Manufacturing Estimator

Job Description

Job Description

A CNC machine shop is looking for Manufacturing Estimator. The ideal candidate will have experience working at a CNC shop.

Estimating & RFQ response (primary)

•     Own the intake and turnaround of customer RFQs for new and previously manufactured products; keep the RFQ queue visible and prioritized against promise dates (target 24-hour turnaround).

•     Develop cost, material, and lead-time estimates from engineering prints and specifications — reading drawings and GD&T, identifying operations and setups, and estimating machining time across the shop's mills, lathes, turn-mill centers, EDM, and grinding.

•     Estimate work aligned to Boulden's product line — labyrinth seals, tilt-pad and wear bearings, and other reciprocating and rotating components — pulling from historical job data for repeat parts.

•     Source and confirm material and outside-process pricing and lead times; build these into the quote.

•     Work with the Boulden sales team on value-based pricing to maximize margin; follow up on open quotes to convert them to orders.

•     Keep estimating assumptions (machining direct labor, material, outside processing) documented and consistent so quotes are repeatable and tie to how the shop actually performs.

Production planning & scheduling (secondary)

•     Turn won quotes and orders into production routings and work orders — operations, sequence, setups, and standard run times — so every job enters the shop with a clear plan.

•     Schedule and load work across the shop's mills, lathes, turn-mill centers, EDM, and grinding against real machine and labor capacity; sequence jobs to hit promise dates.

•     Manage material and outside-process timing so stock, tooling, and outside operations arrive when the schedule needs them; flag long-lead items early.

•     Track jobs against the plan and keep promise dates current — reprioritize when rushes, delays, or capacity changes hit, and feed actual run times back into routings and the estimating data.

Cost data, standards & documentation

•     Maintain standard cycle-time, labor, and cost data — feed proven actuals back into the estimating model so estimate-to-actual variance shrinks over time.

•     Document how estimates, routings, and schedules get built (methods, assumptions, templates) so the work runs on documented process, not memory.

•     Use the shop's estimating and scheduling software (internal AI solution) to build quotes, capture routings, and support scheduling with realistic times.

Cross-functional collaboration

•     Work closely with the Operations Manager, Shop Floor Supervisor, sales, and the machinists so quotes and schedules reflect real capacity, tooling, and lead times.

•     Flag RFQs that don't fit the shop's capability or capacity early — before they become missed promises or margin-losing jobs.

•     Support standardization and integration onto the Boulden platform as estimating and planning processes are rolled out across sites.