Lead Estimator​/Preconstruction Manager – Multifamily Construction

RISE Residential | Owner / Developer / General Contractor
Jacksonville, FL | Travel up to 25%

RISE is a vertically integrated real estate platform that develops, constructs, and operates multifamily communities designed for long-term ownership.
We are not a third-party GC bidding projects for external owners.
We build and hold our own assets — meaning every construction decision directly impacts investment performance, lease-up timing, operational efficiency, and long-term asset value.
Our estimating team operates at the intersection of development, design, procurement, and construction execution.
This is a role for professionals who want influence at the deal level — not just responsibility for producing numbers.

This is not a bid-chasing estimator position.
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
• Buyout reconciliation and cost analysis

Your decisions directly impact ROI, project viability, and long-term asset performance — not simply contract margin.

• 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

• 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
• Experience with in vertically integrated owner/developer/GC organizations strongly preferred

Most estimators price someone else’s project.

This role operates at the deal table — influencing design direction, procurement strategy, construction execution, and long-term asset value from the earliest stages of development.

You are not downstream from the process.

You are part of the decision-making structure that shapes the project itself.

We…