---
title: 'Estimating Manager at Blue Energy'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/estimating-manager-blue-energy-houston-8c0zjdy90v1p'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Estimating Manager at Blue Energy

- **Company:** Blue Energy
- **Location:** Houston, TX
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-07-20
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/blue-energy/6245b100-b69d-4b01-a19f-41fd47ad26d8

## Job description

Company Overview Blue Energy is transforming how nuclear power gets built. Instead of constructing each plant on-site from scratch - a process that takes 10-15 years and is too expensive and unpredictable to finance - we build our plants like ships: in a factory, on an assembly line, then transport and assemble them at the site. This cuts costs by over 60% and brings plants online in just three years. We also pair natural gas with nuclear at our sites, so customers can start receiving power from gas turbines right away and then switch over to clean nuclear power once it comes online - getting energy to the grid faster while nuclear is being built. Our mission is to make nuclear energy abundant, affordable, and repeatable at global scale. We use proven, already-approved reactor designs and work with existing nuclear and industrial sites, giving us a faster path to regulatory approval. By manufacturing this way, we put nuclear power on the same cost-reduction curve that has made wind, solar, and batteries cheaper every year.

## Role Summary

The Estimating Manager is responsible for managing estimating teams and subcontractors for developing, validating, and maintaining capital cost estimates for major industrial, power generation, infrastructure, or energy projects on behalf of the owner. This position may provide independent estimate oversight throughout project development, engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning phases. The role serves as the owner's primary estimating authority and is responsible for estimate governance, benchmarking, contractor estimate validation, risk-based cost forecasting, scope development support, and executive cost reporting. The successful candidate will lead estimating efforts from conceptual studies through final investment decisions while ensuring estimates accurately reflect project scope, execution strategy, schedule, market conditions, and risk. The Estimating Manager will be responsible for evaluation of submitted estimates and proposal estimates from bidders or other parties as well as evaluation of supplier submitted change order estimate and other third party estimating scopes. The required estimates will include overall major project estimates and various infrastructure or scope of work estimates. The estimates will be performed by the estimating manager and/or estimating subcontractors under the direction and supervision of the Estimating Manager.

## Key Responsibilities

Estimating Leadership

- Lead preparation of Class 5 through Class 1 estimates in accordance with AACE International recommended practices.
- Develop estimate plans, methodologies, assumptions, exclusions, and basis-of-estimate documents for use by estimating teams.
- Establish estimate work breakdown structures (WBS) aligned with project execution and cost-control systems.
- Manage estimating resources, consultants, and subcontractors.
- Manage interface and support from internal and external subject matter experts for estimate input and support.
- Ensure estimating consistency across all project phases and portfolios.

Cost Estimate Development (supervision and management)

- Develop conceptual, feasibility, preliminary, budgetary, and definitive estimates as applicable to the requirements.
- Prepare quantity-based estimates utilizing engineering deliverables and design information.
- Develop labor, material, equipment, subcontract, indirect cost, and owner cost estimates.
- Evaluate escalation, market conditions, productivity factors, and regional construction influences.
- Generate cash flow forecasts and estimate reconciliation reports.

Contractor Estimate Review and Validation

- Independently review EPC, EPCM, engineering, procurement, and construction contractor estimates.
- Identify estimating risks, omissions, duplication, and scope gaps.
- Challenge contractor assumptions and validate pricing methodologies.
- Perform estimate benchmarking against historical projects and industry databases.
- Support commercial evaluations during procurement and contract negotiations.

Risk and Uncertainty Analysis

- Facilitate project risk workshops focused on cost uncertainty.
- Develop contingency recommendations using quantitative and qualitative risk methods.
- Support probabilistic estimating and Monte Carlo analysis when applicable.
- Identify emerging cost risks and opportunities throughout project development.
- Maintain estimate risk registers and confidence ranges.

Scope and Change Management

- Support scope development and maturity assessments.
- Evaluate cost impacts associated with scope changes and design development.
- Provide independent estimate validation for Management of Change (MOC) processes.
- Support value engineering and cost optimization initiatives.
- Ensure estimate updates reflect approved scope modifications.
- Support scenario evaluation for value engineering or other purposes.

Project Controls Integration

- Coordinate closely with scheduling, procurement, engineering, and construction teams.
- Ensure all estimating work scope conform to Blue Energy Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
- Integrate estimate data into project controls and forecasting systems.
- Support establishment of project control budgets and control accounts.
- Assist with earned value and performance measurement setup where applicable.
- Support development of project authorization and funding packages.

Reporting and Management Support

- Prepare estimate summaries for management, executive leadership, investment committees, lenders, and stakeholders.
- Present estimate status, contingency recommendations, and cost confidence levels.
- Develop estimate comparison reports identifying variances between estimate versions.
- Support board-level and financing presentations involving project economics and capital requirements.

## Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, Finance, or related discipline.
- Minimum 10 years of estimating experience on large industrial, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, or EPC projects.
- Minimum 5 years in a lead or management role overseeing estimating activities.
- Demonstrated experience preparing estimates exceeding $100 million in TIC (Total Installed Cost).
- Strong understanding of engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and project controls processes.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and estimating software platforms.

