Listing evidence and provenance
- Source
- Workday View original listing
- Freshness
- Open in the current public read path; this is not an employer guarantee.Last observed October 5, 2026
- Classification
- Modern power-system classification not yet published for this listing.Legacy source industry field: Transmission & Distribution
- Pay provenance
- Estimated benchmark; not employer-provided
Job Description
The Senior Estimator is the senior technical estimator on the preconstruction team.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead estimates end to end. Own capital cost estimates from bid kickoff through executive review and award. Lump sum, unit rate, reimbursable, force account, EPC and EPCM, including alternative pricing and cost risk analysis.
- Split the scope. Break every pursuit into engineering, procurement and construction. Define the engineering needed to price the bid separately from the engineering needed to build the job.
- Schedule before price. Build or direct the bid schedule in Primavera P6 or MS Project and back-solve cost from it. Material and equipment lead times, production rates, engineering and client review cycles, seasonal and shift-work productivity losses.
- Own the takeoff. Perform, direct and check discipline takeoffs, both material and labour activities, and apply unit norms to develop man-hours. Sequence the takeoff so dependent scopes like scaffold, shop fabrication and coating price off the same basis.
- Own the rate methodology. Maintain the labour and equipment rate build-up. Fleet cost basis, monthly hour bases, fuel, repair and maintenance, markup, wet versus dry selection, and utilization adjustments. Pick the correct client agreement and rate schedule for each pursuit, keep the rate libraries current, and escalate older rates to today’s dollars.
- Scrub the indirects. Build and challenge indirect and site-support costs. Supervision, temporary facilities, lighting and temporary power, dewatering, heating and hoarding, camp and travel. Decide what gets carried on its own and what gets spread into the unit rates.
- Drive subcontractor and vendor pricing. Package and issue RFQs, chase vendors by phone instead of waiting on the bid platform, level the quotes, and reconcile subcontract unit rates back to our own build-up. Work alongside procurement throughout.
- Place risk and contingency on purpose. Build the risk register, set the risk level the estimate carries, and put contingency where the exposure sits instead of spreading it evenly. Fence real unknowns to change management.
- Write the commercial language. Author the clarifications, qualifications, assumptions and exclusions that put risk with the right party through wording rather than a padded number. Defend that language through client review and negotiation.
- Document the basis of estimate. Record method, rationale and source data while the estimate is being built. The standard is that an estimator who was not involved can rebuild how every rate was developed.
- Read the pursuit. Interpret client intent, contract structure, and where we sit against the competition. Contribute to bid / no-bid, win strategy, strategy and margin reviews, page turners, final bid review, and delegation of authority approval.
- Present the number. Walk leadership and clients through estimates and margin summaries, including revenue by bucket. Indirect hours, direct hours, direct labour, material, subcontract and equipment.
- Support execution planning and handover. Contribute to Construction Execution Plans, path of construction, workface planning, and constructability reviews with operations and field leadership. Turn the estimate over to the project team after award and support cost reporting, change orders and claims from the estimate basis.
- Develop the team. Supervise, coach and check the work of the intermediate and junior estimators. Build and deliver internal training on estimating standards, takeoff methods and tools.
- Improve the department. Keep the estimating KPIs and historical cost data current. Contribute to better templates, tools, and digital or AI-assisted workflows.
- Lead on safety. Set the tone on safety and Primoris values in every meeting, site visit and subcontractor conversation.
- Various other duties as requested by management.
Requirements
- 10+ years of estimating experience in heavy industrial, oil and gas, or energy construction, with at least five (5) years leading estimates on your own.
- Two backgrounds carry equal weight here. A journeyman ticket (pipefitter, welder, boilermaker, millwright, heavy equipment or civil) with time as a foreman, general foreman or superintendent before moving into estimating. Or a degree or diploma in Engineering, Construction Management or a related field. Field credibility counts as much as the paper.
- P.Eng. with APEGA, or eligibility to register, is an asset. It is not a requirement.
- Real depth in at least two of: process and utility piping, mechanical and equipment installation, civil earthworks and watercourse work, structural steel, storage tanks, pipeline facilities and tie-ins.
- Experience across lump sum, unit rate, and reimbursable or time-and-material models. EPC or EPCM estimating is a strong asset.
- Working knowledge of owner master service agreements, framework agreements and contract rate schedules, and the discipline to price to the right table.
- Experience preparing and defending estimates through a formal stage-gate or delegation of authority process.
- Experience supervising, mentoring or formally training estimators.
- Alberta oil sands, SAGD, or northern and remote site experience is an asset. Winter execution, shift work and camp-based projects included.
- Cost control or project controls exposure preferred.
- Familiarity with ASME B31.3, CSA Z662, API 650 and 653, and CSA S6 is an asset.
- Valid driver’s license and able to travel to site when needed.
Ready to Apply?
Apply directly on Primoris's site
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