Obsidian Point

The Role

We are seeking an experienced heavy civil estimator to support and expand the Company's estimating function across public and private construction projects.

The successful candidate should have hands-on experience estimating for a self-performing civil/site contractor and understand how to build a job from the ground up — quantities, labor, equipment, production rates, materials, trucking, subcontractors and job-specific indirect costs.

We bid work both as a prime contractor and subcontractor, so the estimator must be comfortable preparing complete public/municipal bids as well as sitework packages submitted to general contractors and private customers.

This is not a takeoff-only position. We are looking for someone who understands how the assumptions made during estimating ultimately translate into the operating budget and actual job costs in the field.

Primary Responsibilities

• Prepare complete estimates for heavy civil, excavation and site-development projects, including:
• • Mass excavation, grading and earthwork
  • Underground storm, sanitary and water utilities
  • Demolition and site clearing
  • Erosion control
  • Aggregate and site preparation
  • Trucking, hauling, import/export and disposal
  • Related concrete, paving and subcontracted scopes
• Perform detailed quantity takeoffs from civil drawings, specifications and other bid documents.
• Build production-based estimates using appropriate:
• • Crew composition
  • Union labor rates, fringes and burdens
  • Equipment types and hourly costs
  • Production rates
  • Materials
  • Trucking and haul assumptions
  • Subcontractor/vendor quotes
  • Direct and indirect project costs
• Understand earthwork balancing, including cuts/fills, stripping, shrink/swell, unsuitable soils, import/export quantities, haul distances and disposal requirements.
• Solicit, analyze and level subcontractor and supplier quotes to identify exclusions, scope gaps and pricing risk.
• Prepare bids for us acting both as:
• • Prime contractor on public/municipal and private projects; and
  • Subcontractor providing civil/site packages to general contractors.
• Review plans, specifications, geotechnical information and addenda and identify scope gaps, constructability issues and bid risks.
• Attend pre-bid meetings and conduct site visits as appropriate.
• Prepare bid forms, unit-price schedules, alternates, qualifications, exclusions and other supporting bid documentation.
• Assist with bid strategy, including evaluation of project risks, competition, backlog, crew availability and appropriate margin.
• Maintain an organized bid pipeline and document bid outcomes and relevant competitive information.
• Properly assign estimate activities and costs to the Company's job/cost-code structure so that the awarded estimate can become a meaningful project operating budget.
• Conduct structured handoffs of awarded projects to operations, including:
• • Estimated quantities
  • Cost codes
  • Labor and equipment assumptions
  • Production rates
  • Supplier/subcontractor quotes
  • Major inclusions and exclusions
  • Project-specific risks and assumptions
• Work with operations and finance to compare estimated versus actual production and cost performance and incorporate lessons learned into future estimates.
• Help identify and pursue appropriate new bidding opportunities and support growth of our customer and project pipeline.

Required Background

We would like to see:

• Approximately 3–5+ years of estimating experience with a heavy civil, excavation, underground utility or site-development contractor.
• Strong understanding of self-performed earthwork and underground utility construction.
• Experience building estimates from quantities and field production assumptions rather than relying solely on historical unit pricing.
• Experience estimating labor, equipment, material, trucking and subcontract costs separately and accurately.
• Familiarity with union labor and/or prevailing-wage construction and the impact of classifications, fringes, overtime and crew composition on project cost.
• Ability to read and interpret civil plans and specifications independently.
• Experience bidding work to both general contractors/private customers and public entities is strongly preferred.
• Understanding of construction cost codes and how an estimate should interface with project/job-cost reporting.
• Strong Excel skills and experience with construction estimating and takeoff software.

Technology & Systems

• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including building and maintaining estimating spreadsheets, bid tabs, quantity/cost summaries, production assumptions and estimate-versus-actual analyses.
• Experience with construction estimating, bidding or project-management platforms such as HCSS HeavyBid, Procore, ConstructConnect, BuildingConnected, B2W, AGTEK, Bluebeam, PlanSwift or comparable systems.
• Ability to organize and maintain an electronic bid pipeline, including bid dates, project status, customers, estimated value, bid results and awarded work.
• Comfortable reviewing plans, specifications, addenda and bid documents electronically and maintaining organized supporting documentation for each estimate.
• Ability to transfer estimate assumptions and cost categories into the Company's job-costing/project-management systems after award.
• Willingness and ability to learn our existing systems and help improve estimating templates, cost databases and bid-tracking processes over time.

Experience with Procore, ConstructConnect and/or a production-based heavy-civil estimating platform is a plus.

Base Salary: $78,000–$87,500 depending on experience.

The position will also be eligible for a discretionary performance bonus tied to profitable work won, quality of estimating, individual performance and overall Company performance.

We are willing to consider compensation outside the stated range for an exceptional candidate with directly relevant heavy-civil/sitework estimating experience.

Obsidian Point Partners is a long-term investment and operating entity focused on building strong, enduring businesses.

We own and support three established Midwest businesses: a commercial vehicle maintenance company in Chicago, an excavation and underground utility contractor in Missouri, and a heavy civil and site development contractor in Northern Indiana.

We are hiring an Estimator to join our Northern Indiana business and help support its continued growth, strengthen the finance function, and work closely with local leadership and ownership.