Build Your Career with Edelman-Lyon: The Midwest's Premier Commercial Door Specialist!
Are you an experienced, detail-oriented estimator ready to lead the growth of a new division? A foundational hire for our growing specialty openings division.
Edelman-Lyon Automatic Door—a third-generation, family-owned industry leader for over 75 years—is expanding into premium specialty openings, and we are looking for the estimator who will help us build the division.
If you read an architectural section detail the way most people read a newspaper, if you understand how a target acoustic rating changes the door, frame, seals, glazing, and surrounding conditions, and if you take pride in catching a hardware conflict before material ever reaches production — we want to talk to you.
This role goes beyond conventional hollow-metal, wood-door, and hardware packages. This is the premium end of Division 8: engineered sliding door assemblies, acoustic openings, healthcare specialty doors, and AD Systems packages — openings where a missed detail is a five-figure mistake, and the estimator who catches it has an outsized impact on margin and execution.
About Edelman-Lyon
For 75+ years, Edelman-Lyon has been the Midwest's go-to for commercial automatic doors, manual doors, and specialty hardware — serving healthcare, education, government, senior living, industrial, and commercial clients across the region. We're known for two things:
-Deep technical expertise
-Customer service that turns clients into life-long friends.
Our specialty openings division is the next chapter, and this role is a foundational seat in it. You'll have meaningful influence over its estimating practices, vendor relationships, technical standards, and handoff processes — with the stability and speed of a family company where decisions get made today, not next quarter.
We are deliberate in our hiring on purpose, because the person in this role will shape how we estimate, scope, document, and execute complex openings for years to come.
The work — what "specialty openings" means here
You'll estimate and coordinate specialty openings and engineered door packages, including:
- AD Systems sliding door assemblies — ExamSlide™, OfficeSlide™, InsetSlide™, and comparable interior sliding systems, including available acoustic, soft-close, self-closing, positive-latching, glazing, access-control, and automatic-operation configurations, depending on the product and application.
- Acoustic/STC-rated openings — assemblies where the acoustic target drives everything: perimeter gasketing, automatic door bottoms, drop seals, glazing selections, and the framing and surrounding conditions that make or break field performance.
- Healthcare specialty doors — exam and telehealth room acoustic packages, ICU/CCU sliders and breakout systems, smoke-control corridor assemblies, lead-lined openings for radiology and imaging suites, and behavioral-health applications.
- Specialty commercial packages — engineered sliding and telescoping assemblies, integrated glazing and door light kits, electrified hardware and access-control interfaces, and automatic operators coordinated with our automatic-door division.
Core responsibilities
- Estimating & bid preparation — Review architectural drawings, specifications, schedules, details, and addenda; identify the complete specialty-opening scope; and prepare accurate, competitive, on-time estimates.
- Pricing & configuration — Obtain manufacturer and vendor pricing, work configuration and spec tools (including Allegion's Overtur™ ecosystem), build comprehensive bid packages, and protect margin while staying competitive.
- Scope review & value engineering — Catch specification conflicts, incomplete applications, incompatible hardware, rating concerns, and constructability issues early. Propose technically supportable alternatives that preserve required performance and design intent.
- Vendor & factory coordination — Partner with manufacturer reps and factory engineers to confirm product configurations, custom fabrication capabilities, testing and listing limitations, lead times, and pricing.
- Submittals & technical documentation — Coordinate submittal packages; review manufacturer shop drawings and resolve discrepancies before release; and prepare or assemble hardware schedules, product data, technical documentation, and manufacturer cuts as required.
- Codes, listings & specifications — Review opening requirements for alignment with project specifications, manufacturer listings, and applicable fire, life-safety, smoke-control, and accessibility provisions as adopted by the governing jurisdiction. Identify conflicts or missing information and coordinate resolution with the architect, contractor, manufacturer, and AHJ as appropriate.
- Project handoff — Provide project management and coordination with a complete handoff identifying scope, exclusions, qualifications, lead times, pricing assumptions, vendor commitments, and any unresolved issues.
