Lead Estimator, Capital Projects

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Eco Houston TX SALARY FT EXEMPT Baton Rouge, LA, US

3 days ago Requisition

The Lead Estimator is the company’s technical authority for capital cost estimating across the North American capital portfolio. Reporting to the Director, Capital Portfolio Management, this role prepares owner-side Front-End-Loading estimates including final investment funding, validates contractor budget estimates, and owns the cost basis that supports funding decisions at each Front-End Loading (FEL 1, FEL 2, FEL
3) stage gate, from early conceptual screening through the Class 2 budget estimates and Class 1 Estimates at Completion.

Estimate Development and Ownership

• Prepare owner-side AACE Class 1 - 5 estimates, and own the cost basis for your estimates across the FEL lifecycle for a mix of project types common to sulfuric acid and petrochemical operations: equipment replacements, brick-lined and alloy vessel work, converter and heat exchanger replacements, piping and tank work, electrical and controls upgrades, environmental compliance projects, and turnaround-related capital.
• Apply estimating methods suited to the level of definition, including capacity-factored, equipment-factored, parametric, semi-detailed, and detailed unit-rate estimates.
• Develop a documented Basis of Estimate (BOE) for every estimate that defines scope, quantities, pricing sources, labor productivity, escalation, exclusions, assumptions, and expected accuracy range.
• Work with the FEL Gate Project Manager and Director of Capital Portfolio Management to ensure all estimates meet the required gate deliverables before any gate review or funding request.

Estimate Review, Validation, and Benchmarking

• Independently review and validate estimates prepared by engineering firms, EPC contractors, and internal project teams before they are presented at FEL gates or included in Authorization Requests and issue written findings with required corrections before gate submission.
• Benchmark estimates against historical project actuals, industry cost data, and comparable projects; challenge outliers and document the reconciliation.
• Confirm that estimate class and accuracy range match the project’s stage of definition and PDRI results, and flag any mismatch to the FEL Gatekeeper.

Contingency, Risk, and Escalation

• Lead risk-based contingency development using range estimating and Monte Carlo methods, and present P50 and P80 (or equivalent) cost outcomes to support funding decisions.
• Develop escalation forecasts for labor, materials, and major equipment, including alloys, refractory, and specialty acid-service components.

Cost Data, Standards, and Continuous Improvement

• Build and maintain a historical cost database of completed projects, including normalized actual costs, unit rates, labor productivity, and estimate-versus-actual performance.
• Develop and maintain the company’s capital estimating standard, templates, estimate checklists, and BOE requirements, aligned with AACE International recommended practices.
• Track estimate accuracy at closeout, identify systematic bias, and feed lessons learned back into estimating standards and the FEL process.
• Develop and maintain relationships with fabricators, equipment suppliers, and contractors to keep current market pricing and lead-time intelligence.

Portfolio and Governance Support

• Support the Director, Capital Portfolio Management with annual capital budget development and the five-year capital plan by supplying order-of-magnitude estimates for proposed projects.
• Provide cost input to Authorization Requests, supplemental funding…