Chief Estimator

For more than 30 years, Diamond Landscaping has been a leader in luxury residential landscape design, installation, and maintenance throughout the Los Angeles area. We serve discerning homeowners, estates, designers, architects, and industry professionals who expect exceptional craftsmanship, discretion, responsiveness, and enduring quality.

Our work is defined by meticulous execution, thoughtful collaboration, and a deep respect for the distinctive character of every property.

Diamond Landscaping is seeking an experienced Chief Estimator to lead the estimating function (people and process) for high-end residential landscape construction and enhancement projects. This role will oversee the preparation of accurate, detailed, and competitive estimates for complex projects ranging from estate landscapes and outdoor living environments to gardens, pools, hardscape, lighting, irrigation, planting, and specialty installations.

The Chief Estimator will partner closely with clients, designers, architects, project managers, operations leaders, vendors, and subcontractors to understand project scope, identify risk, develop sound pricing strategies, and ensure that estimates reflect Diamond’s standards for quality, craftsmanship, and service.

The ideal candidate combines strong technical estimating expertise on progressively larger multi‑million projects with exceptional judgment, organization, communication, and a genuine appreciation for luxury residential work.

• Lead the full estimating process and management of team from initial opportunity review through proposal submission and handoff to operations.
• Review plans, specifications, drawings, site conditions, design concepts, and client requirements to develop comprehensive project estimates.
• Prepare and review team’s detailed takeoffs for hardscape, planting, irrigation, drainage, lighting, carpentry, masonry, water features, outdoor structures, grading, demolition, and related scopes.
• Build and ensure team has documented accurate labor hours, material, equipment, subcontractor, overhead, contingency, and margin calculations.
• Develop clear, polished, and highly professional proposals appropriate for luxury residential clients and design professionals.
• Conduct site walks and preconstruction reviews to evaluate existing conditions, access, logistics, constructability, scheduling, and help define risk for project team as well as create and review project goals.
• Solicit, evaluate, and negotiate favorable pricing (group pricing/discounts) from vendors, specialty trades, subcontractors, nurseries, material suppliers, and manufacturers.
• Create submittal lists for each project.
• Update and maintain reliable databases of current labor, material, equipment, and subcontractor costs.
• Identify long lead time items, scope gaps, exclusions, assumptions, allowances, alternates, and opportunities for value engineering.
• Collaborate with project management, business leaders, business developer and other estimators to evaluate opportunities and prioritize pursuits aligned with Diamond’s capabilities and standards.
• Participate in client, architect, designer, and internal project review meetings as needed.
• Support the transition from estimating to project management by clearly communicating assumptions, pricing rationale, scope details, and execution considerations.
• Review change orders, submittal requirements, open RFIs, project goals, revised drawings, value-engineering options, and additional work requests for pricing accuracy.
• Assist with estimating strategy, process improvement, historical cost analysis, and estimating systems development.
• Create and maintain standardized templates, procedures, cost…