Senior Preconstruction Manager

Daksta | Connecting Mission Critical Talent; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Daksta | Connecting Mission Critical Talent seeks a Preconstruction Manager to lead strategy across preconstruction, estimating, cost planning, and design management for mission critical data centre projects in the United States.

You will guide teams, develop budgets and cost models, review estimates for accuracy, and support client presentations from early design through handover. The role demands strong leadership and deep knowledge of construction methods and procurement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Architecture, or related field.
• Extensive experience in commercial construction with preconstruction and estimating leadership.
• Proven ability to lead teams and deliver accurate, competitive estimates.
• Strong knowledge of cost planning, scheduling, procurement, and budget management.

Responsibilities

• Lead preconstruction and estimating activities across large-scale mission-critical developments.
• Develop conceptual budgets, cost models, and value engineering solutions from design through handover.
• Provide technical leadership to estimating and project management teams and ensure cost accuracy.
• Support business development through client presentations and preconstruction proposals.
• Collaborate with clients, architects, engineers, and internal teams to optimise design and constructability.
• Mentor junior staff and manage multiple pursuits balancing risk and client expectations.
• Review scopes, subcontractor pricing, and procurement strategies for competitive proposals.
• Prepare cost plans using work breakdown structures and maintain data for benchmarking.

Skills

Preconstruction leadership

Estimating leadership

Cost planning

Value engineering

Client-facing communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Architecture, or related discipline

Tools

DESTINI Estimator

Bluebeam

On-Screen Takeoff (OST)

Excel

Job description

Preconstruction Manager – Mission Critical Construction

An established national General Contractor is seeking an experced Preconstruction Manager to join its growing Mission Critical team. This individual will provide strategic leadership across preconstruction, estimating, cost planning, and design management, supporting the successful delivery of complex data centre and mission critical projects.

Overview

Key Responsibilities

• Lead preconstruction and estimating activities across large-scale commercial and mission critical developments.
• Develop conceptual budgets, cost models, value engineering solutions, procurement strategies, and project schedules from early design through construction handover.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to estimating and project management teams, reviewing estimates and ensuring cost accuracy throughout the project lifecycle.
• Support business development activities by contributing to client presentations, project pursuits, and preconstruction proposals.
• Develop and maintain historical cost databases, market pricing intelligence, and benchmarking information.
• Collaborate with clients, architects, engineers, consultants, and internal project teams to optimise design, improve constructability, and maximise project value.
• Lead and mentor junior preconstruction professionals through coaching, training, and professional development initiatives.
• Manage multiple concurrent pursuits while balancing commercial objectives, project risk, and client expectations.
• Review project scope, procurement strategies, subcontractor pricing, and resource availability to ensure competitive and accurate proposals.
• Prepare conceptual cost plans using recognised construction work breakdown structures and maintain historical project data for future benchmarking.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Architecture, or a related discipline (or equivalent industry experience).
• Extensive experience within commercial construction, including significant experience in preconstruction and estimating leadership.
• Proven ability to lead teams while delivering accurate, commercially competitive estimates across complex construction projects.
• Strong understanding of construction methods, scheduling, cost planning, procurement, value engineering, and budget management.
• Experience working within Design-Build and other collaborative project delivery methods.
• Excellent communication, presentation, stakeholder management, and client-facing skills.
• Strong commercial awareness with the ability to balance design quality, project budgets, and client expectations.
• Demonstrated experience preparing conceptual estimates and early-stage costmodels.
• High level of professionalism, leadership, and commitment to delivering quality outcomes.

Preferred Experience

• projects.Familiarity with CSI and Uniformat II cost breakdown structures.
• Proficiency with estimating and preconstruction software such as DESTINI Estimator, Bluebeam, On-Screen Takeoff (OST), and advanced Microsoft Excel.