What you bring
Required:
- 3+ years of commercial Division 8 estimating, detailing, specification, or preconstruction experience involving complex architectural openings. We need someone who already speaks the language — we don't have the runway to teach the industry from scratch.
- Direct experience with at least one of the following: engineered interior sliding systems, acoustic openings, healthcare specialty doors, rated opening assemblies, electrified hardware coordination, or comparable premium architectural door packages.
- Blueprint fluency — proven ability to read and interpret complex drawings, section details, specifications, addenda, and door schedules. This is a must.
- Strong attention to detail — a mismatched acoustic seal or wrong latch function on a 100-opening healthcare project is an expensive mistake. You catch it before it ships.
- Code knowledge — working familiarity with fire, life-safety, smoke-control, and accessibility requirements as they apply to door openings (NFPA 80, NFPA 101, NFPA 105, UL 1784 testing/listing considerations, ADA, ICC A117.1). Knowledge of the applicable adopted editions matters more than memorization of any single national edition.
- Technical skills — strong Excel and Microsoft 365 skills, with experience in estimating, takeoff, configuration, or project-documentation software; able to learn new systems quickly.
- Communication — clear written and verbal skills for daily collaboration with architects, GCs, manufacturer reps, vendors, and our internal team.
Strongly preferred (real differentiators):
- Direct AD Systems experience (ExamSlide™, OfficeSlide™, InsetSlide™) or comparable engineered sliding door products
- Healthcare project experience, including familiarity with FGI Guidelines
- Experience with acoustic assemblies, behavioral-health applications, smoke-control openings, or imaging environments
- Familiarity with Overtur™ or similar specification and opening-management platforms
- Experience coordinating electrified hardware, access control, and automatic operators
- AHC, EHC, CFDAI, DHT, DHC, legacy CDC, or relevant DHI coursework — significant asset, and we'll invest in your credential progression
Compensation & benefits
- Base salary commensurate with experience and demonstrated expertise, plus commission on qualifying awarded work, administered under the Company's written commission plan — total compensation of $60,000 – $150,000/yr, with established performers earning well into six figures
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision benefits
- Retirement savings plan with company match, subject to plan terms
- Paid time off plus company holidays
- Education assistance — we invest in your certifications and growth, including approved DHI coursework and credential development
- Referral program
- Company-provided laptop, software, and the tools required for the role
- Opportunity to grow into greater estimating and division leadership responsibilities as the operation develops and performance supports it
How to apply
Send your resume and a brief explanation of your relevant specialty-opening experience to: [email protected]
Follow us on LinkedIn:
Qualified applicants selected for initial review can generally expect contact within a few business days.
Ready to Open the Door to Your Next Career Move?
If you are a seasoned Estimator looking to leverage your expertise in a growing, respected company, apply now to join the Edelman-Lyon team!
Edelman-Lyon Automatic Door is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment is contingent upon verification of authorization to work in the United States and, following a conditional offer, satisfactory completion of any job-related background screening required for the position, consistent with applicable law.
Job Type: Full-time
Base Pay: $60,000.00 - $150,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Referral program
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- Explain your experience communicating with architects and General Contractors to propose 'Equal' or 'Approved Substitute' hardware packages to meet project budgets?
- Have you been directly responsible for creating and assembling submittal packages, including custom shop drawings, hardware schedules, and manufacturer cuts for Division 8 projects?
- What are the primary reasons you are exploring new opportunities?
- While estimating a project, you spot direct conflicts in the specifications—such as a designated healthcare quiet zone calling out a specialty sliding door assembly, but paired with a non-acoustic perimeter seal or an incorrect latch function. Walk us through your ideal next steps when this happens.
- When quoting premium, highly engineered sliding doors and storefront assemblies (like AD Systems) from architectural PDFs inside an estimating platform, what best practices have you developed to maintain exact data integrity while producing proposals efficiently at high volume?
Work Location: In person
