Why Tarlton Tarlton is a St. Louis-based general contractor and construction manager specializing in complex, technically demanding projects across the Midwest. With deep regional roots and a reputation built on trust, teamwork, and repeat clients, we are known for taking on challenging work and delivering it safely, predictably, and with pride. We conduct our business with safety, quality, integrity, and enthusiasm - and our core values include building a safe and caring environment.
Let’s Build! As a Senior Estimator at Tarlton, you’ll take the lead on complex, high-stakes pursuits, inform pricing strategy, shaping the qualifications, and guiding the team through bid day. We’re growing, expanding our footprint, and partnering with some of the largest owners in the region, and the majority of our work comes from repeat clients. Dependable pricing is a big part of the trust behind those relationships. You’ll be a key partner to the Estimating Manager, supporting bid strategy across the department while leading pursuits of your own. You’ll bring together our estimating and operations staff, develop subcontractor packages, establish the means, methods, and pricing for our self-perform work, and build the preliminary schedule and execution plan with field leadership. You’ll present project costs to Group leadership and carry projects into preconstruction on CM at Risk and design-build work. We value broad estimating experience across types and delivery methods, and you’ll mentor Estimators, back by the prove standards that make sour work consistent.
Your Role Senior Estimator – Concrete Join a growing group with a long, successful track record, and help inform where it goes next. As part of our Self-Perform operations team, you’ll serve as our subject matter expert on concrete and the go-to voice for clients on cost, means and methods, and constructability. Your projects will start below grade and rise into the region’s skyline, including concrete structures, data centers, industrial facilities, parking garages, treatment plants, and heavy civil infrastructure. You’ll lead pursuits across hard bid and negotiated work, as both general contractor and trade partner. You’ll build turnkey concrete estimates from the ground up, from takeoff and formwork to crews and production rates, and carry them from conceptual budget to final pricing with schedule and risk built in. Along the way, you’ll build on a strong base of repeat clients while helping bring in new ones that expand our reach, working closely with self-perform operations and field leadership on plans that win work and deliver in the field.
What You'll Do Bid Documents and Pricing
- Evaluate plans, requirements, specifications, and site conditions, drive clarification of open items through RFIs, and track addenda impacts on the estimate.
- Coordinate site visits and review existing conditions, as-built documents, and surveys on renovation work.
- Perform and review takeoffs, and validate quantities and pricing prepared by others.
- Prepare conceptual and budget estimates from limited documents using historical data and clear assumptions.
- Review area labor agreements for work rules and wage determinations.
Subcontractors and Self-Perform Work
- Develop subcontractor packages and scope sheets, level bids for completeness, and secure coverage on critical scopes.
- Establish means, methods, productivity, and pricing for self-perform work, select equipment and materials, and validate crews and rates with operations.
- Conduct phasing, logistics, sequencing, and constructability reviews for each estimate.
Estimate Assembly, Risk, and Compliance
- Build general conditions, including safety and site-specific requirements, along with the preliminary schedule and execution plan with operations and field leadership.
- Contribute to and carry out the strategy to win the work, including pricing posture and qualifications.
- Partner with the Estimating Manager and self-perform leadership on bid strategy and go/no-go analysis.
- Prepare the final estimate or proposal, guide the pursuit team through bid day, and present project costs to Group leadership for review.
- Identify and quantify risks and opportunities, and draft clarifications and exclusions.
- Conduct value engineering and constructability reviews, weighing cost, schedule, and lifecycle impacts.
- Build small business participation and good faith effort strategy into the pursuit, and manage prevailing wage and agency requirements.
Clients, Pursuits, and Collaboration
- Provide estimating services on hard bid and negotiated pursuits across design-bid-build, CM at Risk, and design-build delivery, using lump sum, unit price, and T&M pricing.
- Communicate directly with owners and design teams on scope, and contribute pricing, scope narratives, and technical content to proposals.
- Build and maintain relationships with subcontractors, suppliers, engineers, and clients, and track market pricing.
Buyout, Turnover, and Cost Data
- Assist buyout with vendors and suppliers, price change orders, and facilitate detailed handoffs to operations.
- Contribute benchmark data, maintain cost history, lead project debriefs, and bring lessons learned into future pursuits.
Leadership and Development
- Support pursuit teams that bring together estimating staff, operations staff, and subcontractors.
- Mentor Estimators, help onboard junior staff, and direct their work on assigned scopes.
- Manage workload across multiple bids and deliver complete, accurate estimates on hard deadlines.
What You Bring