What are the responsibilities and job description for the Estimator position at Future Form Manufacturing?
Company: Future Form - 2026 Nominee as one of Reno's Best Place to Work
JOB TITLE: METAL ESTIMATOR
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY: This role is responsible for preparing accurate cost estimates and pricing for fabricated sheet metal products. This role evaluates customer drawings and specifications, determines material, labor, and machine costs, and works closely with customers, engineering, production, and sales teams to ensure competitive and profitable pricing.
CORE VALUES: The following list of Core Values and Behaviors are necessary to meet the minimum requirements:
TEAMWORK
- Help each other succeed
- Communicate clearly and directly, listen well
- Encourage teammates
- Blameless problem solving
HONESTY AND INTEGRITY
- Honor your commitments
- Do the right thing
- Consistent in your attitudes and actions
LEAN
- Improve processes
- Open to new ideas
- Share information, and teach
- Expose issues
NUMBERS FOCUSED
- Deliver results
- Analyze data for improvement
- Take ownership and accountability
- Work smarter, not harder
EXCELLENCE
- Exhibit passion in serving customers
- Contribute solutions
- Sense of urgency
- Be the best at what you do
- Seek knowledge
FUN
- Be positive
- Celebrate achievements
- Don’t take yourself too seriously
CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES:
Essential
- Communicate effectively and professionally with external and internal customers and suppliers
- Review engineering drawings/blueprints, RFQs, and specifications to understand scope and requirements.
- Review blueprints or conceptual drawings to determine operations, tools, materials, quality standards and outside processes required for the job
- Determine cost of manufacturing the job by estimating labor times and calculating material usage
- Initiate price inquiries for price information from potential suppliers
- Confer with Management & Production Teams on any order under 2-week due date or as otherwise needed to share information
- Respond effectively to customer requests for quote in an efficient, professional and expedient manner within the customer’s time frame or less
- Review repeat orders to align material and labor appropriately to prevent Margin Erosion
- Prepare orders for processing by including all pertinent information
- Effectively respond to customer change order requests within 24 hours or sooner and initiate proper documentation
- Work with design, engineering, and production personnel to identify efficiencies and cost-saving opportunities.
- Maintain and update cost databases, estimate logs, and records of estimates submitted.
- Willing to work overtime when needed
- Maintain the responsibilities of the ISO 9001 system in accordance with the requirements defined in the Quality Manual, and Procedure Level documentation
- Participate actively and positively in Lean activities
- Actively contribute to company sales and marketing effort
- Track and chart data as needed
- Keep work area clean and organized
- Other duties as assigned
REPORTS TO: Director of Technology
WORKS WITH: Customers, Vendors, Future Form Team Members
SAFETY REQUIREMENTS OF POSITION:
Follow all OSHA safety regulations and those set by Future Form Manufacturing.
REQUIREMENTS OF POSITION:
Essential
- 2 years of experience in sheet metal fabrication or manufacturing estimating
- Take actions to set up/enable other team members for success
- Strong knowledge of sheet metal materials, gauges, tolerances, and fabrication processes
- Ability to read and interpret shop drawings, blueprints, and CAD files
- Experience with ERP, MRP, or estimating software
- Strong attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple RFQs and deadlines
- Ability to collaborate effectively with all employees on new and repeated jobs
- Attention to professionalism in the workplace
- Focus on ease of manufacturability
- Sales minded/operate in a team sales/manufacturing environment
- Resourceful, able to research product offerings
- Strong understanding of 2-D drawing standards
- Strong computer skills, i.e.: Excel, Word, Outlook, etc.
- Strong math, analytical, and problem-solving skills
- Ability to use analytical formulas
- Organizational skills
- Creativity and analytical skills
- Excellent problem-solving skills
- Ability to analyze, compare and interpret detailed information and make sound judgments based upon that knowledge
- Ability to communicate technical knowledge in a clear and understandable manner
- Technical writing skills
- Help provide packaging/shipping solutions, and freight solutions when needed
- Ability to work under pressure
Beneficial
- High school graduate with some college preferred (emphasis in engineering, math, statistics, accounting, finance, business, or economics)
- Experience in precision sheet metal production work
- Basic skill in use of CAD system
- Ability to lay out flat pattern for quote
- Prior sales support experience a plus
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS OF POSITION:
Sit 75%, Stand 5%, Walk 10%, Drive 10%.
Maximum (minutes): Sit 360, Stand 24, Walk 48, Drive 48.
Must have normal vision (with or without corrective lenses) and hearing (with or without corrective hearing aids).
Working Environment: Office environment with intermittent shop environment. Light noise level in the office, ranging to moderate noise level in the shop. Occasional exposure to dust, heat and cold.
This position will require drug testing per policy.
Monday through Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm
Salary : $55,000 - $75,000