Chief Estimator – Own Bidding Strategy & Lead Heavy Civil Pursuits for Mark Cerrone, Inc.
Job Overview
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Company: Mark Cerrone, Inc.
- Salary/Pay Rate: $165,000 - $190,000 annually (based on experience)
- Location: Niagara Falls, NY
- Job/Employment Type: Full Time
- Project Scope: Heavy Civil, Site Work, Underground Utilities, and Commercial Construction
- Mandatory Licenses & Certifications: OSHA
The Opportunity
You will step into a standalone leadership seat to take full ownership of our bidding function and drive the continuous growth of our heavy civil footprint. Partnering directly with ownership and leadership, you will set estimating standards and establish the numbers that go out the door. This position gives you direct accountability, high visibility, and the opportunity to see your estimates built by our own field crews. This is an opportunity to rebuild and strengthen the estimating function rather than simply inherit an established department. You will have the authority to establish standards, structure, accountability, and development practices for the team.
How You Will Make an Impact
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Oversee and approve every estimate before final submission, ensuring pricing accuracy, complete scope, and risk mitigation.
- Establish and enforce estimating standards, methods, and documentation requirements.
- Build and maintain historical cost and production-rate databases, using post-bid and post-job reviews and actual project performance to continuously improve future estimating assumptions.
- Partner with ownership to establish bid strategies, evaluate markups, and lead formal bid/no-bid decision-making.
- Price self-performed heavy civil, site development, and utility work based on real-world production rates, fleet data, and labor costs.
- Perform and enforce written subcontractor scope leveling, identifying inclusions, exclusions, qualifications, and gaps between adjacent trades before award.
- Mentor and develop project estimators and project managers through constructive bid reviews and collaborative strategies.
- Work closely with field operations post-award to transfer bid intent, production assumptions, and risk strategies to project teams.
- Build and maintain key relationships with subcontractors, suppliers, and municipal owners to expand our competitive edge.
- Build realistic bid schedules based on actual construction sequence and duration, identify compressed contract timelines, and incorporate acceleration costs and schedule risk into the estimate when required.
Required Qualifications & Experience
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Minimum of 10 years of construction estimating experience, including direct senior or lead estimating responsibility.
- Experience estimating in a union construction environment, including understanding labor rules, crew composition, jurisdiction, labor rates, fringes, and how those factors affect production and cost.
- Must have recent hands-on experience personally building complete heavy civil estimates from start to finish, including takeoffs, production rates, crew and equipment build-ups, and self-performed pricing. This is a working Chief Estimator role, not solely an estimating management position.
- Strong technical command of heavy civil estimating, including unit-price and item-based public bidding.
- Demonstrated experience pricing self-performed site work using real crew and equipment production rates.
- Working familiarity with general building estimating and multi-division subcontractor scope leveling.
- Proficient with advanced Microsoft Excel features and industry-standard estimating platforms.
- Valid driver's license with an insurable driving record.
- Proven ability to develop and mentor estimators, project engineers, or project managers, with specific examples of individuals they have helped advance.
- Ability and willingness to teach the reasoning behind estimating decisions, provide candid feedback, delegate meaningful work, and build judgment in developing team members.
- Experience with competitive public and owner-agency bidding, including prevailing wage, certified payroll, MWBE, DBE and SDVOB participation requirements and agency bid procedures.
Preferred Qualifications & Experience
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15 or more years of estimating experience in heavy civil, utility, and commercial site development.
- Extensive experience with NYSDOT bidding, prevailing wage regulations, and public works compliance.
- Deep established network of subcontractors, suppliers, and agency relationships across Western New York.
- Comfortable working with modern estimating, takeoff, and construction technology; experience with platforms such as B2W Estimate, AGTEK, PlanSwift, Bluebeam, Procore, or similar systems is beneficial but not required.
- Completion of OSHA 30 certification.
Compensation & Benefits
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Competitive annual salary with performance-based bonuses tied to margin realized.
- Deferred compensation plan that grows with tenure and company achievements.
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage options.
- 401(k) retirement savings program featuring employer matching contributions.
- Health Savings Account (HSA) along with life and disability options.
- Paid time off covering holidays, vacation time, and sick leave.
- Provided tech package including a smartphone, laptop, and required software.
- Company vehicle or allowance provided with a company fuel card.
- Ongoing career development, specialized safety training, and industry association memberships.
- Regular company events and a supportive team environment.
About Us
Mark Cerrone, Inc. is a premier Western New York contractor specializing in heavy civil, site development, underground utilities, and general construction. We pride ourselves on self-performing complex projects with our own crews and equipment while supporting our team members' long-term career growth. We offer a stable, safety-focused work environment where hard work is rewarded and every employee is treated as a valued member of our family.
Mark Cerrone, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender expression, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), political affiliation, military service, or any other status protected by law or regulations. It is our intention that all qualified applicants be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions be based on job-related factors.
