Commercial Manager - Estimating and Contracts @ FabLogix

Kelso Industries•Duncan, SC

21d

About The Position

The Commercial Manager leads the estimating department and owns the commercial development of module manufacturing proposals ranging from $50M to $300M for the data center, life science, and semiconductor markets. The role serves as the commercial gatekeeper between the estimating team and company leadership, conducting bid reviews before final review by the President and overseeing proposal strategy, development, and customer contract terms. The Commercial Manager owns key client relationships throughout pursuit and contracting, works directly with in-house legal on contract review and negotiation, and establishes standard bid tabs, estimating tools, and processes to improve consistency, accuracy, and speed. The role coordinates with project management, operations, engineering, fabrication, procurement, quality, and finance to align proposals with executable project budgets and commercial objectives.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Business, or a related field.
10+ years of experience in estimating, commercial management, or proposal development within modular construction, industrial fabrication, or large capital project delivery.
Demonstrated experience leading proposal development for large-scale projects of $50M or more.
Strong command of commercial contract terms and experience negotiating directly with legal counsel.
Experience managing an estimating team and establishing standardized estimating tools and processes.
Skill in pricing strategy, risk assessment, and margin management on complex proposals.
Proficiency with estimating and bid tab software, ERP systems, and proposal management tools.
Strong business judgment and attention to detail under deadline pressure.
Ability to build trusted relationships with clients, legal counsel, and executive leadership.
Strategic and analytical ability to balance competitive pricing with acceptable commercial risk.
Leadership ability to develop talent and build disciplined, repeatable estimating processes.
Clear, confident communication skills, including presenting complex proposals and risk positions to executive leadership.

Nice To Haves

Experience with large-scale projects in the data center, life science, or semiconductor markets.

Responsibilities

Lead, manage, and develop the estimating department, including staffing, workload allocation, and performance management.
Establish estimating standards, processes, and timelines for consistent, accurate, and competitive proposals.
Develop and maintain a standard bid tab format and supporting estimating tools.
Build team capability and bench strength to support a growing proposal pipeline.
Conduct bid reviews on proposals before final review and approval by the President, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and commercial soundness.
Lead proposal development and strategy for module manufacturing pursuits ranging from $50M to $300M in the data center, life science, and semiconductor markets.
Oversee pricing strategy, risk contingency, and margin positioning on major proposals.
Coordinate proposal input from engineering, project management, fabrication, procurement, and quality.
Present bid packages, assumptions, and commercial risk positions to executive leadership before submission.
Own and manage key client relationships throughout pursuit, proposal, and contracting.
Serve as the primary commercial client contact during proposal clarifications, negotiations, and award.
Build long-term client trust to support repeat pursuits and preferred-partner status.
Review customer contracts for commercial terms, including pricing, payment, warranty, liability, indemnification, and liquidated damages.
Work with in-house legal to negotiate and finalize contract terms and resolve commercial risk before execution.
Track and communicate contractual commercial obligations to project teams after award.
Support change order and claims positioning from a commercial terms perspective.
Partner with project management and operations to ensure proposal assumptions translate into executable project budgets.
Collaborate with finance on proposal pricing models, margin targets, and cash flow assumptions.
Provide market and competitive intelligence to leadership to inform pursuit strategy.