Residential Design & Estimating Specialist

Lightspeed•Northbrook, IL

8d•Onsite

About The Position

LightSpeed Build Technologies is seeking a Residential Design & Estimating Specialist to own residential designs in Revit from plan set through production-ready model and to produce initial project pricing. The role reviews customer and architecture-partner plans, develops construction-ready models and designs, and provides quantities and early estimates used in customer responses. It works closely with design partners, engineering, and the Preconstruction & Procurement Manager, who uses the takeoffs and estimates to prepare bid packages with subcontractor and supplier pricing. The position is onsite in Northbrook, Illinois. Revit models support robotic fabrication, so design quality and buildability directly affect project cost and speed. The specialist will help ensure models are suitable for the robotic system, keep project models consistently structured for reliable exports, and update quantities and pricing when designs change. The role will also help develop standard plan sets, Revit templates, and LightSpeed’s design and estimating processes.

Requirements

At least 3 years of experience modeling residential buildings in Revit to construction-document level, including structural framing and MEP, not only architectural shells.
Hands-on experience producing quantity takeoffs, bills of materials, or construction estimates from drawings or models.
Strong practical knowledge of US wood-frame construction and working familiarity with IRC and NEC.
Ability to identify gaps and conflicts in plan sets and raise them early.
Disciplined modeling habits and reliable delivery against firm milestones.
Ability to work onsite in Northbrook, Illinois.

Nice To Haves

Degree in architecture, architectural technology, construction management, or a related field.
Prefab, panelized, or modular construction experience.
Experience with BTLx or framing tools such as hsbCAD, StrucSoft MWF, or SEMA, and IFC export validation.
Experience with RSMeans or other cost databases.
Multi-family residential experience.
Interest in using AI tools to speed up modeling, takeoffs, and estimating.

Responsibilities

Review incoming plan sets from customers and architecture partners; identify missing, unclear, or conflicting information before it reaches the factory.
Develop designs from rough layouts through review cycles into approved, construction-ready plans, including renderings when useful to customer decisions.
Build and maintain a library of standard plan sets and Revit templates.
Build and correct construction-ready Revit models covering architecture, wood structural framing to IRC prescriptive requirements, and MEP rough-in.
Maintain clean, consistently structured models, including naming, families, and levels, for reliable IFC and BTLx exports.
Confirm designs are buildable by the robotic system and work with engineering to resolve designs that are not.
Coordinate model updates with outside design partners and maintain one current version of each project.
Produce model-based quantity takeoffs and bills of materials for lumber, sheathing, fasteners, windows, doors, and MEP rough-in.
Build initial project estimates using the robotic-construction cost model and industry cost data, such as RSMeans, adjusted for location.
Hand finished takeoffs and estimates to the Preconstruction & Procurement Manager for bid packages and buyout.
Update quantities and pricing when designs change and flag cost or schedule impacts.