Director of Cost Engineering & Preconstruction Governance

Job Description

Job Description

Director of Cost Engineering & Preconstruction Governance

Picture your Monday morning at Deploy's Client: you open the portfolio dashboard, scan pursuit health across Data Centers, Healthcare, and Retail, and decide which estimates require your direct touch before executive sign-off. A first-of-its-kind building type lands in your queue—no historical benchmarks exist. You convene Design, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain, sketch the initial cost model, and set the schedule assumptions Program Management will inherit after award. By afternoon, you’re preparing to brief the C-suite and Board on hit rate, estimate accuracy, and margin variance. This is the rhythm of leading cost intelligence for an industrialized builder reinventing how projects are designed, fabricated, and delivered.

Our mission is bold: integrate advanced manufacturing with cutting-edge technology to deliver high-quality modular solutions—efficient, scalable, and sustainable. In this role, you will lead the enterprise-wide estimating and preconstruction function, own the integrity of every price we place in front of a client, and turn every project actual back into smarter benchmarks and more defensible estimates.

What you’ll lead

• Enterprise accountability for estimate accuracy, integrity, and margin impact across all platform categories—not oversight alone; direct ownership of pricing outcomes.
• Final review and approval of pursuit pricing prior to executive sign-off, including standards for assumptions, risk registers, contingency, and escalation logic.
• Estimate-to-actual performance: drive post-project cost reviews, corrective actions, and continuous improvement of benchmarks, unit rates, and productivity factors.
• Organization-wide estimating standards—templates, workflows, Basis of Estimate requirements, and data practices—for conceptual through GMP phases.
• Stewardship of the preconstruction relational database (historical cost, schedule, and BOM); direct Technology and Finance investments and reconciliation to ERP actuals.
• Capacity and capital planning inputs: manufacturing slot pricing, capacity assumptions, escalation strategy, labor market and supply chain exposure, and the headcount/technology roadmap to meet forecast pursuit volume.
• Standing up estimating capability for new platform categories: first-of-a-kind cost models, pricing structures, and schedule baselines without prior data.
• Organizational design and talent decisions across Associate Directors, Managers, Estimators, and Assistants—hiring, promotion, restructuring, and succession.
• Development of the leadership bench: mentor and hold Associate Directors and Managers accountable for performance, retention, and growth.
• Standards for preconstruction pricing execution end-to-end: subcontractor outreach and Building Connected administration, RFP compilation, price leveling, and award recommendations.
• Go/no-go and pursuit prioritization recommendations grounded in margin viability, capacity, and risk analysis.
• Risk governance: cadence and standards for program/project risk analysis; proactive escalation of organizational pricing and scope risk.
• Value Engineering leadership: define internal and Client-directed VE approaches and personally lead strategy on the most complex pursuits.
• Scheduling standards for DMC and construction developed in preconstruction and the handoff assumptions Program Management will own.
• Flawless preconstruction-to-operations transfer of budgets, risks, assumptions, and estimating intelligence to Program/Project Management, Design, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Construction, and Finance.
• Resolution of escalated pricing disputes and claims; take direct control of at-risk estimates and return them to a defensible, margin-safe position.
• Executive communications: present and defend pursuit performance, pricing, hit rate, and margin to Executive Leadership, the Board, and C-suite clients.
• With Construction Engineering and Field Operations, develop scalable field self-perform estimating tools and set standards for quantity takeoffs, labor estimates, work plans, and constructability reviews.
• Organizational standards for subcontractor and supplier buyout; lead buyout strategy on major commitments.
• KPI frameworks for the function: estimate accuracy, hit rate, margin variance at turnover, pursuit cycle time, and capacity utilization.
• Safety and quality advocacy, including the cost of quality embedded in pricing.

Client and commercial leadership

• Sponsor C-suite relationships with client preconstruction, estimating, and capital program leaders; represent Deploy's Client at the highest levels during pursuits and negotiations.
• Shape long-term commercial positioning: multi-year pricing agreements, program pricing structures, escalation/shared-savings frameworks, and repeat-work contract strategies.
• Accountable for all pricing, preconstruction, and VE materials presented to clients; personally deliver presentations with organizational consequence.
• Inform strategic pipeline decisions with analysis of margin viability, capacity, and fit across programs, clients, and pursuits.
• Partner with Commercial/Business Development on proposal reviews, pricing preparation, and client meetings.
• Nurture relationships across our DMC ecosystem: subcontractors, general contractors, design consultants, vendors, architects, engineers, and owners’ reps.
• Support CEO, CCO, and VP of Program Management in contract negotiations as the authority on pricing structure, cost basis, and commercial risk allocation.
• Be our credible voice on modular and DMC cost, productivity, and preconstruction practice—through conferences, publications, benchmarking bodies, and peer forums—to safeguard our pricing reputation.

