Construction Estimator

Construction Estimator (Quantity Surveyor)

Remote, Philippines (full-time) · U.S. residential design-build, Washington, DC

₱80,000 base; ₱150,000+ when you prove it. The gap is yours to earn

We're rebuilding our estimating team: 3 hires, total. Get in early, and there's room to grow into the lead.

Fast-growing U.S. homebuilder (we design, build and sell houses) is rebuilding its estimating team, and hiring 3 people total. Not 3 bodies to fill seats; but the few who'll build it right this time.

Here's what makes this seat different: we're based in Washington, DC , and we build some of the most remarkable homes in the city, for some of the most powerful people in the world. The stakes are high and the standard is higher. If building at that level excites you, you'll love it here. If it doesn't, this isn't for you.

For too long our estimates have leaked money: rework, blown budgets, surprises at closeout that nobody owns. We're done with that. We're building an estimating function the whole company can trust, and each of you will own your number.

And let me be clear what owning your number means here: it does not end when you hit send. It means owning what happens to that number in the real world. The order shows up to a site that's actually ready, someone's there to receive it, it's on time, and it's right. The estimate is step one. The outcome is the job.

Does it bug you when a job lands 12% over because somebody guessed? Then keep reading.

So who is this job right for?

I'll give you the bullets. When we talk, I'll go deeper:

Can you read a set of plans and do a takeoff you'd bet your own money on?

When something's about to go sideways, do you see it coming , or follow the instructions right off a cliff?

When you're blocked and nobody answers, do you chase it down and escalate , or shrug, barrel ahead, and hope?

Do you own the result , or just your slice of it?

Do you chase a miss all the way to its root cause, so it never comes back ?

Would you rather be measured than comfortable?

We're not looking for bodies to fill seats. We're looking for the few people who want to own the most important number in the building.

The big one: you'll help build the system, not just feed it

Here's the honest truth: right now our estimating runs on tribal knowledge, half-finished templates, and one senior person everybody leans on. It may seem like a complaint, but in reality it's the opportunity , and a big reason these seats exist. You're not the 50th hire inheriting a finished machine. You're one of the first , and the standard this company estimates on for the next ten years gets written by you and the two others who land these seats. You'll:

Turn the way you price into a standard the whole team can run.

Build the assemblies, checklists and templates that stop the same mistake from happening twice, and get them adopted (yes, we measure that).

Bake the fix for a recurring error into the system, so nobody repeats it.

Leave the function sharper than you found it, every quarter.

This is a ground-floor seat: your fingerprints go on how this company estimates for the next decade. If that excites you, we should talk. If you'd rather be handed a finished SOP and tick boxes, this isn't the seat for you.

How we keep score (you're an engineer, here are the numbers)

First-Pass Yield : clears review with zero rework. ~30% today; we want 85%.

Budget vs. actual : your estimate against the real cost at closeout. ±5%.

Speed : an honest ROM same or next day; the full budget on the date you committed.

Adoption : the standards you build actually get used , on real jobs.

Hit these and the money below stops being a promise and turns into arithmetic.

Let's talk money, straight, in pesos

Base: ₱80,000/month. Locked. Yours. A real salary, not a draw, not commission in disguise.

Target: ₱150,000+/month : base plus what you earn when your numbers prove out (~ ₱1.8M a year ).

That's ₱70,000+ on top of base every month, almost your base again. Not a gift: you earn it by being accurate, fast, and reliable, scored on real results. Small amounts release weekly and monthly; the real money settles quarterly, when the results are in.

The "+" is real: beat the targets and the ceiling keeps moving. I'd rather hire three excellent estimators than a roomful of maybes.

Reliability isn't the bonus; it's the price of entry. Showing up and keeping your word gets you in the door; the money is what you build on top.

Who should not apply?

Important to say it, and I hope the honesty doesn't offend you; being straight now saves us both time:

No guessers, and no "close enough."

No box-checkers. If you stop thinking the moment the boxes are ticked, keep it moving.

No "I-sent-the-email" people. Sending the email isn't the job. The materials landing on a ready site, received, secured, on time, that's the job.

No barreling ahead. If you're unsure and can't get an answer, you raise your hand. You don't guess and hope.

No hoarders. The best trick you know becomes the team's standard; sharing it is the job.

No repeat offenders. Make a mistake and I'm with you. Make the same mistake twice and we have a problem.

Not for the indifferent. We build landmark homes for some of the most powerful people in the world; if that doesn't excite you, we're not the right fit.

If "perform-or-get-out" makes you flinch, this isn't your seat.

A word from me

My name is TJ, and I own this company. I started it from scratch, basically zero money, and we've grown it into a real homebuilder here in Washington, DC, doing 50+ deals a year, with plans to reach 150 a year by 2030. I'm rebuilding the estimating team right now ( three hires ) because I need people who own the outcome, not just their task. Get in early, prove it, and you'll have first shot at leading it as we scale.

What are the hours?

Remote, full-time (40+/week), from 7AM-4PM EST so you're in sync with our DC team. We're not trying to count minute by minute; we measure output, not seat-time.

Your next step

I'm hiring three, so don't assume the seat's gone, but I move fast on the right people. If you reach the interview, come ready to think on your feet : I'll put a real situation from one of our job sites in front of you and watch how you work it. If you want to be paid like the best and you own the result, we've got a seat for you, and there won't be a dull moment.

Before you hit send, re-read this ad (twice) and make sure it fits your philosophy and your pocketbook. Serious inquiries only.