Senior Cost Estimator

The Senior Cost Estimator is a key member of DCE Services' Preconstruction team and is responsible for leading the development of budgetary and contract level construction estimates for commercial and utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage (BESS) projects throughout the United States.

This position provides technical estimating leadership from project pursuit through proposal submission by evaluating client requirements, developing detailed cost estimates, subcontractor soliciting, identifying project risks, and supporting proposal strategy.

The Senior Cost Estimator works closely with Business Development, Engineering, Procurement, Project Management, subcontractor partners, and executive leadership to deliver competitive, accurate, and well-defined proposals that align with DCE's business objectives.

In addition to estimating responsibilities, this role serves as a mentor to junior estimators and supports the continuous improvement of estimating tools, pricing databases, and preconstruction processes.

• Lead development of conceptual, budgetary, negotiated, and hard bid estimates.
• Review drawings, specifications, contracts, geotechnical reports, and bid documents.
• Perform quantity takeoffs for civil, mechanical, and electrical scopes.
• Develop labor, equipment, material, subcontract, and indirect cost estimates.
• Build complete project estimates using DCE estimating tools and historical cost databases.
• Evaluate schedule impacts and productivity assumptions.
• Develop estimate summaries for management review.
• Support pricing for change orders and value engineering opportunities.

• Coordinate development of vendor and subcontractor bid packages.
• Conduct scope review meetings with subcontractors.
• Prepare and maintain bid tabulations.
• Analyze pricing for completeness, competitiveness, and scope alignment.
• Negotiate pricing and clarify proposal assumptions.
• Recommend subcontractor selections.

• Draft assumptions, exclusions, qualifications, and clarifications.
• Support proposal reviews with management.
• Participate in client pricing discussions when required.

• Review IFC drawing packages.
• Review specifications.
• Identify scope gaps.
• Prepare Requests for Information (RFIs).
• Coordinate with engineering consultants as required.
• Recommend value engineering opportunities.

• Mentor other estimating team members.
• Review estimates prepared by other estimators.
• Support development of estimating procedures.
• Assist with workload planning and resource allocation.
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives.

• Update historical pricing databases.
• Maintain labor productivity metrics.
• Track subcontractor performance and pricing trends.
• Develop regional labor adjustments.
• Improve estimating templates.
• Support implementation of estimating software and automation tools.

• Business Development
• Procurement
• Project Management
• Contracts
• Finance

to ensure project scope, pricing, procurement strategy, and execution assumptions are aligned before proposal submission.

• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Business, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 3+ years of construction estimating experience.
• 1+ years estimating commercial or utility‑scale solar projects.
• Strong understanding of civil, mechanical, and electrical construction.
• Experience managing subcontractor relationships
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent pursuits.

• Experience with utility‑scale PV and BESS.
• EPC contractor experience.
• Experience with Procore, PVBid, Bluebeam, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
• Familiarity with Davis‑Bacon prevailing wage and IRA labor compliance.
• Understanding of union and open‑shop labor markets.
• Knowledge of major solar equipment manufacturers

• Develop accurate and competitive estimates that support DCE's profitability objectives.
• Meet proposal deadlines while maintaining quality and consistency.
• Identify project risks and opportunities early in the pursuit process.
• Maintain strong relationships with subcontractor partners and suppliers.
• Support continuous improvement of estimating tools and procedures.
• Mentor estimating team members and contribute to a collaborative preconstruction environment.

We are looking for a talented and experienced individual who can run with projects from start to finish. We want a problem solver to interact ambitiously with our business and not just accomplish a task.