owners, clients, and the project team understand the cost and quantity story behind the bid by reviewing project landscapes, completing takeoffs, organizing pricing, labor, equipment, vendor/subcontractor input, and refining calculations with the owner before submission.
• Strengthen vendor and subcontractor relationships by gathering solid input, comparing scopes clearly, and keeping the bid process moving with the right information.
• Keep estimates grounded in real project conditions by occasionally visiting job sites, attending pre-bids, and meeting locally with owners and subcontractors.
• Help us make better bid decisions over time by tracking submitted bids, monitoring outcomes, and organizing win/loss information.
• Help make Cloudrig more useful by shaping how the software and built-in AI features improve consistency, clarity, and efficiency.

Who You Are

• You have 5+ years of heavy civil estimating experiencein site work, excavation, earthwork, utilities, and/orpaving and know your way aroundtakeoffs, plans, drawings, specifications, and contracts.
• You're comfortable estimating moderate to challenging civil/site packages where excavation, utilities, grading, paving, subcontractor scopes, alternates, and value engineering all affect the number.
• You hold bid dates and deadlines with care knowing other people are building their work around the numbers you produce.
• You like the takeoff world: the details, the comparisons, the pricing, the checks, and the clean organization that makes an estimate easier to trust.
• You can work inside an owner-built process while spotting ways to improve tracking, data, and handoffs.
• You bring humility to the work andcan improve a process orlearn from a miss with the owner and team, especially when better tracking, historical data, or a past bid points to a better way.

Even Better, But Not Required

• You have private and public estimating experience.
• You've used Construct-Connect, Cloudrig, Microsoft Office, or other estimating software for bids, takeoffs, estimates, and relationship-building.
• You've held a shovel in your hand and operated heavy equipment

Typical Schedule

40-hour week, year-round, on-site, based in Ellington, CT. This role is mostly office-based, with occasional job site visits, pre-bids, and local meetings with owners and subcontractors.

What's In It For You

Tools

• New estimating software with AI built into it, including Cloudrig, Phantom Foxit, and Insite Elevation Pro.

Perks

• 2 pre-paid Southwest plane tickets anywhere in the USA once a year
• Mentorship and unlimited training (hands-on and digital) including leadership development
• Personal use ofSVC equipment at any time (as long as it doesn't interfere with work schedules)

Benefits

• A family-first company with generous discretionary PTO
• Health, Dental, and Vision insurance after 3 months. 75% paid for all employees and immediate family
• 401K plan with a 3% company match after 3 months

We are an equal opportunity employer and consider applicants for employment based on qualifications and merit, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status.