Lead Estimator — Self-Perform Division

Harlan Construction; Hopewell (VA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k)

Paid time off

Vehicle/mileage allowance

Job summary

Harlan Construction in Hopewell, VA seeks a Lead Estimator to own estimating for the Self-Perform Division. You will drive the process, coordinate input from leadership, and manage estimations across self-perform trades from scope to final bid.

Expect periodic site walks, relationship-building with customers, and collaboration with our Head of Project Execution. Growth toward full ownership is available with safety-focused, industrial experience.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of construction estimating experience, ideally with a self-perform contractor in industrial or commercial work.
• Ability to price by crew makeup, durations, and production rates with materials, equipment, and subs broken out.
• Ability to read civil, structural, and architectural drawings and write a clean, defensible scope.

Responsibilities

• Build complete self-perform estimates with quantity takeoffs, crew-and-duration pricing, materials, equipment, and subcontractor pricing.
• Estimate concrete, site work, earthwork, and pre-engineered metal buildings, and oversee steel proposals.
• Write scope documents, bid RFIs, and letters; manage bid calendar and assignment flow.
• Oversee the estimating pipeline with Head of Project Execution; monitor bid/no-bid decisions and deadlines.
• Bring estimates to mid-estimate and final review on time; keep pursuit records current.
• Delegate work to other estimators as needed and support pre-bid walks and site investigations.
• Build relationships with customers and learn their plants; provide input to operations after award.

Skills

Construction estimating

Read drawings

Education

Construction management/engineering degree

Tools

Bluebeam

Excel

Job description

About Harlan Construction

Harlan Construction is a family-owned Virginia contractor that has been building since 1962.

Our Self-Perform Division puts roughly 80 skilled tradespeople to work at industrial facilities and military installations across Virginia and Northern North Carolina — concrete, site work and earthwork, structural and miscellaneous steel, underground utilities, plant renovations, and small multi-trade scopes, much of it inside operating chemical, energy, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and pulp and paper plants.

We fabricate miscellaneous steel in our own 5,000 SF shop in Hopewell, and we supply and erect pre-engineered metal buildings as a Nucor metal building distributor.

Safety is a point of pride: our EMR is 0.70 and has never exceeded 1.0.

The Opportunity

We are hiring a full-time Lead Estimator to run day-to-day estimating for our Self-Perform Division.

You would own estimating for the division — the estimates themselves and the process behind them, with input from leadership.

You will produce estimates across our self-perform trades, oversee the steel proposals our steel estimator prepares, delegate work to other estimators as volume requires, and manage the flow of every pursuit through our system alongside our Head of Project Execution.

You will also be out of the office regularly — walking jobs, learning our customers’ plants and how those environments change, and building relationships with the people who run them.

Experienced estimating support is here to back you up, and the path is toward full ownership of estimating and its management.

We price work the way we build it.

Estimates are built by breaking the scope into work steps, pricing each step as a crew for a number of days, and breaking out materials, equipment — both owned and rented — as well as subcontracted scopes.

You should be comfortable thinking in crews, durations, and production rates. Unit prices are to be used as back checks.

What You Will Do

• Build complete self-perform estimates: quantity takeoffs, work-step breakdowns, crew-and-duration labor pricing, and broken-out material, equipment (owned and rented), and subcontractor pricing.
• Estimate concrete, site work and earthwork, pre-engineered metal building supply-and-erect packages, and renovation and miscellaneous plant work — and oversee the structural and miscellaneous steel proposals prepared by our steel estimator.
• Write clear scope documents: inclusions/exclusions and clarification letters, bid RFIs and question logs, and proposal packages.
• Manage the estimating pipeline with our Head of Project Execution: bid invitations and bid/no-bid decisions, the bid calendar and deadlines, estimate assignments, and the status of every pursuit.
• Bring estimates to mid-estimate and final review on time, and keep every pursuit’s record current.
• Delegate proposal work to other estimators as needed.
• Attend pre-bid job walks and site investigations — a fair number to start, and always to some degree.
• Stay tuned in to our customers’ facilities — plant conditions, access and safety requirements, and changes that affect how we price and perform work — and build real relationships with our customers.
• Hand awarded estimates off cleanly to operations, then feed actual crew production back into our estimating history.

What You Bring

• 5+ years of construction estimating experience, ideally with a self-perform contractor in industrial or commercial work.
• Experience building crew-based, production-based estimates — pricing by crew makeup, durations, and production rates, with materials, equipment, and subs broken out.
• Working knowledge of concrete, site work, and structural and miscellaneous steel construction; pre-engineered metal building experience is a plus.
• Ability to read and interpret civil, structural, and architectural drawings and specifications, and to write a clean, defensible scope.
• Proficiency with takeoff tools such as Bluebeam and strong Excel skills; comfortable working in a structured pipeline or tracking system.
• Comfort working in and around operating industrial plants, with a strong safety orientation (OSHA 10/30 a plus).
• Organization and follow-through — you can run multiple pursuits at once and hit bid deadlines.
• Valid driver’s license and willingness to attend job walks and customer visits.
• Degree in construction management, engineering, or a related field — or equivalent field and estimating experience.

Location and Schedule

This role is based in our Hopewell, Virginia office and is primarily an in-office position — being present with our team, and close to the plants and customers we serve, is part of the job.

Some remote work is acceptable.

Compensation and Benefits

$90,000 – $120,000 annually, depending on experience.

Benefits include:

• Health insurance
• 401(k)
• Paid time off
• Vehicle/mileage allowance

Harlan Construction is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.