You're a great estimator. You already know it.
Your takeoffs are tight. Your bids are clean. You can spot a missing detail from across the room and you've saved your current shop more money than they realize.
But somewhere along the way, the work stopped feeling like growth.
Maybe you're stuck bidding the same kind of jobs in the same kind of buildings. Maybe leadership talks about a "career path" but has never actually sketched one for you. Maybe the bonus you were promised quietly never lands. Maybe the shop has plateaued — not enough work, or too much of the wrong kind. Or maybe the people upstairs just don't really get what estimating takes… the focus, the deadlines, the pressure of carrying tight margins on your shoulders.
If any of that sounds familiar, keep reading.
We're Matt and Callie Barbe. We run Barbe Electric Co. out of Lufkin, Texas, and we're building the kind of shop we always wished we worked at. The kind where the estimator's voice is heard, the work is varied enough to keep you sharp, and the path forward is real instead of someday.
We're growing fast, and we need a strong estimator to grow with us.
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What you'll actually get here
Pay that respects the seat. $80,000–$100,000 base, plus up to $10,000 performance bonus that gets paid out, not dangled.
A paycheck that goes further. Lufkin's cost of living is roughly 15–20% lower than Houston, Dallas, or Austin. Same money, more house, less traffic, more weekend. We'll put up to $2,500 toward your relocation to make the move easier.
A career runway, not a holding pattern. We're scaling. The estimator seat scales with the company. The right person has a real shot at running the department, building a team under them, and shaping how we estimate, not just executing someone else's playbook.
Variety that keeps you sharp. We're not the shop bidding the same warehouse forty times a year. Commercial, residential, generators, service work, across Lufkin and the surrounding region. You'll stay engaged, and keep getting stronger every quarter.
A direct line to ownership. You'll work with Matt and Callie, not three layers below them. Your ideas about better software, better workflow, better margins, they actually get heard, and the good ones get implemented.
A culture you can feel. We work hard, joke harder, and take care of the people who carry weight. Estimating is hard enough, you shouldn't also be fighting to be respected for doing it.
This is a fit if you...
- Have real electrical estimating experience (commercial preferred, happy to talk to anyone sharp)
- Know your way around Accubid, McCormick, Electrical Bid Manager, or similar software
- Catch the mistakes other people miss
- Want to help build something, not just clock in
This isn't a fit if you...
- Want a desk to hide behind
- Don't take feedback well
- Are looking for a place to coast until retirement
How to apply
Hit Apply and send a short note, three or four sentences is plenty:
1. Who you are and where you're estimating now
2. What's not working about your current seat
3. What you'd want to be doing three years from now
That's it. No résumé gymnastics on the first round. If we see a fit, we'll come back to you within 48 hours and take it from there.
We respond to every applicant. U.S. residents only.
Job Type: Full-time
Projected Total Compensation: $80,000.00 - $100,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Flexible schedule
- Paid time off
- Relocation assistance
Work Location: In person
