Senior Estimator

Senior CSA Estimator

Hill International is seeking an experienced Senior CSA (Civil, Structural, Architectural) Estimator to join our West Coast team. The Senior CSA Estimator will provide civil, structural, and architectural cost expertise across all phases of project design. They will produce accurate quantity take-offs and estimates calibrated to the level of design and specification completeness at each estimating stage — from conceptual/order-of-magnitude through fully detailed construction document estimates.

This role combines hands-on estimating, third-party estimate review, client and senior-management interaction, and mentorship of junior staff. A core expectation is the judgment to apply the appropriate level of detail, methodology, contingency, and documentation that each design stage warrants.

Responsibilities

• Perform quantity take-offs and prepare estimates from conceptual/order-of-magnitude through fully detailed Construction Document (CD) estimates, applying the level of detail, methodology, and documentation appropriate to each design phase.
• Follow Hill's estimate workflow across intake and scope control, estimate type/structure/quantity development, direct cost and markup development, and Basis of Estimate, reporting, review, and close-out.
• Verify that progress drawings, specifications, and the estimate request package have actually reached the design maturity at which they are declared, and raise gaps in writing before estimating begins.
• Organize estimates in a Uniformat work breakdown structure (WBS) with defensible Location/System/Subsystem/Element coding, tree-level quantities, and supplemental coding fields (bid item, schedule item, client accounting, or agency-specific codes) as required by the project.
• Develop assemblies at the lowest WBS level with complete database references, labor hours, labor/material/equipment unit costs, and direct cost — never entering a unit price that cannot be decomposed on request.
• Develop burdened labor rates and composite crew rates in accordance with standard methodology, ensuring payroll taxes and insurances are applied correctly and never to fringe benefits or non-labor items.
• Develop and apply subcontractor and general contractor markups, General Conditions, and General Requirements as transparent, itemized, unit-of-measure-based line items — never as an unsupported percentage of direct cost.
• Build escalation forecasts from published cost index data (e.g., BLS series) mapped to the project schedule, rather than a single compounded opinion.
• Develop and maintain the project Risk Register across all applicable categories (external, management, operational, and design/estimating allowances), with Low-Mean-High values and assigned owners, and use it — not a flat percentage — to justify contingency.
• Prepare a defensible Basis of Estimate documenting scope inclusions/exclusions, assumptions, methodology, quality control performed, and reference documents used.
• Review third-party and Independent Cost Estimator (ICE) submissions for completeness, transparency, and uniformity; participate in quantity reconciliation between in-house and third-party estimates.
• Evaluate and level subcontractor and vendor quotes, bid information, and change orders; assist in evaluating large change orders and verifying entitlement.
• Develop, prepare, and review value analysis / value engineering estimates and alternatives.
• Participate in estimate review and reconciliation meetings, presenting and defending assumptions, methodology, and results to clients, design teams, and review bodies.
• Attend project meetings, kick-off meetings, and site investigations as assigned; assist in developing the project's estimate quality control plan (EQCP) and adhere to it on every deliverable.
• Coordinate with the broader Hill estimating team as a resource and reviewer for other estimators' take-offs and deliverables.
• Maintain proficiency with, and help maintain, Hill's estimating and quantity survey software platforms.
• Demonstrate effective leadership and mentor and develop Estimators and Junior Estimators.

CSA-Specific Scope

• Prepare accurate quantification and unit costs for the civil, structural, and architectural CSI Divisions (02–10, 12, 31–35) of assigned projects, with well-organized detail and defensible baseline unit pricing.
• Take off sitework and earthwork (clearing, grubbing, cut/fill balance, haul, subgrade preparation, compaction) with a shrink/swell factor stated and reconciled to a cut/fill diagram.
• Take off underground utilities (storm, sanitary, water, joint trench), trench sections, shoring, dewatering, bedding, and backfill.
• Decompose concrete assemblies into formwork (SFCA), reinforcing tonnage, PSI class, and finish — never priced as a single blended $/CY.
• Take off structural steel and miscellaneous metals by tonnage, connection type, and erection crew, including crane selection.
• Take off deep foundations (driven pile, drilled shaft, CIDH, micropile, ground improvement) with stated production rates and mobilization.
• Take off architectural systems — envelope, roofing, glazing/curtain wall, partitions, finishes, specialties, and conveying systems (elevators by stop count, speed, and capacity).
• Price temporary works (shoring, falsework, cofferdams, MOT staging, crane pads, laydown) as itemized General Requirements — never absorbed into a unit rate.
• Build crews for civil and structural work: excavator/loader/haul truck crews, form crews, rebar crews, iron-worker crews.

Qualifications

• BA/BS in Engineering, Construction Management, or a related field preferred.
• 15+ years of construction cost estimating experience, with experience across conceptual, schematic, design development, and construction document phases.
• A mixture of field and consulting/estimating experience preferred.
• Strong conceptual estimating skills with limited information, and the professional judgment to determine the level of detail each design stage warrants.
• General knowledge of estimating techniques, cost control, and material pricing; ability to read and understand engineering drawings, purchase orders, contracts, and cost coding systems (e.g., CSI MasterFormat/UniFormat, agency bid item schedules).
• Proficiency with estimating and take-off software such as On-Screen Takeoff, Bluebeam Revu, WinEst, Destini Estimator, Accubid, RS Means, or Timberline/Sage preferred.
• Intermediate to advanced understanding of civil, structural, and architectural building systems sufficient to recognize relative costs and identify design gaps.
• Aviation, Rail and Transit, DOT, Water/Wastewater Treatment, and/or Industrial Manufacturing project experience preferred.

Technical Skills

• Ability to decompose any parametric unit price into its constituent labor, material, and equipment components on demand.
• Experience developing burdened labor rates and composite crew rates, including correct treatment of payroll taxes and insurances.
• Experience building and defending an escalation forecast from published index data (e.g., BLS series) and a Risk Register with Low-Mean-High contingency justification.

Interpersonal Skills

• Ability to build strong internal and external relationships with clients, design consultants, subcontractors, suppliers, and Hill staff.
• Effective written and verbal communication, leadership, and mentoring capabilities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite.

About Us

Hill International, with more than 4,300+ professionals in over 100 offices worldwide, provides program management, project management, construction management, project management oversight, advisory, facilities management, and other consulting services to clients in a variety of market sectors. Engineering News-Record magazine recently ranked Hill as one of the largest program management firms in the world. For more information on Hill, please visit our website at

Hill is exclusively a program, project, and construction management provider, meaning we have one focus as a company: protecting client interests. Free of any potential conflicts, our entire business is geared towards helping clients achieve their desired outcomes. We are dedicated to exceeding expectations throughout the entire construction project lifecycle and adapt to the needs of each assignment to develop tailored approaches and solutions to meet those needs.

Hill is a GISI Consulting Group company, part of the Global Infrastructure Solutions, Inc. (GISI) family of companies. Learn more about GISI Consulting Group at

Hill International is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Veteran/Disabled