Preconstruction Manager

About the role:

The Manager, Preconstruction Estimating & Planning is responsible for developing accurate quantity surveying, cost, resource, labor, material, and schedule assumptions to support Divcon sales bids and early preconstruction planning. This role partners with Sales to understand customer needs, bid requirements, and scope expectations, then coordinates with internal business partners to determine the resources, materials, engineering effort, programming effort, panel build requirements, procurement lead times, and field labor needed to support proposed work.

This role serves as the responsible estimating and planning partner for pre-award opportunities, ensuring bid inputs are complete, realistic, and aligned with internal execution capabilities. The Manager, Preconstruction Estimating & Planning does not own final sales strategy or full project execution, but provides the quantity surveying, cost, resource, and operational planning intelligence needed to support customer proposals and improve the transition from sales opportunity to project delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with Sales to understand customer needs, bid requirements, project scope, technical expectations, site conditions, and proposed delivery timelines.
• Lead quantity surveying and develop comprehensive cost estimates for labor, materials, equipment, panel building, engineering, programming, subcontractor support, travel, and other project-related requirements.
• Build resource estimates that identify the quantity, type, level, and timing of support needed from Field Operations, Engineering, Programming, Panel Shop, Procurement, QA/QC, and other internal teams.
• Evaluate customer specifications, drawings, narratives, bills of quantities, schedules of values, sales feedback, and technical requirements to identify scope assumptions, exclusions, risks, and execution impacts.
• Coordinate with Engineering to estimate design effort, design schedule, drawing requirements, technical review needs, and lead times required to generate design specifications and project documentation.
• Coordinate with Programming and SCADA or controls teams to estimate programming hours, system complexity, testing requirements, integration needs, and sequencing considerations.
• Partner with Procurement, Engineering, and Panel Shop teams to validate material requirements, vendor pricing, long-lead items, component availability, panel build timelines, and ordering constraints.
• Lead bid leveling and commercial evaluation of supplier and subcontractor quotations, normalizing scope, pricing, qualifications, exclusions, and commercial terms to support complete and comparable bid inputs.
• Develop and maintain a documented basis of estimate for each opportunity, including scope boundaries, quantity takeoffs, pricing sources, productivity assumptions, escalation, allowances, contingency, exclusions, and estimate maturity.
• Incorporate internal lead times, resource availability, material procurement timelines, historical productivity, and execution constraints into bid assumptions and preconstruction planning inputs.
• Identify estimating gaps, ambiguous scope items, customer requirement risks, resource constraints, and schedule concerns before bids are finalized.
• Maintain preconstruction cost and risk registers, evaluate cost and schedule exposure, and recommend appropriate allowances or contingency based on the level of scope definition and identified project risks.
• Lead constructability, value engineering, and lifecycle cost reviews with technical and operational stakeholders to identify practical alternatives that improve cost, schedule, quality, and execution outcomes without compromising customer requirements.
• Prepare clear estimate summaries, resource assumptions, planning notes, and handoff documentation for Sales, Operations, Engineering, Programming, Procurement, and Panel Shop stakeholders.
• Facilitate internal estimating reviews to confirm the basis of estimate, cost assumptions, resource requirements, scope coverage, allowances, contingency, risks, and bid readiness before customer pricing or proposal inputs are finalized.
• Support post-award handoff by ensuring project teams understand what was estimated, the assumptions used, potential risks, long-lead requirements, and internal execution dependencies.
• Develop and maintain standardized estimating tools, quantity takeoff methods, templates, work breakdown structures, cost codes, cost categories, resource assumptions, and preconstruction planning processes to improve consistency and scalability.
• Use historical project data, actual labor performance, material usage, and post-award feedback to improve future estimating accuracy and resource planning discipline.

