Lead Estimator / Preconstruction Manager – Multifamily Construction
About The Position
RISE is a vertically integrated real estate platform that develops, constructs, and operates multifamily communities designed for long-term ownership. This is a role for professionals who want influence at the deal level, not just responsibility for producing numbers. The Lead Estimator serves as the central cost authority inside a vertically integrated owner/developer/GC platform, operating alongside development, acquisitions, and construction leadership to protect the financial integrity of projects before they are built and throughout execution. You will own cost across the full project lifecycle: conceptual underwriting and feasibility, design phase cost management, GMP / hard-bid estimating, subcontractor procurement and bid leveling, and buyout reconciliation and cost analysis. Your decisions directly impact ROI, project viability, and long-term asset performance — not simply contract margin.
Requirements
- 8+ years of estimating experience with minimum 5 years operating as Lead Estimator on multifamily or mixed-use projects
- Proven experience owning estimates from conceptual feasibility through GMP formation and buyout reconciliation
- Strong understanding of multiple construction types including wood-frame, podium, concrete, and structural steel systems
- Advanced takeoff, quantity analysis, and Excel-based financial modeling capability
- Proven subcontractor relationships and bid management experience across multiple CSI divisions
- Ability to build defensible estimates from incomplete or conceptual design information
- Comfortable operating in environments where cost decisions directly affect ownership returns and investment strategy
Nice To Haves
- Experience within vertically integrated owner/developer/GC organizations strongly preferred
Responsibilities
- Develop conceptual and underwriting-level estimates used to evaluate acquisitions and new development opportunities
- Validate pro forma assumptions with development and acquisitions teams
- Translate conceptual plans into accurate unit-based and GSF cost models tied to real-time market conditions
- Identify escalation exposure, scope gaps, constructability concerns, and budget risk early in the process
- Provide continuous cost guidance throughout schematic design, DD, and construction documents phases
- Partner directly with architects, engineers, and internal stakeholders to maintain alignment between design intent and financial targets
- Lead value engineering efforts with clear understanding of cost, schedule, operational, and quality impacts
- Maintain live cost-to-complete visibility throughout design development
- Structure bid packages that drive competition while eliminating scope ambiguity
- Lead subcontractor outreach, bid leveling, scope analysis, and award recommendations
- Build and maintain subcontractor relationships capable of supporting long-term pipeline execution
- Maintain cost databases and benchmarking systems that inform portfolio-wide decisions
- Reconcile estimate assumptions against actual buyout outcomes
- Support project management teams during buyout and early construction phases
- Capture lessons learned and feed cost intelligence back into future developments
Benefits
- Base Salary: $120K – $150K DOE
- Performance Bonus tied to estimating accuracy and project outcomes
- Health, dental, and vision coverage
- 401(k) participation
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
