Chief Estimator (Heavy Civil)

This Jobot Job is hosted by: Chelsea Piekarski

About Us

We are a family-owned general engineering contractor that has been building Northern California for more than a century — now in our fourth generation of family ownership. With several hundred employees and a fully self-performing bench across grading, underground utilities, paving, concrete, demolition, and heavy highway, we take on complex site development work from preconstruction through final punch. A significant share of our portfolio is public agency and state transportation work, and we have been repeatedly recognized for partnering excellence on those jobs.

We are not a private-equity roll-up and we are not a revolving door: our most tenured employee has been here over 65 years, and our senior management team carries more than 275 combined years in the industry. Revenue is strong and growing. We are hiring this role because we intend to bid more work, and bid it better.

Why Join Us?

• Pure technical seat. No direct reports, no contract administration, no PO signing. You do the work you are actually great at.
• You will visibly move the number. One caught error pays for the position. Leadership already knows this — it is why the role was created.
• Schedule flexibility for the right person. Full-time is ideal, but a four-day or reduced schedule, or a contract engagement, is genuinely on the table.
• Late-career expertise is the asset, not a liability. We are explicitly looking for someone senior who has seen it all and can bridge the gap while the next generation comes up.
• Family-owned, century-plus stability. Fourth-generation ownership, no PE, no quarterly-earnings churn — decisions get made by people whose name is on the building. People stay here. Twenty, thirty, and forty-year tenures are normal, not remarkable.
• Real backlog. Strong revenue, an active public works and transportation pipeline, and appetite to bid more.

About the Role

This is a newly created position, built deliberately to solve a bandwidth problem. Our VP of Estimating currently carries department oversight, contracts, proposals, and purchase orders — on top of reviewing every bid that leaves the building. That is not sustainable. The Chief Estimator exists to be the technical expert: the final, expert set of eyes on every bid before it goes out the door. You will not manage people, chase contracts, or sign POs. You will estimate, review, challenge, and teach.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the final technical reviewer on bids prior to submission — quantities, production rates, crew and equipment loading, trucking, subcontractor scope gaps, and pricing logic
• Work hands-on in HCSS HeavyBid daily; build, audit, and correct estimates directly in the system
• Provide technical direction and mentorship to a team of estimators (no direct reports — influence and expertise, not org chart)
• Partner closely with the VP of Estimating, giving the department a genuine second point of technical accountability
• Bring heavy civil depth to bid strategy: grading, underground, paving, concrete, demolition, and heavy highway
• Increase bidding capacity — help the department confidently put out more work by making each bid more defensible
• Contribute to estimating standards, historical cost feedback loops, and bid review process

Requirements

• Extensive heavy civil / general engineering estimating experience — this is a later-career, "been there, done that" seat
• Strong, current HCSS HeavyBid proficiency (non-negotiable)
• Public agency transportation and state DOT bidding experience strongly preferred
• Deep self-perform knowledge across grading, underground, paving, and concrete
• The instinct to spot a missed item before it becomes a six-figure problem
• Direct, candid communication style — you are comfortable telling a team what they missed
• Valid driver's license and ability to be on-site for bid reviews

Pay

$200,000 - $300,000 per year