OSP Estimator

About the Role
Client requires an experienced Outside Plant (OSP) Estimator to establish comprehensive project budgets, unit-cost economics, and deployment schedules for regional fiber network expansions. Operating at the intersection of route engineering, regulatory approvals, and field execution, you will serve as the primary owner of capital expenditure modeling across metro fiber builds, lateral connections, and long-haul routes.

In this role, you will synthesize inputs from internal stakeholders—including engineering, permitting, and construction management teams—while running commercial procurement cycles with external general contractors to deliver defensible, execution-ready project estimates.

Core Responsibilities

• Cost Modeling & Unit Economics: Build bottoms-up capital cost models for fiber infrastructure deployments. Establish granular price-per-foot benchmarks across diverse construction methodologies, including directional boring (HDD), open trenching, rock sawing, micro-trenching, and aerial placement.
• Cross-Functional Data Synthesis: Interface directly with internal teams to gather design and execution parameters.
? Engineering: Review CAD/GIS route designs, constructability assessments, splice plans, and Bills of Materials (BOM).
? Permitting: Quantify municipal, state DOT, county right-of-way (ROW), environmental, and railroad permitting fees alongside realistic jurisdictional approval lead times.
? Construction Management: Factor in field logistics, maintenance of traffic (MOT), restoration requirements, labor rates, and physical build feasibility.
• Contractor Procurement & Bid Management: Prepare and issue Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and bid packages to construction general contractors. Normalize incoming subcontractor bids, lead scope alignment reviews, and identify cost variances to drive competitive market pricing.
• Schedule & Timeline Forecasting: Develop baseline project delivery schedules that integrate permitting review cycles, make-ready engineering/pole attachments, contractor mobilization, and civil construction velocity..
• Risk Mitigation & Variance Analysis: Track historical bid performance versus actual spend across regional build programs. Identify cost drivers, ground-condition contingencies, and material escalation risks to continuously refine estimating baselines..

Required Qualifications & Technical Background

• 3-5 years of dedicated OSP estimating, cost engineering, or pre-construction management experience within metro fiber, broadband, or dark fiber networks.
• Demonstrated mastery of underground civil construction estimating, with deep expertise in directional drilling/boring unit economics, soil classification impacts, and utility potholing/locating costs.
• Working knowledge of municipal right-of-way processes, utility coordination, joint-use pole attachment requirements, and environmental/DOT permitting lead times.
• Proven experience assembling subcontractor bid packages, running commercial negotiations, and evaluating contractor rate cards.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (complex financial formulas, lookups, pivot tables) and spatial/project management platforms (ArcGIS, QGIS, Google Earth Pro, AutoCAD, or standard estimating platforms).
• Strong communication skills to synthesize technical data from disparate engineering, legal/regulatory, and field construction disciplines into unified executive budget summaries.

WAVSYS is a national solutions company offering contract, permanent and turnkey staffing solutions by leveraging its international network of 20 offices covering USA, Canada, and the UK.