Concrete Estimator & Project Manager

We are seeking a Public Works Concrete Estimator & Project Manager to own our public bid pipeline: sourcing the lettings, building the numbers that win them, and managing those jobs to a profitable close. This is an estimating and project management role. You will not be running crews.

1. ABOUT US

RISE Construction is a national contractor built on a simple but rare belief. The best projects happen when your contractor thinks like a partner, not a vendor.

We specialize in complex projects that demand more than a standard playbook. We've converted failing restaurants into housing, brought buildings back to life that communities had written off, and saved clients serious money before a single nail was driven, because we know how to look at a property the way an owner does. That's not a metaphor. Our team has deep roots in real estate ownership, and that perspective changes everything about how we approach a project.

We're not a company that just executes. We think strategically, we get creative, and we're honest with our clients about where the real leverage is.

The people we want on this team are sharp and curious. Someone who raises the room and is allergic to mediocrity. If you own your work, solve problems nobody handed you a playbook for, and want to keep growing long after most people would call it good enough, you'll fit right in here.

2. WHY THIS ROLE EXISTS

We are under-bidding the public market, and not on price. On volume. There are lettings every month that Rise should be in and isn't, simply because no one here has the bandwidth to chase them.

This role exists to fix that. We're hiring one person to own the public concrete pipeline: surfacing the opportunities, building the number, winning the work, and managing it to a profitable close. Not a bid desk that prices whatever gets handed to them.

3. THE OPPORTUNITY

This is not a siloed estimating desk job, and it's not a hybrid role where estimating gets squeezed out by field emergencies. You own a scope of work and a pipeline. At Rise, the people who do the work have a voice in how the work gets done.

What that looks like in practice:

• You build the pipeline. You're the one watching the lettings, sizing up what's out there, and bringing us the jobs worth chasing. Final bid decisions are made with the team, so you'll need to make the case, but you're the one who finds the work in the first place.
• Your numbers directly determine what we win and what we make
• You work alongside leadership on complex, interesting projects, not cookie-cutter repeat work
• This is the first seat in a public works group we intend to build. The person who proves the pipeline out is the person who leads it.

What this role is not: running crews, daily field supervision, or being on site every morning. Field execution belongs to our superintendent team. You'll be on site when the job needs you, not because it can't run without you.

4. WHAT YOU'LL DO

Estimating (roughly 60%)

• Monitor Iowa DOT lettings, city/county/school/utility bid postings, plan rooms, and plan holder lists and bring the team a recommended bid list with your reasoning
• Perform detailed quantity takeoffs on public concrete scopes including paving, sidewalk and ADA ramps, curb and gutter, structures, foundations, footings, flatwork, and structural work
• Build unit-price bids against SUDAS and Iowa DOT Standard Specifications, cross-checked against the engineer's estimate
• Review plans, specs, geotech reports, and addenda to identify scope, risk, and opportunity, and price the risk honestly
• Solicit and level subcontractor and supplier quotes, and lead value engineering conversations with ownership and clients
• Run bid day: bid bonds, DBE/TSB participation forms and good-faith-effort documentation, prevailing wage and certified payroll implications, proposal assembly, on-time submission
• Debrief every bid against the tab afterward. We want to know why we won and why we lost, in numbers.

Project Management (roughly 40%)

• Buy out the job: subcontracts, POs, material procurement, [ready-mix] scheduling
• Own the schedule and hand a clear plan to field leadership, who run the crews
• Serve as the point of contact for RFIs, submittals, change orders, and quantity disputes with the agency and engineer
• Prepare monthly pay estimates and public agency pay applications, including [certified payroll and DBE/TSB reporting]
• Track job cost against your own bid and flag movement early, not at closeout
• Drive closeout: punch, as-builts, final quantities, retainage release

5. THE MINDSET REQUIRED

• Hunter, Not Order-Taker: Nobody is going to hand you a bid list. You build it, and you have an opinion about every job on it.
• Owns the Numbers: A bad estimate isn't just a miss. It's a problem you would have caught.
• Knows Volume Is the Game: Public work is won on at-bats. You'd rather bid a full slate well than a handful perfectly.
• Defends Margin Under Pressure: Bidding more work is easy. Bidding more profitable work is the actual job.
• Proactive Communicator: You speak up early when something doesn't look right, whether it's in the plans, the quantities, or the budget.
• Self-Directed: You don't need to be micromanaged. We're not going to manage your calendar.

6. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Must-Haves

• Hands-on experience estimating public or heavy-civil concrete. You can build a unit-price number from scratch, not just plug historical costs into a template.
• You've worked inside a public bidding process: lettings, bid bonds, addenda, DBE/TSB, prevailing wage, certified payroll
• Fluency in SUDAS and/or DOT specifications, or a demonstrated ability to pick up a new spec book fast
• Ability to read and interpret civil drawings and specifications without hand-holding
• Comfortable managing a job on paper: buyout, pay apps, change orders, cost tracking
• Strong communication skills. You can talk to an owner, an engineer, and a concrete foreman in the same day.

Nice-to-Haves

• Estimating and takeoff software: Bluebeam, On-Screen Takeoff, HCSS HeavyBid, B2W, AGTEK, ProEst, or similar
• Existing relationships with central Iowa agencies, engineers, ready-mix suppliers, and subs
• Background in tilt-up or structural concrete

We care more about what you've actually done than how many years you've been doing it. Tell us your bid count and your hit rate.

7. COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Base Pay: $95,000 to $115,000, dependent on experience
• Commission: Performance-based bonus tied to project profitability and execution
• Flexible Time Off: At Rise, we operate on a flexible time-off model built on mutual trust. As long as your bids are in on time and your jobs are supported, you have the flexibility to take time off as needed.
• Paid Holidays: Rise observes seven paid holidays: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving (and the Friday after), and Christmas Day.
• Growth: As Rise scales, this role scales with it. Compensation and title will reflect your impact.

8. HOW TO APPLY & WHAT TO EXPECT

We keep our process straightforward and respectful of your time.

Our process:

• Step 1: Resume review. We typically respond within 3 business days.
• Step 2: In-person interview at our office

We're excited to meet people who are as passionate about quality work as we are, and we look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together.

Pay: $90,000.00 - $120,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person

Salary : $90,000 - $120,000