Senior Estimator (San Diego)

About the Role

We are supporting our client, with their first dedicated internal Senior Estimator / Project Manager to lead estimating and bid strategy for their in-house construction division. This is a high-impact, ground-floor opportunity for someone who wants to sit at the top of the org chart on the construction side of the business and help scale a growing division.

Last year, they launched our own construction division with three crews that self-perform all labor in-house, allowing them to be significantly more competitive on installation work than firms that mark up subcontractors. They currently have a $10M backlog and a clear path to $20M, and this role is central to getting them there.

You will work side-by-side with the owner and the Director of Construction, who runs field operations as a working superintendent. You will effectively be the office-side leader of the construction division — owning estimating end-to-end, selling work into the backlog, and eventually helping them build out and run the Escondido office as they add a junior estimator or bid administrator underneath you.

Compensation

• Base salary: $140,000 (with some flexibility up to $145,000 based on experience).
• Profit share: 5% of gross profit margin (not revenue) on projects sold.
• On-target earnings year one: approximately $190,000 at $2.5M in contract bookings.

What You’ll Do

• Own the full estimating process for public works installation projects — takeoffs, pricing, scope, proposals, and bid submissions.
• Sell work into their construction backlog, with targets of $2.5M in contract bookings in year one and $5M in year two.
• Target and win work primarily with school districts (DSA projects) and municipalities, including smaller rip-and-replace park projects.
• Partner closely with the Director of Construction on constructability, pricing assumptions, and project handoff to the field.
• Support project management activities on projects you sell, especially as the pipeline ramps up.
• Help build and eventually lead the Escondido office as they add estimating and bid support staff over the next couple of years.

What They’re Looking For

• Construction industry background with real field or project experience — ideally as a Project Manager or Superintendent who has moved into (or also owned) estimating. Pure estimating-only backgrounds are unlikely to be a fit.
• Experience selling and estimating public works projects, with a strong preference for DSA / school district experience.
• Proven leadership presence — the judgment and maturity to eventually run an office and mentor junior staff.
• Sharp, detail-oriented, and high-energy; strong soft skills and ability to build trust with owners, districts, and internal crews.
• Self-directed and autonomous: comfortable operating at the top of a division, setting your own priorities, and driving results without heavy oversight.
• Able to work from our Escondido office Tuesday through Thursday (with potential to move to Monday–Friday as the team grows).

Why This Role

• Ground-floor leadership: their first internal estimating hire, reporting directly to ownership and effectively at the top of the construction division org chart.
• Clear growth path: as you prove yourself, you’ll build out and run the Escondido office, with junior estimating and bid admin hires underneath you.
• Real ownership in outcomes: competitive base plus profit share tied to gross profit margin on the work you sell.
• A growing company with a healthy backlog, in-house crews, and a credible plan to double the business.

Hiring Process & Timeline

We are moving quickly on this hire and interviewing candidates now.