What are the responsibilities and job description for the Design Estimator - Audio Video Systems position at Ford Audio-Video?
Ford AV is seeking a highly skilled Design Estimator to join our pre-sales team. The ideal candidate combines deep AV technical expertise with strong engineering fundamentals and has a proven track record developing estimates and system designs for professional audiovisual, control, lighting, and collaboration solutions.
This role is responsible for transforming project requirements into accurate, competitive, and technically sound proposals by creating system designs, bills of materials, labor estimates, and supporting documentation that enable successful project pursuits.
What You'll Do- Review engineering drawings, specifications, bid documents, and site surveys to develop complete AV system estimates.
- Prepare accurate bills of materials (BOMs), equipment costs, labor forecasts, travel estimates, and proposal documentation.
- Develop functional line drawings, system schematics, rack elevations, and technical narratives to support customer proposals.
- Analyze project documents to identify design gaps, inconsistencies, or conflicts and recommend effective solutions.
- Collaborate with Sales, Engineering, and Operations teams to refine system designs and resolve technical challenges.
- Obtain vendor pricing, evaluate alternative products, and recommend value-engineered solutions to optimize cost and performance.
- Support seamless project turnover to engineering and operations teams following project award.
- Proven experience in Audio Visual (AV) system design, estimating, engineering, or systems integration.
- Demonstrated experience creating AV system BOMs, equipment takeoffs, technical drawings, and project cost estimates.
- Strong understanding of commercial AV systems including:
- Audio systems
- Video distribution and display systems
- Digital signal processing (DSP)
- Control systems
- Collaboration and conferencing technologies
- AV infrastructure and integration methodologies
- Ability to interpret architectural, electrical, and engineering drawings, specifications, and technical requirements.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.
- Strong communication, organizational, and project management skills.
- Bachelor's Degree in:
- Electrical Engineering
- Electronics Engineering Technology
- Mechanical Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Or another related technical/engineering discipline
- CTS-D, CTS-I, or other relevant AV industry certifications.
- Experience with Visio, AutoCAD, Revit, or similar design tools.
- Experience supporting AV installations, construction projects, or systems integration environments.
We're seeking a candidate who can immediately contribute based on their existing AV industry knowledge. The successful candidate understands how integrated AV systems are designed, estimated, and deployed in commercial environments and can confidently develop technically accurate and financially competitive solutions.