Excavation Estimator

About Manhattan Plumbing & Heating (MPH)

MPH is a 90+ person construction and service company serving some of Southwest Montana’s most demanding residential and commercial clients. With revenues exceeding $20 MM, a strong reputation, and a deeply integrated Sage 100 environment, we self-perform mechanical and civil scopes that require precision, planning, and discipline.

Our excavation group tackles complex projects in challenging terrain: steep slopes, tight access, weather swings, and long-haul logistics. We are building the next chapter of our civil capabilities and need a dedicated estimator to anchor that growth.

We are disciplined, team-oriented, and focused on doing things the right way. This role is central to pricing work intelligently and setting the field up to execute safely and profitably.

MPH’s excavation work has reached the point where estimating and preconstruction are strategic, not just transactional. We have an experienced Excavation Manager, strong field leadership, and solid systems. What we need is a civil-focused partner who:

• Brings rigor and realism to how we price and sequence work
• Understands how mountain terrain changes production, risk, and logistics
• Helps re-establish a competitive edge in the local market without giving away margin

If you enjoy thinking in sequence, challenging assumptions respectfully, and turning drawings, contours, and haul roads into grounded numbers, this is a high-impact seat where your judgment will be visible every day.

You will own civil estimating and preconstruction for complex excavation projects, partnering closely with the Excavation Manager and operations to price work accurately, sequence it intelligently, and set projects up to win before the first bucket hits the ground.

• Prepare accurate, defensible estimates for excavation and civil scopes, including foundations, hillside work, site development, utilities, and infrastructure
• Build estimates grounded in real-world production assumptions that reflect terrain, access, weather, elevation, and long-haul logistics
• Identify and quantify major cost drivers (rock, groundwater, traffic control, trucking, export/import, etc.) before bids go out
• Surface viable alternates and VE options early so leadership can make informed decisions on scope and strategy

• Price projects with realistic sequencing, staging, and site constraints fully accounted for
• Flag constructability issues early and collaborate with the Excavation Manager on means and methods
• Call out risk factors (schedule, access, utilities, geotech, third parties) and frame options, not just problems
• Provide leadership with a trusted second opinion on cost, duration, and risk for key pursuits

• Own a clean, well-documented handoff from estimate to field that sets operations up to execute as planned
• Translate the estimate into quantities, production targets, and simple, field-usable narratives
• Participate in pre-job meetings to align on scope, assumptions, and sequence
• Close the loop at job closeout: compare estimated vs. actual and help sharpen the next estimate

• Ensure estimating workflows integrate smoothly with Sage 100 and existing financial systems
• Maintain and improve historical cost data, production rates, and template assemblies
• Help refine how excavation estimates map into job-cost structures so that field performance is visible to ownership
• Suggest and implement incremental process improvements rather than one-off workarounds

By the end of year one, success in this role looks like:

• Tighter, more defensible excavation and civil estimates that leadership trusts
• Bid hit rate improves without margin erosion
• Field execution tracks closely to estimated cost and schedule on the majority of awarded work
• Clear visibility into the main cost and risk drivers on each bid, with alternatives considered upfront
• Estimating inputs flow cleanly into Sage 100 and job-cost reporting
• The Excavation Manager and field teams see you as…