Estimating Team Lead

ESTIMATING TEAM LEAD
Stony Creek Homes · Washington, DC
Remote — Full-time — Reports directly to the CEO
Top-producing real estate investment company — we buy, renovate, and flip houses in Washington, DC — is looking for an Estimating Team Lead with REAL construction estimating experience to take over a capable team of 5 and give it what it is missing: vision, structure, and accountability.
My name is TJ.

I started Stony Creek Homes from scratch almost 20 years ago. We are a team of 26, currently flipping 40–50 houses a year with a target of 175 within two years. We have 5 smart, capable estimators. The talent is there. What is not there is the leadership — nobody setting the standard, building the system, or closing the loop between what we estimate and what it actually costs.
That is the job. Not more estimating horsepower.

Leadership. And I need someone who has done this before — not someone who thinks they can. Everything is harder, more expensive, and longer than you think. I need proof, not aspiration.
WHAT YOUR FIRST YEAR LOOKS LIKE
- Months 1–3: Estimate alongside the team. Learn the deal types. Assess each estimator. Identify where estimates miss and why. Build trust by doing the work with them, not above them.
- Months 3–6: Set the vision.

Define standards. Build the QC process. Establish the estimate-to-actual feedback loop. Create the accountability rhythm.
- Months 6–12: Drive performance. Coach. Run deal autopsies. Measure accuracy by estimator and deal type. Scale the team for 175 deals.
SO WHO IS THIS ROLE RIGHT FOR?
- You have REAL construction estimating experience.

You have

• built detailed cost estimates for residential renovation, general contracting, or construction projects.
• You understand material takeoffs, labor pricing, subcontractor scoping, and how to estimate work you cannot fully see until the walls come down.
• This is non-negotiable.
  - You know the difference between an estimate and a guess.
• Your numbers hold up in the field.
• When there is a variance, you know why — and you adjust the system so it does not happen the same way twice.
  - You have ALREADY taken a team and given it direction.
• Not in theory.
• Not "I think I could." You have done it.
• You can point to the team, the system, and the results.
  - You are a self-starter who does not require micro-management.
• You see a gap in the data, a pattern in the variances, a training need on the team — and you move on it without waiting to be told.
  - You think in systems.
• You do not just produce good estimates — you build the process that makes everyone’s estimates good.
  - You can manage up.
• When the CEO or a PM pushes for a lower number, you push back with data.
• The estimate is the truth.
• You protect it.
  SO WHO SHOULD NOT APPLY?
  I hope being honest does not offend you.
• But this role exists because we have already experienced what happens when the estimating function has talent but no leadership.
• I would rather be upfront now than repeat that experience.
  - No aspirational leaders.
• If you have never actually led an estimating team — or any team — and you think this could be your first shot at leadership, this is not the role to learn on.
• We need someone who has done it.
• Everything is harder, more expensive, and longer than you think.
• We need someone who already knows that from experience.
  - No passive people.
• If you are smart but you wait for someone to tell you what to build, when to build it, and how to hold people to it — you are describing the problem we already have, not the solution.
  - No people without construction estimating experience.
• General project management does not count.
• You need to have priced real construction work with real materials, real labor, and real subcontractor bids.
  - No people who are technically excellent but organizationally weak.
• We already have technical talent.
• What we do not have is someone who can turn that talent into a system that performs consistently.
  - No people who avoid accountability conversations.
• You will need to sit across from an estimator whose numbers are consistently off and have a direct, constructive conversation about why — and what is going to change.
  LOGISTICS
  -

Location:

Remote — Egypt, Mexico, Colombia, Philippines, Pakistan, or South Africa
- Hours: Full-time. 40+ hours a week. Minimum 6 hours overlap with US Eastern time — hard requirement regardless of your time zone.
-

Compensation:

USD, competitive for the region and seniority
- Reports to: The CEO. Directly. No layers.
We have the talent. We have the deal flow. We have the growth plan. What we need is the leader who gives this team a vision, builds the system, and holds everyone — including themselves — accountable to a standard.
If that is who you are, we should talk.