Project Estimator, Manager

Solomon Group; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

Flexible PTO

401K with employer match

Supplemental Benefits

Job summary

Solomon Group is seeking an experienced experiential project estimator to lead estimating, budgeting, and pricing for live events, brand activations, and custom installations. The role transitions a hands-on producer toward an office-based position, collaborating with creative, business development, production, and finance to define scopes and commercial pricing.

You will develop detailed budgets covering all production elements, document assumptions, and lead handoffs to production teams while

Qualifications

• Approximately 10+ years of progressive experience producing live events, brand activations, experiential programs, or comparable complex productions.
• Significant responsibility for project budgets, vendor negotiations, production schedules, and on-site execution.
• Strong working knowledge of technical production, scenic fabrication, labor, logistics, and venue requirements.
• Experience pricing and estimating convention services such as union labor, drayage, power, internet and AV needs.
• Ability to estimate from incomplete information while clearly communicating assumptions and uncertainty.
• Demonstrated understanding of production costs, markups, gross margins, contingencies, and change order management.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel or comparable budgeting and estimating tools.
• Ability to interpret creative briefs, renderings, floor plans, technical drawings, and vendor proposals.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple estimates with competing deadlines.
• Clear communication skills and sound judgment when working with creative teams, producers, vendors, clients, and agency leadership.

Responsibilities

• Own the development of estimates for live events, brand activations, experiential installations, and other agency projects.
• Translate creative concepts, renderings, preliminary plans, and client briefs into detailed production budgets.
• Build estimates covering scenic fabrication, audio, video, lighting, rigging, staging, power, labor, transportation, material handling, travel, venue services, permitting, and other project requirements.
• Account for costs incurred during all phases of a project, from pre-production, project management, installation, rehearsals, show operations, dismantle, to closeout.
• Develop preliminary budget ranges when information is limited, then refine estimates and work with producers to develop change orders as scope and design evolve.
• Clearly document assumptions, exclusions, allowances, contingencies, and items requiring further definition.
• Evaluate whether proposed concepts can be delivered within available budget, build timeline and on-site schedule, and site conditions.
• Use field experience to identify execution risks, overlooked requirements, and potential cost exposure.
• Collaborate with creative and technical teams to develop practical production approaches.
• Recommend alternatives that preserve guest experience while improving cost efficiency.
• Evaluate labor plans, installation schedules, equipment requirements, logistics, and the appropriate use of internal resources versus outside vendors.
• Lead budget handoffs to the assigned production team, communicating scope commitments, vendor assumptions, allowances, and risks.
• Support pricing for scope changes and additional work, including developing change orders.
• Review completed projects with production and finance to compare estimated costs with actual results.
• Use findings to improve future estimates, labor assumptions, vendor benchmarks, and contingency planning.
• Build and maintain estimating templates, historical cost references, and consistent cost categories across project types

Skills

Budgeting

Estimating

Vendor negotiations

Communication

Excel

Tools

Excel

2D drafting

3D drafting

Budgeting software

Job description

SOLOMON GROUP

Join Solomon Group's team creating high profile one-of-a-kind events and experiences. Whether planning and executing exceptional high end luxury hospitality experiences, custom brand activations or large-scale fan events, the team provides innovative productions, best-in-class consumer engagement, and world class fan experiences. The Solomon Group Experiential team is responsible for all aspects of luxury hospitality experiences and live events, including concepting and ideation, design, vendor selection, budgeting, production and operations, activation and on-site execution. The group also works closely with clients, sponsors and activation agencies to ensure seamless partner integration into the events. In the past year, the team has produced events, fan experiences, activations and luxury hospitality experiences at NCAA Men's and Women's Final Four, the Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup, NFL Draft, College Football Playoff National Championship, NHL Winter Classic, MLB All Star, and Essence Festival.

OVERVIEW OF THE POSITION:

We are seeking an experienced experiential project estimator to work with event producers and project managers to lead estimating, budget development, and production pricing for live events, brand activations, experiential environments, and custom installations.

This role is designed for someone with approximately 10 or more years of hands‑on producing experience who is ready to transition from frequent travel and on‑site execution into a primarily office‑based position. You will apply your understanding of how events are built, staffed, and delivered to develop realistic budgets, strengthen proposals, and set production teams up for successful execution.

