Fire Life Safety Estimator

Job Description:\n\nBenefits:\n\n 401(k)\n Employee discounts\n Paid time off\n\n Department: Service / Estimating\nReports To: CEO, with day-to-day coordination with Service Manager and Operations\nLocation: Tracy, CA In Office\nSchedule: Full-Time, Monday–Friday\nClassification: TBD based on final compensation and duties\nCompensation: 75,000-100,00 Annually. Compensation is flexible based on experience and qualifications. \n\n Position Summary\n\nThe Fire Life Safety Estimator is responsible for reviewing inspection reports, deficiency lists, field documentation, drawings, photos, and system information and converting them into accurate, complete, and executable estimates and scopes of work.\n\nThis role requires strong working knowledge of NFPA 25 and NFPA 72, including the ability to understand inspection findings, determine what corrective work is required, recognize when additional information is needed, and communicate clearly with field and Operations teams.\n\nThe purpose of this role is to create a reliable estimating function that moves inspection findings and service opportunities from report estimate approval execution efficiently and accurately.\n\nThe Estimator works closely with Inspection, Service, Operations, and leadership to make sure proposed work is properly scoped, priced, documented, and ready for the field team to execute.\n\n Key Responsibilities\n\n Inspection Report & Deficiency Review\n\n \n Review completed inspection reports and deficiency lists.\n Review supporting photos, technician notes, previous reports, drawings, system information, and customer records.\n Understand and interpret deficiencies related to fire alarm and water-based fire protection systems.\n Apply working knowledge of NFPA 25 and NFPA 72 when reviewing findings and developing corrective scopes.\n Identify incomplete, conflicting, or unclear information before preparing an estimate.\n Request clarification, additional photos, field verification, or site information when needed rather than making assumptions.\n Distinguish required deficiency corrections from recommendations, upgrades, or other opportunities.\n\n Estimate Development\n\n \n Develop accurate estimates for:\n \n Fire alarm deficiencies\n Fire sprinkler/water-based system deficiencies\n Inspection-related repairs\n Missed units or inspection items\n Service work\n System repairs and replacements\n Appropriate upgrade opportunities\n \n Determine labor requirements.\n Identify materials, equipment, rentals, subcontractors, permits, access requirements, testing, and other scope considerations.\n Obtain vendor or subcontractor pricing when needed.\n Apply established labor rates, material costs, markups, and estimating standards.\n Account for project complexity, site conditions, mobilization, access, and other factors that may affect cost.\n Build estimates that protect both customer expectations and SI's required margins.\n\n Scope Writing & Proposal Preparation\n\n \n Write clear and complete scopes of work.\n Ensure proposals accurately reflect the work required to correct the identified deficiency or complete the requested service.\n Clearly identify assumptions, exclusions, customer responsibilities, and information that remains subject to field verification when appropriate.\n Make scopes understandable to customers while providing enough technical detail for SI's field team to execute the work.\n Avoid vague or incomplete language that can create customer or field confusion.\n Prepare proposals in SI's approved estimating and proposal format.\n Maintain consistency in terminology, pricing structure, and documentation.\n\n Code & Technical Knowledge\n\nThe Estimator is expected to maintain strong working knowledge of the codes and standards relevant to SI's work, including:\n\n \n NFPA 25\n NFPA 72\n Applicable fire alarm inspection and testing requirements\n Applicable water-based fire protection inspection and testing requirements\n Common fire alarm and sprinkler system components\n Deficiency classifications and corrective requirements\n Manufacturer requirements when relevant\n Applicable AHJ requirements and local variations when identified\n\nThe Estimator is not expected to guess when requirements are unclear. Questions involving code interpretation, licensing, engineering, design, or AHJ direction should be appropriately researched or escalated.\n\n Estimating Workflow & Turnaround\n\n \n Monitor incoming estimate requests and estimating queues.\n Acknowledge receipt of new inspection-related estimate requests within SI's established response-time standards.\n Complete estimates within established turnaround expectations whenever required information is available.