Chief Estimator-Heavy Civil

Kimmel & Associates • Murrieta, CA

10d • $175,000 - $225,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Chief Estimator will lead the estimating department and drive public works business development throughout Southern California. Reporting directly to the President, this individual will oversee estimating personnel, develop a qualified bid pipeline, and guide competitive pursuits to support a public works portfolio targeting more than $20 million in annual recognized revenue. The position calls for substantial heavy civil estimating experience, strong commercial judgment, and the ability to develop a team and build lasting relationships with public agencies, school districts, general contractors, and industry partners.

This is a hands-on leadership position requiring a strong office presence in Murrieta and travel throughout Southern California as needed. The Chief Estimator will lead estimating and bid strategy for projects generally ranging from $1 million to $15 million, coordinate with operations, monitor financial performance, manage risk, and improve estimating processes and team capabilities.

Requirements

• Significant heavy civil construction estimating experience, particularly in grading, excavation, site preparation, and related self-perform scopes.
• Demonstrated experience leading estimating efforts for public works projects and supervising or providing senior-level oversight to estimating personnel.
• Strong understanding of California public bidding requirements.
• Ability to develop production-based estimates using construction drawings, specifications, soils reports, site assessments, labor and equipment costs, subcontractor pricing, and material quantities.
• Working proficiency with B2W Estimate or a comparable estimating platform.
• Strong financial and commercial judgment, including the ability to evaluate project margins, contract risk, resource availability, and bid strategy.
• Ability to build client relationships, develop new business opportunities, and present bid recommendations to executive leadership.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and analytical skills, with strong attention to detail and follow-through.
• Collaborative, approachable leadership style and commitment to mentoring, teaching, and developing team members.
• Alignment with the company's core values of empowerment, lean thinking, innovation, transformation, excellence, honesty, and integrity.
• Willingness to travel throughout Southern California as needed.
• Ability and willingness to maintain a consistent office presence in Murrieta.

Nice To Haves

• Experience involving school districts, education owners, prevailing wage projects, prequalification, and bonding processes.
• Familiarity with AGTEK, Bluebeam, or equivalent takeoff and plan-review tools.
• Familiarity with customer relationship management platforms.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted tools such as ChatGPT or Claude.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop estimators and takeoff technicians; set priorities, balance workloads, review estimates, and maintain consistent estimating procedures.
• Direct competitive public works bids for grading, excavation, demolition, clearing, paving, site concrete, hauling, recompaction, and underground utilities.
• Build relationships with public agencies, school districts, general contractors, and strategic partners to identify opportunities and strengthen the company's market presence.
• Develop a qualified bid pipeline supporting annual revenue objectives and a balanced portfolio of education and other public works projects.
• Lead bid/no-bid evaluations considering project fit, resources, competition, contract terms, bonding requirements, cash flow, and anticipated profitability.
• Review plans, specifications, quantities, labor and equipment production rates, material pricing, subcontractor proposals, schedules, and bid documentation to produce complete, competitive estimates.
• Identify and evaluate scope gaps, differing site conditions, utility conflicts, earthwork quantities and balances, hauling and disposal assumptions, schedule constraints, and unfavorable contract provisions.
• Coordinate with project managers, superintendents, and operations leadership to validate estimating assumptions and support a smooth transition from award to execution.
• Monitor bid volume, win rates, awarded backlog, estimated gross margins, revenue performance, estimate accuracy, and early project cost variances.
• Use bid results and project feedback to refine production assumptions, improve estimating processes, and strengthen departmental performance.
• Mentor estimators and takeoff technicians, share technical knowledge, and support onboarding and development of additional estimating resources.
• Present bid recommendations to executive leadership and support public works business development.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation based on experience and qualifications, with a stated range of $175,000–$225,000.
• Leadership opportunity with direct access to the President and influence over company growth strategy.
• Opportunity to build and develop an estimating team and improve department processes.
• Ability to influence project selection, bidding strategy, and public works market expansion.
• Collaborative environment that values innovation, continuous improvement, professional development, and accountability.
• Company bonus and benefits programs, with details provided during the interview process.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed