Senior Estimator

Pinnacle Recruitment; Bakersfield (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee ownership

Health, dental, and vision benefits

401(k) with company match

Job summary

Pinnacle Recruitment Services is partnering with an established, employee-owned construction firm in Bakersfield to hire a highly experienced Sales/Lead Estimator. This leadership role combines estimating, business development, client relationships, and team management to strengthen the project backlog in multi-family, institutional, commercial, and industrial markets up to $50M.

You will identify opportunities, develop competitive bid strategies, lead complex estimates, and turnover awarded

Qualifications

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Responsibilities

• Proactively identify and pursue new project opportunities to grow backlog.
• Build relationships with clients, developers, architects, engineers, subcontractors, and industry partners.
• Lead client meetings, bid strategy, and bid/no-bid decisions.
• Manage and mentor a small estimating team, assign workloads, and ensure timely, accurate estimates.
• Lead conceptual, design-build, design-development, and hard-bid estimates.
• Oversee takeoffs, subcontractor solicitations, material pricing, scope review, and final bid prep.

Skills

Leadership

Business development

Client relationships

Negotiation

Bid strategy

Education

Bachelor's degree in Construction Management or Civil Engineering

Tools

Bluebeam

Sage Estimating

PlanSwift

Autodesk Takeoff

ProEst

RSMeans

Job description

The Opportunity

Pinnacle Recruitment Services is partnering with an established, employee-owned construction firm in Bakersfield to identify an experienced Sales/Lead Estimator to lead estimating efforts, develop new business opportunities, and strengthen the company's project backlog. This is a key leadership role combining estimating, business development, client relationships, and team management. The Sales/Lead Estimator will work closely with executive leadership to identify opportunities, develop competitive bid strategies, lead complex estimates, and help secure profitable work. The company serves multi-family, institutional, commercial, and industrial markets, including multi-family developments of 60–700 units and commercial and institutional projects up to $50M.

Key Responsibilities

• Proactively identify and pursue new project opportunities to grow and maintain a strong backlog.
• Build relationships with clients, developers, architects, engineers, subcontractors, and industry partners.
• Lead client meetings, negotiations, bid strategy, and bid/no-bid decisions.
• Manage and mentor a small estimating team, assigning workloads and ensuring timely, accurate estimates.
• Lead conceptual, design-build, design-development, and hard-bid estimates.
• Oversee takeoffs, subcontractor solicitation, material pricing, scope review, and final bid preparation.
• Develop value-engineering, constructability, and cost-saving strategies.
• Evaluate project risk, profitability, schedules, contract requirements, and pricing strategy.
• Coordinate with project management, field operations, safety, finance, scheduling, and risk management.
• Maintain estimating databases, historical costs, unit rates, and industry benchmarks.
• Manage subcontractor and vendor relationships, including prequalification and proposal evaluation.
• Ensure complete turnover of awarded projects from estimating to project management.
• Track bid activity, win rates, estimating accuracy, profitability, and backlog contribution.
• Participate in industry events and networking activities to develop relationships and generate opportunities.

What We're Looking For

• 10+ years of construction estimating experience with significant multi-family, institutional, commercial, or comparable projects.
• Experience with multi-family projects of 60–700 units and/or commercial and institutional projects up to $50M.
• Proven experience leading or mentoring an estimating team.
• Strong understanding of construction costs, subcontractor procurement, value engineering, and project risk.
• Experience with conceptual estimating, design-build proposals, and hard bids.
• Strong client-facing, business development, presentation, and negotiation skills.
• Ability to read and interpret plans, specifications, schedules, and contract documents.
• Proficiency with estimating/takeoff software such as Bluebeam, Sage Estimating, PlanSwift, Autodesk Takeoff, ProEst, RSMeans, or similar.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills and willingness to embrace AI-assisted estimating and takeoff tools.
• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, or a related field preferred.
• Strong analytical, financial, organizational, and leadership skills.

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive base compensation, based on experience
• Employee ownership opportunity
• Health, dental, and vision benefits
• 401(k) with company match
• Professional development and advancement opportunities
• Stable, collaborative work environment with a diversified project portfolio

If you're an experienced construction estimator who enjoys winning work, developing client relationships, and leading a high-performing estimating team, we'd like to hear from you.