Lead Plumbing Estimator / Preconstruction Manager

MHP (Mark Harris Plumbing Co., Inc.); San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company vehicle and gas card

100% company-paid medical

3% IRA employer match

PTO

Job summary

MHP (Mark Harris Plumbing Co., Inc.) is seeking a Lead Estimator / Preconstruction Manager to own the estimating function for our plumbing projects. You will drive takeoffs, build numbers, and present them to GCs and clients, with autonomy and collaboration from skilled reviewers.

We value someone who can both execute accurate bids and grow business by engaging new clients across Southern California, including multifamily, hospitality, and commercial work.

Qualifications

• 5+ years estimating plumbing for multifamily, hospitality, and commercial projects.
• Detail-oriented with ability to catch exclusions and fine print.
• Strong ability to win work through competitive bidding and client relationships.

Responsibilities

• Own the estimating and preconstruction function for the company.
• Lead takeoffs and determine numbers; present clear, well-supported estimates.
• Drive bid pipeline growth by engaging GCs and clients beyond invited bids.
• Coordinate with a takeoff estimator and review bids before submission.

Skills

Estimating plumbing

Bid strategy

Relationship management

Job description

Lead Estimator / Preconstruction Manager

You'd own this function for our whole company.

Not one estimator on a team of them. Every number that goes in front of a GC or client comes through you, and the growth of our bid pipeline is yours to drive. You'll have a takeoff estimator reporting to you, and you'll have real autonomy in how you build a number and how you present it.

What you won't have is isolation. This is a collaborative shop. People with serious expertise are available to review your bids, weigh in on approach, answer questions, and give you someone to think out loud with. Our newest project manager says the most surprising thing about working here is how supported he feels. That's not an accident and it wouldn't be any different in this seat.

We need someone who can do two things well. Execute: invitations to bid come to us because GCs and clients know our work, and turning those into accurate, on-time, well-supported estimates is the core of the job. Grow: we can't win more work than we're invited to bid, so getting in front of the GCs and clients who don't call us yet is how the ceiling moves. Most estimators do the first. We're looking for someone who wants both.

Who We Are

We're a plumbing contractor building multifamily, ground-up and renovation, up to 250 units, plus hospitality and general commercial work. Most of it is in San Diego County, and we build throughout Southern California.

A significant share of our multifamily work is affordable housing. Every one of those buildings is somebody's home, often somebody who waited a long time for it. It's work worth doing, and it keeps our pipeline strong when the market-rate economy slows.

We're in this for the people: our team, our clients, our vendors, and the families who end up living in what we build. That's not a slogan. It's the reason the work is worth doing.

It shows up in how we operate. We advocate for what's best for the overall project, not just for MHP, because when the job succeeds everyone on it does. That means being straight about what works and what doesn't, and staying genuinely open to new and better ways to build. The clients who value that keep calling us back.

What Makes This Role Different

• Your read on a job carries real weight. You determine how we approach a bid and where our number lands. You'll have support around you and a final review before it goes out the door, but the thinking is yours.
• Value engineering is our edge, and you're the one delivering it. When you know systems well enough to show a client a smarter way to plumb a building, you're often the reason the project pencils at all.
• Responsiveness is a competitive advantage. GCs are juggling a dozen subs against a deadline. Being the one who answers fast and asks good questions wins work that better numbers don't.
• Pipeline growth is part of the job, not a bonus. Deepening the relationships we have, and building new ones with commercial builders we're not working with yet and with GCs and clients throughout Southern California outside San Diego. Both are core to our growth plan.
• You'll know your hit rate. You follow bids through, find out why we won or lost, and adjust.

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years estimating plumbing. Multifamily, hospitality, and commercial all valuable
• Detail-oriented in a way that's hard to fake. You catch the exclusion buried on page 14
• Competitive. You know what you win, and it bothers you when a good one gets away
• Genuinely likes people. This job is relationships end to end, and the ones that last aren't transactional
• Field plumbing experience, so you price it the way we'll actually install it
• An ownership mindset. You run your function like it's your own company and want to be a key player in building something that lasts
• Southern California relationships, especially outside San Diego County

Our Values

OWN IT

We take full responsibility for our outcomes, the good and the bad. We do what we say we'll do, and we do it well.

FIND A WAY

We take initiative and figure things out. We don't wait, blame, or pass the buck; we solve and move things forward.

EVOLVE TOGETHER

We continually improve ourselves, our processes, and how we work together. We stay humble, open to feedback, and committed to growth.

CARE ENOUGH TO SAY

We recognize and appreciate when someone does great work. We speak up respectfully when things don't align with our values, our commitments, or what we're collectively trying to achieve.

MAKE IT EASIER

We find smarter ways to work so everyone's job gets easier. We take the extra step, leaving things cleaner, clearer, and ready for what comes next.

What You Get

• Competitive base salary plus a quarterly bonus tied to performance
• Company vehicle and gas card
• 100% company-paid medical, 3% IRA employer match, PTO
• A backlog that means you're building on momentum, not starting cold
• Ownership of a function, not a piece of one, with a path into executive leadership