Working closely with creative, business development, production, and finance, you will translate ideas into clearly defined scopes and commercially sound pricing. Your field experience will help identify missing costs, anticipate execution challenges, and make informed decisions before committing to a client budget.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Estimating & Budget Development

• Own the development of estimates for live events, brand activations, experiential installations, and other agency projects.
• Translate creative concepts, renderings, preliminary plans, and client briefs into detailed production budgets.
• Build estimates covering scenic fabrication, audio, video, lighting, rigging, staging, power, labor, transportation, material handling, travel, venue services, permitting, and other project requirements.
• Account for costs incurred during all phases of a project, from pre-production, project management, installation, rehearsals, show operations, dismantle, to closeout.
• Develop preliminary budget ranges when information is limited, then refine estimates and work with producers to develop change orders as scope and design evolve.
• Clearly document assumptions, exclusions, allowances, contingencies, and items requiring further definition.

Production Planning & Feasibility

• Evaluate whether proposed concepts can be delivered within the available budget, build timeline and on-site schedule, and site conditions.
• Use field experience to identify execution risks, overlooked requirements, and potential cost exposure.
• Collaborate with creative and technical teams to develop practical production approaches.
• Recommend alternatives that preserve the intended guest experience while improving cost efficiency.
• Evaluate labor plans, installation schedules, equipment requirements, logistics, and the appropriate use of internal resources versus outside vendors.

Vendor Sourcing & Quote Review

• Work with the production and procurement teams to develop clear scopes for vendor pricing and solicit competitive quotes.
• Work with the production and procurement teams to review quotes for completeness, accuracy, exclusions, and alignment with project requirements.
• Work with the production and procurement teams to reconcile overlapping scopes and identify gaps between vendors.
• Maintain relationships with production suppliers, fabricators, labor providers, and specialty partners.
• Work with the production and procurement teams to negotiate pricing and scope details from vendors.
• Evaluate project needs for lead time concerns, expedited costs, and schedule impacts.

Pricing Strategy & Proposal Support

• Partner with leadership and finance to establish client pricing that reflects project costs, risk, and target margins.
• Distinguish estimated delivery costs from client selling prices and apply approved pricing practices consistently.
• Support proposals with clear scope descriptions, pricing options, alternates, and supporting budget detail.
• Participate in internal bid reviews and client budget discussions, as needed.
• Flag opportunities where budget expectations, production requirements, and profitability are not aligned.

Production Handoff & Cost Learning

• Lead budget handoffs to the assigned production team, communicating scope commitments, vendor assumptions, allowances, and risks.
• Support pricing for scope changes and additional work, including developing change orders.
• Review completed projects with production and finance to compare estimated costs with actual results.
• Use findings to improve future estimates, labor assumptions, vendor benchmarks, and contingency planning.
• Build and maintain estimating templates, historical cost references, and consistent cost categories across project types

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• Approximately 10 or more years of progressive experience producing live events, brand activations, experiential programs, or comparable complex productions.
• Significant responsibility for project budgets, vendor negotiations, production schedules, and on‑site execution.
• Strong working knowledge of technical production, scenic fabrication, labor, logistics, and venue requirements.
• Experience pricing and estimating convention services such as union labor, drayage, power, internet and AV needs.
• Ability to estimate from incomplete information while clearly communicating assumptions and uncertainty.
• Demonstrated understanding of production costs, markups, gross margins, contingencies, and change order management.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel or comparable budgeting and estimating tools.
• Ability to interpret creative briefs, renderings, floor plans, technical drawings, and vendor proposals.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple estimates with competing deadlines.
• Clear communication skills and sound judgment when working with creative teams, producers, vendors, clients, and agency leadership.
• Experience with 2D and/or 3D drafting and design software is a plus.

BENEFITS:

• Health Insurance with Employer Contribution
• Dental, Health, Vision
• Employer-Provided Life Insurance
• Flexible Paid Time Off
• 401K with employer match
• Supplemental Benefits

ABOUT SOLOMON GROUP

www.solomongroup.com

Solomon Group uses its unique art to bring stories to life through Live Events, Exhibits, and Environments for a wide variety of national and international clients. For Live Events, we blend creative, design, and production that delivers effective, award-winning events. For Exhibits and Environments, we use our art of integrating exhibit fabrication with AV technology, offering a single-source solution that delivers unparalleled craftsmanship with efficiency.

OUR CULTURE:

Solomon Group prides itself on our values and dedicates ourselves to living them daily. For more information on what we’re made of, see our culture page: www.solomongroup.com/culture.

www.solomongroup.com

Solomon Group is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for candidates and employees regardless of their membership in protected classes. Solomon Group does not discriminate based on race, color, age, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, and pregnancy), religion, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, and/or any other legally protected class under applicable federal, state, or local laws. This anti-discrimination policy applies concerning all employment decisions, including but not limited to hiring, promotion, discipline, and discharge. Solomon Group is committed to equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in compliance with the Americans Disabilities Act and state law. If you feel you need accommodation for a disability, please inform us. Accommodation requests will be evaluated on a case‑by‑case basis. If you request an accommodation, you must participate fully in the interactive process.