\n Proactively communicate when additional information is needed or a deadline cannot be met.\n Maintain visibility into:\n \n New requests\n Estimates in progress\n Waiting-for-information items\n Submitted estimates\n Revisions\n Approved/declined work\n \n Prioritize estimates based on customer commitments, compliance needs, operational urgency, and leadership direction.\n Avoid allowing estimate requests to sit without ownership or communication.\n\nSI's current inspection workflow calls for acknowledgment within one business day and estimate completion within two business days after acknowledgment, unless additional time is communicated. SI Standard Operating Procedure\n\n Coordination With Field & Operations\n\n \n Work closely with Inspection Technicians, Service Technicians, Service Manager, Operations, and leadership.\n Ask technicians for clarification when field notes or deficiencies are incomplete.\n Provide feedback when reporting quality prevents accurate estimating.\n Coordinate site verification when necessary.\n Make sure Operations understands any conditions or assumptions that could affect scheduling or execution.\n Provide the field team with scopes that clearly communicate what has been sold.\n Support handoff of approved estimates to Operations for scheduling and execution.\n Participate in estimating, inspection, service, or project review meetings as needed.\n\n Site Visits & Field Verification\n\n \n Conduct or participate in site walks when documentation is insufficient to prepare an accurate estimate.\n Verify equipment, quantities, access, site conditions, system configuration, or other scope requirements.\n Take photos and document information necessary to complete the estimate.\n Coordinate with field personnel when technical verification is better completed by a qualified technician.\n\n Vendor & Material Coordination\n\n \n Research materials, equipment, and product availability as needed.\n Obtain pricing from vendors and suppliers.\n Maintain organized vendor pricing and estimating resources.\n Identify lead-time or availability concerns before proposals are issued when possible.\n Coordinate subcontractor quotes when specialized work is required.\n Maintain appropriate documentation supporting estimate assumptions and costs.\n\n Estimate Revisions & Customer Changes\n\n \n Revise estimates when field information, customer requests, or scope requirements change.\n Clearly document material changes from the original estimate.\n Avoid informal scope expansion without updated pricing and approval.\n Coordinate significant scope changes with leadership and Operations before reissuing proposals.\n Maintain version control so the current approved scope is clear.\n\n Documentation & Systems\n\n \n Maintain organized estimating files and source documents.\n Save inspection reports, photos, drawings, vendor pricing, calculations, proposals, and supporting information in the appropriate systems.\n Keep NetSuite, Drive, estimating platforms, and related trackers updated as required.\n Maintain clear estimate notes so another team member can understand how the estimate was developed.\n Track outstanding information and follow-up items.\n Support accurate job costing by clearly documenting assumptions and estimated labor/material requirements.\n\n Process Improvement\n\n \n Help build and maintain standardized estimating templates.\n Maintain commonly used labor, material, and equipment pricing.\n Identify recurring gaps in technician reporting that affect estimating.\n Recommend improvements to inspection-to-estimate workflow.\n Help establish estimating standards by system type and recurring repair category.\n Identify opportunities to improve accuracy, turnaround, consistency, and profitability.\n Support development of an estimating knowledge base as SI grows.\n\n Technology Expectations\n\nThe Estimator should be comfortable working across multiple digital systems and learning new tools.\n\nPreferred proficiency includes:\n\n \n Google Workspace\n Microsoft Excel\n PDF and document-management tools\n Bluebeam or similar plan/PDF review software\n NetSuite or comparable ERP/CRM systems\n Estimating software\n Digital inspection reports\n The Compliance Engine or similar AHJ reporting platforms\n Online product, code, and manufacturer research\n\n Required Skills & Characteristics\n\n \n Strong working knowledge of NFPA 25 and NFPA 72.\n Ability to read and understand fire life safety inspection reports.\n Strong understanding of fire alarm and sprinkler deficiencies.\n Ability to convert technical findings into executable scopes of work.\n Strong estimating and mathematical skills.\n Excellent attention to detail.