Scope of authority

• Final review/approval of pursuit pricing before executive sign-off across all platforms.
• Set and enforce estimating standards, templates, Basis of Estimate requirements, and data practices.
• Establish contingency, escalation, and risk allowance policy and approve exceptions.
• Own and direct investment in the preconstruction database and estimating technology within the approved plan.
• Make final talent decisions for the Estimating & Preconstruction organization.
• Authorize standing up capability for new building types or platforms.
• Issue go/no-go and pursuit prioritization recommendations to Leadership.
• Commit to long-term pricing structures and program frameworks within approved strategy.
• Assume direct control of any pursuit or estimate and temporarily replace its leadership.
• Represent Deploy's Client publicly on modular/DMC cost, productivity, and preconstruction.

Matters requiring escalation

• Final go/no-go decision on a pursuit (this role recommends; Leadership decides).
• Execution/signature of client contracts (supports CEO, CCO, and VP, Program Management).
• Manufacturing capacity commitments (prices to capacity; Operations allocates it).
• Enterprise capital allocation and technology investments beyond the approved plan.
• Corporate strategy on entering or exiting platform categories or markets.
• Changes to standard contracts, indemnity, insurance, warranty, or enterprise risk position.
• Litigation, mediation, or termination at the prime contract level.
• Any matter requiring Board authorization.

Qualifications Required

• Bachelor's in Architecture, Engineering, Construction Management, Data Analytics, or related field.
• 12+ years in construction, including 6+ in Preconstruction & Estimating with leadership of estimating leaders (not individual estimators only).
• Proven accountability for the estimating/preconstruction function across multiple programs or platforms totaling >$250M annual pursuit value.
• Owned estimate accuracy as a measured outcome with portfolio-level improvements in estimate-to-actual variance, hit rate, or margin.
• C-suite client and commercial partner relationships during pursuits and negotiations.
• Built/restructured/right -sized multi-layer estimating organizations; developed Managers and Associate Directors.
• Presented and defended pursuit, pricing, and margin outcomes to Executive and Board-level audiences.
• Established company-wide estimating standards, templates, workflows, and cost data practices; directed enabling technology investments.
• Created first-of-a-kind estimating capability for new building types, markets, or delivery models without historical data.
• Recovered at-risk pursuits/estimates (scope, relationship, pricing crises) to defensible positions.
• Deep knowledge of delivery methods, contract types, procurement strategies, and risk allocation; an expert, ethical negotiator.
• Financial acumen with explicit margin accountability and the ability to communicate implications to executives.
• Exceptional analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills; can synthesize complex pricing for Board and C-suite audiences.
• Advanced proficiency with estimating and preconstruction platforms (e.g., Building Connected, Sage Estimating, Timberline, WinEst, or comparable).
• Advanced scheduling proficiency; set estimating-phase standards and direct schedules in MS Project, Primavera P6, and Smartsheet.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel for portfolio-level pricing and risk analysis.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint) and Bluebeam.
• Strategic/operational leadership; calm, precise, and decisive under pursuit pressure.
• Willingness to travel up to 35% based on pursuit and client needs.

Preferred

• Master's degree (MBA, Construction Management, Data Analytics, or similar).
• Licenses/certifications: PE, AIA, PMP, CPE, CCP, LEED AP, ASHE CHC, or similar.
• Established presence in DMC, modular, or industrialized construction (speaking, publishing, benchmarking bodies).
• Ability to set analytical and data requirements for estimating; assess whether the right analyses are performed, not just the final number.
• Set organizational standards for cost modeling, estimating, and financial analysis; executive fluency with complex pricing models.
• Interpret CAD, Revit, or SolidWorks to lead constructability/design strategy and drive model-based quantification.
• Working understanding of Python, SQL, and data modeling tools to evaluate/sponsor their use in databases and pricing workflows.
• Working knowledge of AI/ML, statistical modeling, and data engineering to shape adoption strategy for estimating intelligence and guide investment.
• Track record driving adoption of AI tools (Claude.ai, Claude Code, Lovable, Replit) with standards and performance benchmarks.
• Experience directing ERP reporting and data strategy (Microsoft Dynamics Business Central or comparable) for cost actuals and historical reconciliation.
• Senior leadership in estimating, cost analysis, or data analytics across construction, manufacturing, or related sectors.
• Background in modular construction, industrialized construction, or design-build.

Benefits and growth

We offer comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage; flexible spending accounts; paid time off; short- and long-term disability; life insurance; and a 401(k). We actively support professional growth with backing for licenses/certifications and clear pathways for skills development and advancement.

Core proficiencies

• Leadership / People Management
• Basis of Estimate
• Bid package compilation
• cost engineering and estimating methologies
• estimating and preconstruction platforms
• executive reporting
• Historical Cost Benchmarking
• Integrated Project Delivery
• Master Service Agreements
• Multi-Year Program Pricing
• Relational Database Management
• RFP Management
• risk allocation
• trade buyout strategies
• Unit Rate Modeling
• Value Engineering
• organizational management

Tools and technologies

• CAD Software
• ERP Software
• 3d/vcd model quantification
• AI/ML tool adoption
• Python
• Revit
• SQL

Equal Opportunity

Deploy's Client (LLC) is committed to making employment decisions based on an individual's qualifications, performance, and ability to contribute to our team. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law.

We are equally committed to maintaining a respectful and inclusive workplace. Harassment or discrimination of any kind based on a protected status is strictly prohibited.