Pre-Construction Manager /Lead Estimator

MEA Energy; Phoenix, Northern (AZ, KY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Compri seeks a Preconstruction Manager / Lead Estimator to own pricing integrity and scope clarity for residential, commercial, and public projects across Arizona. This onsite role interfaces with BD, manages bid packages, and mentors estimating staff.

Key duties include developing conceptual budgets, performing takeoffs, and presenting pricing options confidently, while ensuring up-to-date data and rigorous controls across all project types.

Qualifications

• Responsibilities require strong estimating and bid-management skills.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Business Development to develop owner/developer relationships through conceptual estimates, pre-job walks, and early pursuit positioning.
• Lead estimator for residential, commercial, and public projects statewide.
• Lead client-facing budget, value-engineering, and design-development discussions; present pricing and options with confidence.
• Perform accurate quantity takeoffs across tenant improvement, ground-up, residential, commercial.
• Interpret incomplete drawings, field notes, and job-walk observations into defensible scope assumptions.
• Maintain rigorous drawing, specification, and addenda control; ensure pricing isn’t based on outdated information.
• Issue bid invitations and scope packages (Procore / Sage 100).
• Develop and own bid leveling sheets; identify gaps, overlaps, exclusions, and inconsistencies.
• Author proposals including scope narrative, inclusions/exclusions, and pricing presentation.
• Build and maintain the cost-history database (actual costs, unit rates, project conditions, variance drivers).
• Refine estimating tools, templates, leveling sheets, scope sheets, and checklists.
• Identify recurring estimating gaps and implement process improvements.
• Develop conceptual budgets from job walks, limited drawings, and verbal scope descriptions.
• Determine early-stage pricing strategy and escalate only true strategic decisions to ownership.

Job description

Compri is looking for a Preconstruction Manager / Lead Estimator for our client in Phoenix. This is a direct-hire, onsite role.

This role owns:

• Pricing accuracy and overall estimate integrity
• Scope definition, coverage, and bid-leveling quality
• Early-stage scope clarity, risk visibility, and the estimating system
• The estimating standard and mentoring of estimating staff

Key Responsibilities:

• Partner with Business Development to develop and sustain owner/developer relationships through conceptual estimates, pre-job walks, and early pursuit positioning.
• Serve as the company’s lead estimator for residential, commercial, and public projects statewide.
• Lead client-facing budget, value-engineering, and design-development discussions; present pricing and options with confidence.
• Perform accurate quantity takeoffs across all project types (tenant improvement, ground-up, residential, commercial).
• Interpret incomplete drawings, field notes, and job-walk observations into defensible scope assumptions.
• Maintain rigorous drawing, specification, and addenda control; ensure pricing is never based on outdated information.
• Issue bid invitations and scope packages (Procore / Sage 100).
• Develop and own bid leveling sheets; identify gaps, overlaps, exclusions, and inconsistencies.
• Author proposals including scope narrative, inclusions/exclusions, and pricing presentation.
• Build and maintain the cost-history database (actual costs, unit rates, project conditions, variance drivers).
• Refine estimating tools, templates, leveling sheets, scope sheets, and checklists.
• Identify recurring estimating gaps and implement process improvements.
• Develop conceptual budgets from job walks, limited drawings, and verbal scope descriptions.
• Determine early-stage pricing strategy and escalate only true strategic decisions to ownership.