Project Estimator, Manager
About the role
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. Dist