Budget Engineer

Description

**Why join us?** Handoff is the AI agent that runs a construction company. We help remodelers automate estimating, streamline operations, and win more work — backed by real\-time cost data, intuitive design, and workflows that "speak contractor." With over 10,000 monthly active users and $6B in annualized project volume already flowing through our platform, we're becoming the trusted partner for the people who build our homes. We are backed by $25M\+ raised from Y Combinator, Initialized, and Greycroft. Our team is distributed across hubs in Austin, São Paulo, and Buenos Aires, and we are deeply focused on building intuitive, high\-impact solutions that make a real difference for our users. **Budget Engineer at Handoff** We are looking for a Budget Engineer to help ensure the quality of our **automated takeoffs**, estimates, and material lists generated by AI from construction drawings/plans. You will be responsible for ensuring that takeoffs, scopes, quantities, and materials are accurate, comply with each client’s standards, and can be confidently used in real projects. Our clients include major material suppliers and construction companies. Currently, our primary focus is residential construction, with plans to expand into the commercial market. **What you’ll do** * **Ensure estimate and takeoff quality:** serve as the main bridge between Handoff and our clients, ensuring estimates are accurate, complete, and aligned with each client’s expectations. * **Create QA processes:** develop criteria and systems to verify scope accuracy, quantities, materials, SKUs, and each client’s specific preferences. * **Meet delivery deadlines:** coordinate delivery of estimates within 48 hours for enterprise clients, including both residential and commercial projects — whether new construction or remodels. * **Create detailed material lists:** review and assemble material-level estimates, including items such as studs, cladding, finishes, connectors, fasteners, adhesives, consumables, and other required materials. * **Adapt estimates to client requirements:** ensure outputs align with specific SKUs, sizes, technical specifications, preferred brands, product lines, colors, and finishes. * **Lead client communication:** speak with contractors, suppliers, and other clients via phone, video call, or messaging to explain capabilities, limitations, timelines, and expectations. * **Manage estimators/budget engineers:** coordinate the work of professionals performing QA on drawings, takeoffs, and estimates, ensuring both quality and speed. * **Support computer vision training:** guide the team annotating construction drawings and help define rules for how plans should be interpreted to train computer vision models. * **Work closely with engineering and product teams:** collaborate directly with machine learning engineers, AI engineers, and full\-stack developers to translate construction best practices into product improvements. * **Create and review test cases:** produce reference estimates for internal testing and review AI-generated estimates, identifying issues related to scope, quantity, material, or formatting. * **Investigate errors and improve performance:** analyze inaccurate estimates, identify root causes, and help prevent recurrence of the same errors. * **Manage operational efficiency:** ensure the estimate creation and review process continues to meet targets for cost, quality, and speed. **About you** We’re looking for candidates with experience in roles such as: * Estimator * Construction Estimator * Estimating Coordinator * Budget Engineer * Assistant Project Manager * Assistant Superintendent * Quality Control Manager * Project Engineer * Construction Coordinator * Construction Manager **Experience:** * 3\+ years of experience in residential construction — including renovations, ground-up builds, large-scale residential projects, custom homes, design\-build, single\-family, or multifamily. * Practical experience reading construction drawings and performing takeoffs, ideally using tools such as **PlanSwift, PrebuiltML, OST, or Bluebeam**. * Familiarity with estimating, construction management, or field operations software such as Buildertrend, JobTread, or Procore. * Interest in transitioning from a traditional construction role to one closer to product, software, and AI within a startup environment. * Ownership and sense of urgency: you must be able to assume final responsibility for estimate quality and effectively represent Handoff to clients. * Hands-on field experience or trade background is a strong plus. We value individuals who have worked as foremen, installers, inspectors, electricians, carpenters, plumbers, technicians, QA specialists, or similar roles. * Solid understanding of end\-to\-end residential construction workflows — from foundations to finishes. **Bonus:** * Experience working closely with software, product, or engineering teams. * Experience with high\-volume residential builders or construction material suppliers. * Familiarity with AI, automation, or digital tools applied to construction. If you’ve worked in construction, know how to recognize a high\-quality estimate, and want to help train an AI to think like an experienced builder, this is the ideal role! Compensation: starting at R$15\.000,00 per month Language: * English (Required) Location: Hybrid remote for São Paulo, SP