Senior Heavy Civil Estimator

Talent Edge Recruiting; Baton Rouge (LA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Talent Edge Recruiting has partnered with a rapidly growing heavy civil contractor in Baton Rouge to hire an experienced Senior Heavy Civil Estimator. The role focuses on earthwork, site development, and underground/utility packages for public and private projects across the U.S., including large-scale work toward $100M portfolios.

The position offers a base salary of $110,000–$140,000 with relocation assistance, and requires ownership of estimates from plan review through final proposal in a

Qualifications

• 5–10+ years of heavy civil estimating experience.
• Strong experience estimating earthwork, dirt, grading, excavation, and site development.
• Experience estimating project scopes in the $3M–$5M+ range.

Responsibilities

• Review plans, specs, drawings, and site conditions to develop complete estimates.
• Perform detailed quantity takeoffs for earthwork, grading, excavation, and site prep.
• Build labor, material, equipment, subcontractor, and production costs.
• Develop turnkey estimates and competitive bid proposals.
• Solicit and evaluate subcontractor and vendor pricing.
• Identify risks, constructability concerns, and cost-saving opportunities.
• Develop preliminary schedules and execution plans.
• Participate in bid reviews and strategy discussions.
• Support public and private bids, including bonding and DBE requirements.
• Manage multiple estimates and deadlines.

Skills

Heavy civil estimating

Earthwork estimation

Bid/proposal development

Quantity takeoffs

Team collaboration

Tools

HCSS HeavyBid

Job description

$110,000–$140,000+ base

Relocation assistance available

We are partnering with a rapidly growing heavy civil contractor seeking an experienced Senior Heavy Civil Estimator to join its estimating team in Baton Rouge.

This is a strong opportunity for an estimator who knows dirt, earthwork, grading, excavation, clearing, site development, and heavy civil construction and wants to join a company with a significant project pipeline and continued long-term growth.

The company performs complex civil construction and site preparation work throughout the U.S., supporting public infrastructure, utilities, energy providers, and private-sector clients. Projects range from smaller fast-turn civil packages to large, complex projects approaching $100M.

What You’ll Be Estimating

The work is heavily focused on:

• Earthwork and mass excavation
• Site development and site preparation
• Clearing and grubbing
• Grading and aggregates
• Temporary and permanent roadways
• Underground/civil utility scopes
• Concrete and civil site packages
• Greenfield electrical substation site work
• Public and private heavy civil projects

Typical projects average approximately $500K–$5M, although the overall project portfolio can range from approximately $25K to $100M.

What You’ll Do

You'll take ownership of estimates from initial plan review through final proposal while working closely with project management, operations, engineers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients.

Responsibilities will include:

• Review plans, specifications, drawings, and site conditions to develop complete estimates
• Perform detailed quantity takeoffs for earthwork, grading, excavation, aggregates, site preparation, and related civil scopes
• Build labor, material, equipment, subcontractor, and production costs
• Develop turnkey estimates and competitive bid proposals
• Solicit and evaluate subcontractor and vendor pricing
• Identify project risks, constructability concerns, and cost-saving opportunities
• Develop preliminary schedules and execution plans
• Participate in bid reviews and project strategy discussions
• Support both public and private bids, including projects involving bonding, prevailing wage, and DBE requirements
• Manage multiple active estimates and deadlines simultaneously
• Provide estimating and cost insight during project planning and handoff

This is a high-volume estimating environment, so the right person will be comfortable prioritizing multiple opportunities and moving efficiently without sacrificing accuracy.

What We’re Looking For

• Approximately 5–10+ years of heavy civil estimating experience
• Strong hands-on experience estimating earthwork, dirt, grading, excavation, and site development
• Experience estimating meaningful heavy civil project scopes, ideally in the $3M–$5M+ range
• Strong understanding of civil construction means, methods, production rates, labor, materials, and equipment
• Ability to read and interpret civil plans, drawings, specifications, and bid documents
• Experience developing estimates from takeoff through final proposal
• Comfortable working in a fast‑paced estimating environment with multiple concurrent bids
• Strong analytical, organizational, communication, and problem‑solving skills

Software

Experience with HCSS HeavyBid is strongly preferred. Similar heavy civil estimating platforms will also be considered.