Buyer - procurement engineering services

Procurement Excellence Office Role

Clayco is a full-service, turnkey real estate development, master planning, architecture, engineering, and construction firm that safely delivers clients across North America the highest quality solutions on time, on budget, and above and beyond expectations. With $8.1 billion in revenue for 2025, Clayco specializes in the "art and science of building," providing fast track, efficient solutions for mission critical, industrial, life sciences, power & energy, aviation, commercial, institutional, residential and sports & entertainment related building projects.

The Role We Want You For

The Procurement Excellence Office is a newly established function at Clayco, and this role is a foundational position within it. The primary focus is subcontract procurement: bidding, leveling, awarding, and administering the trade labor agreements that drive project cost and schedule performance. Materials and equipment purchasing is a secondary, supporting function.

This is a primarily office-based position. The distinguishing qualification is the combination of field knowledge and commercial aptitude. Candidates with a background in field engineering or project engineering bring an understanding of how subcontractors operate, where scope gaps create cost exposure, and how trade sequencing affects a bid. This role does not own scope writing; it contributes field experience and lessons learned to strengthen bid packages, improve bid leveling accuracy, and inform award decisions.

The Specifics of the Role

Subcontract Bidding and Award

Review bid packages using field experience to identify scope gaps, misalignments, and execution risks prior to release

Contribute lessons learned and firsthand construction knowledge to improve scope coverage and bid package quality

Build and manage bidder pools; coordinate prequalification, vendor outreach, and RFI responses using BuildingConnected

Perform bid leveling and gap analysis; evaluate submitted bids against the package and document scope variances

Prepare award recommendations supported by commercial data and field-informed analysis

Support subcontract negotiations by contributing cost context and construction perspective

Subcontract Administration

Assemble and execute subcontract packages including scope, exhibits, flowdowns, insurance, and compliance requirements

Track post-execution deliverables and hold subcontractors to their commitments professionally and consistently

Support change management by documenting scope events, gathering pricing, and assessing legitimacy before escalation

Maintain accurate records of commercial deviations, redlines, and resolutions

Assist with payment application review; verify amounts billed against the schedule of values

Cost and Budget Support

Maintain WBS-format bid comparisons; track awarded values against the project budget and flag exposure proactively

Build basis-of-cost documentation: unit rates, allowances, exclusions, and negotiated value rationale

Assist with change event cost assessments and distinguish legitimate scope additions from commercial claims

Field and Preconstruction Collaboration

Participate in constructability reviews and preconstruction meetings as an active contributor

Share field-based lessons learned to inform bid package development and improve trade coordination outcomes

Support Estimating-to-Operations handoffs by identifying assumptions that may not align with field execution

Collaborate with project managers and superintendents to surface subcontract issues before they affect field performance

Requirements

• 3 to 6 years of experience in field engineering, project engineering, construction management, or estimating on commercial, industrial, or mission-critical projects
• Hands-on experience managing or coordinating subcontractors in the field
• Exposure to scope development, bid packages, or subcontract documents
• Working knowledge of contract structure: scope of work, flowdown clauses, insurance requirements
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel; familiarity with BuildingConnected, Procore, or equivalent platforms is a plus
• Strong written communication and attention to detail

Some Things You Should Know

Our clients and projects are nationwide Travel will be required.

No other builder can offer the collaborative design-build approach that Clayco does.

We work on creative, complex, award-winning, high-profile jobs.

The pace is fast!

Why Clayco?

2025 Best Places to Work St. Louis Business Journal, Los Angeles Business Journal, and Phoenix Business Journal.

2025 ENR Midwest Midwest Contractor (#1).

2025 ENR Top 100 Design-Build Firms Design-Build Contractor (Top 5).

2025 ENR Top 100 Green Contractors Green Contractor (Top 3).

2025 ENR Top 25 Data Center Builders Data Center Contractor (Top 3).

Benefits

Discretionary Annual Bonus: Subject to company and individual performance.

Comprehensive Benefits Package Including: Medical, dental and vision plans, 401k, generous PTO and paid company holidays, employee assistance program, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, disability coverage, learning & development programs and more!

Compensation

~ The salary range for this position considers a wide range of factors in making compensation decisions including but not limited to: Education, qualifications, skills, training, experience, certifications, internal equity, and location. Compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case.