## Preferred Qualifications

- Experience supporting owner organizations on major capital projects.
- Nuclear, power generation or heavy industrial experience.
- CCP (Certified Cost Professional), CEP (Certified Estimating Professional), PMP, or equivalent certification.
- Experience with AACE estimating classifications and recommended practices.
- Familiarity with EcoSys, Primavera P6, Aspen Capital Cost Estimator, Cleopatra, Timberline, WinEst, or similar estimating systems.
- Experience or familiarity with off-site fabrication and modularization estimating.
- Experience and familiarity with Owner’s contingency management practices.

We look forward to your application and helping foster an era of safe, clean, affordable, and abundant energy. Blue Energy is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t perfectly align with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway. You might be the right candidate for this or other roles at Blue Energy now or in the future.

## About Blue Energy

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Blue Energy designs and manufactures modular nuclear power plants using mature light water reactor technology, aiming to deliver scalable, reliable, and affordable clean energy.
- **Entity Type**: Private (startup stage; funding rounds not disclosed)
- **Headquarters**: United States (specific city not publicly disclosed)
- **Founded**: Not publicly available
- **Founders**: Jake Jurewicz (CEO & Co-founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Nuclear energy (small modular reactors / advanced nuclear)
- **Target customers**: Utilities, data center operators, industrial off-takers (B2B, large-scale)
- **Mission statement**: “Delivering abundant, reliable, and affordable energy to accelerate a safe and lasting era of progress.”

## Products & Services
- **Blue Energy Modular Nuclear Plant**: A small modular reactor (SMR) design using light water reactors with passive safety features. The plant is prefabricated at shipyards or fab yards, allowing fixed-price contracting and a claimed 3-year timeline to energize the turbine hall with gas (nuclear island follows later). The complete plant is designed for project finance. Blue Energy finances, builds, owns, and operates the plants, selling power through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding not publicly available; targeting $5,000/kW capital cost and a 3-year build time for initial power generation.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not publicly listed. The NRC (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission) is engaged in pre‑application activities (Docket 99902137).
- **Growth Signals**: Active regulatory engagement with the NRC (pre‑application since March 2025); growing team with open roles in engineering, project development, and licensing.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Modular manufacturing**: Plants are built in existing fab yards and shipyards, reducing on-site construction risk and cost.
- **Fixed-price contracting**: De-risks construction for customers by guaranteeing cost and schedule.
- **Simplified safety**: Reactor building submerged in a water pool provides passive cooling and reduces need for nuclear‑grade components.
- **Hybrid energization timeline**: Turbine hall can be powered by natural gas in ~3 years while the nuclear island is licensed and installed, giving off-takers early power and revenue certainty.
- **Turn-key model**: No upfront capital from customers; Blue Energy owns and operates the plant.

## Strategic Focus
- Scaling new nuclear megawatts as fast as possible by working with regulators (NRC) and securing offtake agreements for firm, dispatchable baseload power.
- Targeting accelerating load growth from data centers and heavy industry.
- Building a multi‑disciplinary team of nuclear experts, engineers, and energy operators.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as “pragmatic and results‑oriented” with a singular focus on deploying nuclear power this decade. Team includes former NRC leaders, energy executives, and engineers from MIT and Exelon.
- **Work environment**: Not explicitly stated as remote/hybrid; roles appear location‑dependent (likely office/hybrid in the US).
- **Opportunity**: Chance to work on one of the few advanced nuclear designs currently engaged with the NRC, with a clear path to construction.
- **Open roles** (as of mid‑2025): Director of Project Development, Lead Electrical & I&C Engineer, Senior Licensing Engineer, Lead Nuclear and Fuels Engineer, and others.

## Sources
1. [blueenergy.co](https://www.blueenergy.co/)
2. [blueenergy.co/about](https://blueenergy.co/about/)
3. [blueenergy.co/careers](https://blueenergy.co/careers/)
4. [blueenergy.co/team](https://blueenergy.co/team/)
5. [nrc.gov – Blue Energy pre-application](https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/advanced/who-were-working-with/pre-application-activities/blue-energy)

## Other roles at Blue Energy

- [EPC Contract Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/epc-contract-lead-blue-energy-houston-64n2tykt6kdg) — Houston, TX
- [Senior Contracts Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-contracts-manager-blue-energy-houston-t0s8vtjcw2vj) — Houston, TX
- [HSSE Director](https://feeny.ai/job/hsse-director-blue-energy-houston-vwrr7f0pr6y9) — Houston, TX
- [Head of Government Affairs](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-government-affairs-blue-energy-chevy-chase-d0tj7famtxg7) — Chevy Chase, MD
- [Project Manager - Project Execution](https://feeny.ai/job/project-manager-project-execution-blue-energy-houston-hnpf2f5j1pde) — Houston, TX
- [Senior Modularization Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-modularization-engineer-blue-energy-chevy-chase-b8gnarpvqefx) — Chevy Chase, MD
- [Modularization Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/modularization-manager-blue-energy-houston-xqvgkygk4rs8) — Houston, TX
- [Project Development Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/project-development-manager-blue-energy-chevy-chase-b1chwsrk7gwg) — Chevy Chase, MD
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