Senior Preconstruction Manager - Steel

About the Company

RNGD is a rapidly scaling organization emerging as a nationally recognized leader in construction through our unique Renegade mindset focused on innovation, creativity, and culture. The team is made up of a highly engaged group of seasoned professionals and emerging leaders. We are creators who believe that what we build drives the growth of our cities and that to fulfill our mission, we must constantly challenge the old way of doing things. Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, we thrive on building communities, building teams, building leaders, and growing the business throughout the Southeast region with offices in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama.

About the Role

We’re looking for a Senior Preconstruction Manager – Steel to lead the day-to-day operations of RNGD’s steel preconstruction team and drive the development of competitive, executable solutions for structural and miscellaneous steel projects. This role leads conceptual estimating, design-build and design-assist coordination, estimate development, scope strategy, value engineering, and preconstruction planning from early pursuit through project handoff.

The Senior Preconstruction Manager – Steel will lead and develop the steel estimating team while partnering closely with Business Development, design partners, Detailing and VDC, Steel Manufacturing, Procurement, Project Management, Logistics, and Field Operations to ensure proposed solutions align with client objectives, RNGD’s fabrication capabilities, and project execution requirements.

Core Responsibilities

Preconstruction Leadership and Team Management

Lead the day-to-day operations, workload, priorities, and deliverables of the steel preconstruction and estimating team.

Assign and oversee pursuits, establish estimating expectations, and ensure quality, consistency, and timely completion of preconstruction deliverables.

Review estimates, assumptions, scopes, qualifications, and pricing before final submission.

Coach and develop estimators and preconstruction team members while establishing consistent processes, standards, and accountability.

Coordinate pursuit priorities and resource needs with Steel and company leadership.

Conceptual Estimating and Cost Development

Lead conceptual, schematic, design-development, and final estimating for structural and miscellaneous steel projects.

Develop early-stage budgets and cost models using available design information, historical data, market conditions, and informed assumptions.

Oversee quantity takeoffs and pricing for material, fabrication, detailing, coatings, freight, erection, equipment, and subcontracted work.

Establish and validate labor, productivity, fabrication, procurement, logistics, and erection assumptions.

Maintain visibility into steel market conditions, cost drivers, historical performance, and production capabilities to support reliable forecasting.

Design-Build, Design-Assist and Technical Coordination

Lead steel preconstruction involvement in design-build and design-assist pursuits, partnering with clients, general contractors, architects, engineers, and internal technical teams.

Provide early input regarding structural systems, connection strategies, material selection, fabrication approach, sequencing, logistics, and erection planning.

Identify value-engineering opportunities that improve constructability, cost, schedule, fabrication efficiency, or field execution.

Facilitate alignment between design intent, project requirements, fabrication capabilities, and installation strategy.

Identify scope gaps, constructability concerns, design risks, and execution constraints early enough to influence project outcomes.

Pursuit Strategy and Commercial Management

Partner with Business Development and leadership to evaluate opportunities and support pursuit and bid/no-bid decisions.

Lead estimate reviews, pricing strategy discussions, scope evaluations, and preconstruction presentations.

Develop clear scope narratives, assumptions, exclusions, qualifications, alternates, and proposal strategies.

Solicit and evaluate vendor, supplier, subcontractor, erection, coatings, and logistics pricing as required.

Balance competitiveness with appropriate consideration of project risk, capacity, schedule, and commercial objectives.

Preconstruction Handoff and Continuous Improvement

Lead the transition of awarded projects from preconstruction into project execution, ensuring scope, budget, assumptions, commitments, risks, and strategy are clearly communicated.

Partner with Project Management, Detailing and VDC, Manufacturing, Procurement, Logistics, and Field Operations to validate project execution assumptions.

Maintain and improve estimating databases, historical cost information, productivity benchmarks, standardized assemblies, and estimating tools.

Evaluate estimate performance against actual project results and incorporate lessons learned into future pursuits.

Drive continuous improvement of steel preconstruction processes, standards, technology, and workflows.

Preferred Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Engineering, or a related field preferred; equivalent structural steel preconstruction and estimating experience will be considered.

7+ years of progressive structural and/or miscellaneous steel estimating, preconstruction, or related project experience preferred, including experience leading people or major pursuits.

Demonstrated experience with conceptual estimating and design-build or design-assist project delivery.

Strong understanding of structural steel detailing, fabrication, procurement, coatings, logistics, and erection.

Ability to read and interpret architectural and structural drawings, specifications, contracts, and evolving design documents.

Strong knowledge of steel cost drivers, labor productivity, fabrication methods, constructability, and project risk.

Experience developing and reviewing estimates, cost models, scopes, proposals, and subcontractor and supplier pricing.

Working knowledge of AISC, AWS, and applicable steel industry standards.

Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office, Bluebeam, and estimating platforms; experience with Tekla PowerFab, Tekla EPM, or similar steel fabrication and estimating systems preferred.

Strong leadership, analytical, communication, negotiation, and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage multiple pursuits and priorities.

Core Competencies

RNGD Values Alignment

Exemplifies RNGD’s core values:

Renegade Mentality

Sweep Floors

Build Together

Honor Promises

Preconstruction Leadership

Establishes priorities, standards, and accountability across the steel preconstruction function.

Develops team capability and creates consistency in estimating and preconstruction execution.

Balances immediate pursuit demands with broader business and operational priorities.

Conceptual Estimating and Commercial Acumen

Develops reliable budgets and estimates from limited and evolving project information.

Understands cost drivers across design, detailing, procurement, fabrication, logistics, and erection.

Balances competitiveness, risk, constructability, and commercial objectives.

Design-Build and Constructability

Influences design decisions to improve cost, constructability, fabrication efficiency, schedule, and field execution.

Connects design intent with practical steel manufacturing and erection strategies.

Identifies value-engineering opportunities and project risks early in the design process.

Strategic Thinking and Problem Solving

Anticipates project and pursuit risks and develops practical solutions.

Uses historical performance, market intelligence, technical knowledge, and sound judgment to guide decisions.

Evaluates opportunities from both preconstruction and downstream execution perspectives.

Collaboration and Team D