Chief Estimator-Heavy Civil

Kimmel & Associates • San Bernadino, CA

10d

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 hands-on leader will oversee estimating personnel, develop a qualified bid pipeline, and guide competitive pursuits supporting a public works portfolio targeting more than $20 million in annual recognized revenue. Projects generally range from $1 million to $15 million and include grading, excavation, demolition, clearing, paving, site concrete, hauling, recompaction, and underground utilities. The role requires substantial heavy civil estimating experience, sound commercial judgment, and the ability to develop a team and build lasting relationships with public agencies, school districts, general contractors, and industry partners.

The position requires a strong office presence in Murrieta and travel throughout Southern California as needed. The Chief Estimator reports directly to the President and collaborates with project managers, superintendents, and operations leadership to evaluate opportunities, develop estimates, manage risk, and support successful project transitions.

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.
• 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 a genuine 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

• Understanding of California public bidding requirements, with 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; establish priorities, balance workloads, review estimates, and maintain consistent estimating procedures.
• Direct competitive public works bids for projects generally ranging from $1 million to $15 million.
• Build and maintain 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 that supports annual revenue objectives and balances school and education projects with other public works pursuits.
• Lead bid/no-bid evaluations considering project fit, available resources, competition, contract terms, bonding requirements, cash flow, and anticipated profitability.
• Review plans, specifications, quantities, labor and equipment production rates, material pricing, subcontractor proposals, schedule requirements, and bid documentation to prepare 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 facilitate smooth transitions from award to project 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.

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