Qualifications:

• Strong understanding of quantity surveying, estimating, preconstruction planning, project coordination, resource planning, procurement planning, or technical project execution in a construction or controls environment.
• Ability to interpret customer requirements, drawings, specifications, scopes of work, technical documents, and sales feedback to develop realistic cost and resource assumptions.
• Working knowledge of field labor planning, engineering deliverables, programming effort, material lead times, panel build requirements, procurement timelines, and project execution sequencing.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to build quantity takeoffs, cost plans, cost estimates, labor assumptions, material forecasts, schedule inputs, and planning recommendations.
• Excellent cross-functional communication skills with the ability to align Sales, Operations, Engineering, Programming, Procurement, Panel Shop, and project leadership around bid assumptions and planning needs.
• High attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple estimates, deadlines, technical inputs, and stakeholder expectations simultaneously.
• Proficiency with spreadsheets, estimating tools, project management platforms, ERP systems, or related business systems used to track pricing, resources, materials, and project information.
• Working knowledge of quantity surveying principles, including measurement and quantification, cost planning, bills of quantities or schedules of values, procurement and tendering, bid leveling, value engineering, risk allowances, and commercial cost reporting.
• Ability to establish and communicate a clear basis of estimate and apply consistent work breakdown structures, cost codes, benchmarking, and estimate review controls across multiple opportunities.

Experience

• Minimum 7 years of experience in estimating, preconstruction, project controls, construction management, engineering coordination, procurement planning, or related technical operations role.
• Experience supporting bids, proposals, project estimates, or preconstruction planning in construction, controls, building automation, electrical, low-voltage, data center, MEP, industrial automation, or similar technical environments preferred.
• Experience performing quantity surveying and estimating labor, materials, engineering effort, programming effort, panel build requirements, subcontractor support, or project execution resources.
• Experience leading detailed quantity takeoffs, cost planning, tender or subcontractor quote analysis, value engineering, estimate risk assessment, and pre-award commercial reviews.
• Experience partnering cross-functionally with sales, project management, field operations, engineering, procurement, programming, and fabrication or panel shop teams during bid development or early project planning.
• Experience using historical performance data, vendor pricing, labor productivity, and operational inputs to improve estimating accuracy preferred.

Physical Requirements:

• Sit and/or stand for extended periods (typically 6-8 hours per day) while performing computer-based tasks and facility support tasks.
• Use hands and fingers to operate standard office equipment, including computers, keyboards, mice, telephones, scanners and printers.
• Occasionally stand, walk, bend, stoop, or reach to access filing cabinets, retrieve documents, or attend meetings.
• Lift, carry, push, or pull light objects and materials weighing up to 20-25 pounds (e.g., boxes of files or office supplies).
• Have sufficient vision (with or without correction) to read computer screens, printed documents, and small print; and sufficient hearing to communicate effectively by phone and in person.
• Work in a typical indoor office environment with moderate noise levels from office equipment, conversations, and occasional interruptions.

Benefits & Total Rewards:

• Opportunities for Growth
  Hands-on training and career advancement in an exploding data-center industry.
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
  We cover 100% of individual medical premiums and help offset the cost of family coverage.
• 401K with Employer Match
  Eligible after 90 days, with company matching to help you invest in your future.
• Disability Coverage
  Both short- and long-term disability insurance provided at no cost to our employees.
• Flexible PTO
  Take time off when you need it, no accruing time necessary.

• Field-Based Employee Benefits
  For eligible field-based roles that require travel, Divcon covers all business travel expenses and provides a per diem, phone allowance, tools, and PPE at no cost. Eligible employees also receive paid training and additional reimbursable business expenses.

About Us:

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Divcon delivers fully integrated automation solutions nationwide that optimize performance, energy efficiency, and reliability across HVAC, lighting, power monitoring, and mission-critical systems. Leveraging advanced technologies - including Allen-Bradley PLCs, Ignition SCADA, and Delta DDC systems - we combine deep technical expertise with field-tested execution to deliver precise, scalable, and high-performance solutions.