\n Strong written communication and scope-writing ability.\n Ability to identify missing or conflicting information.\n Strong judgment and problem-solving skills.\n Ability to manage multiple estimates and deadlines simultaneously.\n Comfortable communicating directly with technicians and leadership.\n Strong follow-through and ownership.\n Ability to work independently without constant direction.\n Solutions-oriented and willing to research answers when needed.\n Ability to balance speed with accuracy.\n Willingness to challenge incomplete information rather than estimate based on assumptions.\n Strong understanding that estimating quality directly affects customer experience, field execution, and profitability.\n\n Preferred Experience\n\n \n 3–5+ years of fire life safety industry experience preferred.\n Previous fire protection estimating experience strongly preferred.\n Fire alarm estimating experience.\n Fire sprinkler/service estimating experience.\n Experience reviewing inspection reports and deficiency lists.\n Previous field experience as a:\n \n Fire Alarm Technician\n Sprinkler Technician\n Inspection Technician\n Service Technician\n Project Manager\n Fire Life Safety Estimator\n \n Commercial and multifamily fire life safety experience preferred.\n NICET or other applicable industry certifications are a plus.\n NFPA 13 knowledge is a plus.\n\nA specific college degree is not required. Technical knowledge, experience, judgment, accuracy, and demonstrated ability matter more.\n\n Availability & Work Hours\n\nThis is a full-time position based from SI's Tracy office.\n\nNormal work is expected to occur during established weekday business hours.\n\nOccasional site visits, early meetings, schedule adjustments, or additional hours may be required based on customer commitments and business needs.\n\nFinal exempt/nonexempt classification will be determined based on the final compensation structure and actual duties of the position.\n\n Role Boundaries\n\nThe Estimator does not replace:\n\n \n Licensed design professionals when engineered design is required\n Field technicians responsible for verifying actual site conditions\n Operations responsible for scheduling and execution\n Leadership responsible for final pricing or contract approval when required\n AHJs responsible for final code interpretation or acceptance\n\nThe Estimator owns the review, clarification, scope development, costing, documentation, and timely preparation of estimates within the authority assigned to the role.\n\n Measures of Success\n\nSuccess in this role means:\n\n \n Inspection deficiencies move quickly from report to estimate.\n Estimates are completed within established response-time standards.\n Field teams receive clear and executable scopes.\n Estimates contain appropriate labor, material, equipment, and access considerations.\n Missing information is identified before proposals are issued.\n Estimate revisions caused by preventable estimating errors decrease.\n Margins are protected through accurate scoping and pricing.\n Customers receive clear proposals that align with inspection findings.\n Operations can confidently schedule approved work based on the sold scope.\n Estimate backlog and status are visible and organized.\n Vendor and material pricing remains current.\n Inspection-report quality issues are identified and communicated.\n Estimating systems and templates become more consistent and efficient over time.\n\n Simplified Integrations Mission, Vision & Values\n\n MissionWe simplify fire life safety so property teams can operate with confidence.\n\n VisionTo be the most trusted fire life safety company in the nation.\n\n Team VisionWe are a thoughtful and accountable team that consistently acts in everyone's best interest, communicates with clarity, and takes full ownership of our outcomestogether.\n\n Keep it SIMPLE\n\n S Solutions-Oriented We solve problems.\nI Integrity We do the right thing, always.\nM Mastery We know our craft, and do it well.\nP Proactive We act before problems grow.\nL Love We care deeply about our customers, our team, and the quality of our work.\nE Efficiency We execute without waste or confusion.\n\n Operations MissionWe leave everything we touch better.\n\n General Disclaimer\n\nThis job description describes the primary duties and expectations of the position but is not intended to be all-inclusive. Responsibilities may evolve based on company growth, department needs, and changes in SI's estimating and inspection processes.\n\nThis is now built off the actual SI inspection workflow, where the Estimator receives finalized reports/deficiency lists and prepares estimates for deficiencies, missed units, and upsell opportunities.