Project Estimator

Flow Control Group; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Comprehensive benefits

Career advancement opportunities

Job summary

Flow Control Group is seeking an experienced Estimator to join our team. The role focuses on translating complex customer requirements into accurate technical proposals and competitive bids. You will work with brand leadership, engineering, and external vendors to size equipment and develop robust cost estimates.

You will guide RFQ evaluations from receipt to final proposal, ensuring clear communication and margin protection across the bidding process in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant technical field or equivalent experience.
• Strong knowledge of flow control technologies and applications.
• Ability to read bids, drawings, P&IDs, and industry standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead front-end bidding and cost estimation across brands.
• Collaborate with sales, engineering, and vendors to prepare proposals.
• Ensure margin protection and risk-aware pricing in bids.
• Coordinate hand-off to project management after award.

Skills

Estimating experience

Inside sales

Cross-functional collaboration

Flow control knowledge

Analytical mindset

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

Sizing software

Job description

Flow Control Group (FCG) is a leading solutions provider focused on technically oriented products and services for the flow control, fluid handling, and process and industrial automation sectors with 170 locations throughout North America. FCG’s distribution and technical expertise serve an essential function in the movement of mission‑critical components to a diverse array of end markets by utilizing a unique model with over 100 distribution (brand) companies, 3,000+ suppliers and 75,000 customers, and with over 3000 employees across North America and Puerto Rico.

FCG has completed more than 85 acquisitions since 2015 and today represents one of the largest and fastest-growing organizations in the industrial distribution and service provider space. FCG provides a unique atmosphere facilitating high-level collaborations by connecting like‑minded professionals through our technology and operating group networks.

Lastly, FCG’s equity partner, KKR, a leading global investment firm, is focused on employee engagement as a key driver in building stronger businesses. The cornerstone of their business model has been to allow all employees to take part in the benefits of ownership by granting them the opportunity to participate in the equity return alongside KKR. Beyond sharing ownership, KKR also supports employee engagement by investing in training across multiple functional areas and by partnering with the workforce to give back to the community.

Position Overview

Flow Control Group is seeking a highly analytical and collaborative Estimator to join our team. This vital role requires a dynamic professional who possesses a comprehensive technical understanding of all brands and technology groups owned by Flow Control Group, with a sharp focus on translating complex customer requirements into highly accurate and competitive technical proposals.

As an Estimator, you will serve as the primary engine for our front-end bidding process across the FCG ecosystem. You will work closely with brand leadership, engineering teams, and external vendors to evaluate inquiries, size and select equipment, and build robust commercial bids. On a daily basis, you will collaborate with Project Managers, Inside Sales Representatives, and Strategic Account Managers to take complex technical RFQs from initial receipt through precise costing, margin analysis, and final proposal delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Cross-Brand Solutions: Maintain an in-depth, comprehensive knowledge of all FCG brands, products, and technology groups to identify cross-brand integration opportunities and package holistic flow control solutions in bids.
• Vendor & Brand Relations: Collaborate with internal brand manufacturing units and external partners to obtain competitive pricing and accurate lead times.
• Front-End Alignment: Partner daily with Inside Sales Representatives, Project Managers, and Strategic Account Managers to evaluate Request for Quote (RFQ) packages, review engineering specifications, and align on bidding strategies for high-value accounts.
• Hand-off Coordination: Lead seamless transition meetings to hand off successfully won bids to the Project Management team, ensuring all cost assumptions, scopes of work, and technical details are clearly communicated.
• Data Sheet & P&ID Analysis: Review customer technical drawings, datasheets, P&IDs, and complex engineering specifications to ensure compliance with industry standards and customer requirements.
• Equipment Selection: Sizing and selecting appropriate flow control technologies (valves, actuators, pumps, instrumentation) to meet specific application parameters.
• Cost Assembly: Develop highly detailed, structured cost estimates encompassing equipment, engineering, labor, testing, packaging, and freight.
• Technical Proposals: Draft comprehensive commercial and technical proposals that clearly outline the scope of supply, technical clarifications, deviations, and commercial terms.
• Margin Protection: Apply strategic pricing methodologies to protect and optimize gross margins while ensuring bid competitiveness in the market.
• Risk Mitigation: Identify potential technical or commercial risks within RFQs (such as penalizing clauses or non-standard testing requirements) and incorporate appropriate contingency costs or legal deviations into the proposal.

Qualifications & Skills

• Experience: 5+ years of experience in technical estimating, application engineering, or inside sales within the industrial flow control, fluid handling, valve automation, or instrumentation industry is strictly required.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field (or equivalent specialized industry experience).
• Technical Expertise: Strong working knowledge of various flow control technologies, equipment, and industry applications. Familiarity with sizing software and the specific product lines served by Flow Control Group brands is highly preferred.
• Scope & Standards: Ability to read and interpret complex engineering bid packages, drawings, P&IDs, and international industry standards (API, ASME, ANSI, ISA).
• Collaboration & Communication: Outstanding communication skills, with a proven ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, external vendors, and clients under tight bidding deadlines.
• Analytical & Detail-Oriented: Highly organized with an exceptional eye for detail, ensuring zero-error calculations in cost sheets, pricing models, and technical compliance matrices.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package (Medical, Dental, Vision, 401k, etc.).
• Opportunities for career advancement within a rapidly growing, industry-leading organization.
• A collaborative and innovative work environment with exposure to a wide variety of engineering technologies and market sectors.

Flow Control Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Embody the FCG Core Values

Entrepreneurship - We are driven by an entrepreneurial spirit and an ownership mindset, inspiring us to take responsibility for outcomes and being empowered to make the decisions that will lead to those outcomes.We believe in the power of people with amazing ideas, tireless energy, unstoppable drive, unrelenting grit and a desire to improve our world.

Integrity - We have the confidence to take on the hardest problems, yet we are rooted in a genuine sense of humility. We endeavor to earn trust every day by being honest in our dealings and acting with integrity regardless of how hard the challenge. We speak with candor and always strive to be better tomorrow.

Respect - We nurture and celebrate a culture that embraces diverse points of views, backgrounds and experiences. We know that a workplace which cultivates a sense of inclusion and respect will develop the most talented and capable employees.

Partnership - We aspire to be connected for life with our customers and suppliers, and we embrace the responsibility that comes with that. We know they lean on us for essential, vital and mission-critical solutions. We pride ourselves on continuous value-creation for our partners.

Success - While we are many companies, we are one team. We work together to drive results and achieve greatness. We encourage calculated risk-taking and the courage to overcome challenges that others shy away from.

Innovation - We create opportunities and solve problems withinnovative engineered solutions and services. We believe in continuously learning and exploring the unknown to find solutions. We encourage thinking that challenges constraints and promotes resourcefulness.