Manufacturing Estimator
ConfidentialMSM Industries, LLC has been a trusted partner to the U.S. Navy and its prime contractors for over 20 years. As an ISO 9001:2015 certified manufacturing business, we specialize in advanced material solutions for signature reduction, vibration and acoustic management, and environmental control. MSM also serves as a high-performance system integration and assembly provider for key customers. With in-house manufacturing and a track record for on-time, high-quality deliveries, MSM is known for innovation, reliability, and rapid response to complex program needs. MSM is part of Canopy Aerospace & Defense, a platform built to accelerate the future of advanced materials for space, defense, and maritime systems. Canopy A&D delivers specialized materials and components that carry customers from concept through sustainment. Canopy A&D’s advanced signal attenuation technologies and production-scale manufacturing accelerate the fielding of platforms that are faster, cooler, and quieter. Our adaptive approach ensures solutions evolve at the pace of shifting challenges, keeping our customers ahead of the curve. Role Overview The Manufacturing Estimator at MSM Industries is responsible for preparing accurate, timely, and competitive cost estimates and quotations for defense, maritime, space, and aerospace manufacturing programs. This role evaluates customer requirements, drawings, material specifications, and engineering data to determine labor, tooling, raw material, compression molding, precision machining, laser processing, and specialized finishing requirements. Working collaboratively with Program Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and external vendors, the Estimator ensures quotes align with customer expectations, plant capacity, manufacturing capabilities, and strategic business goals. This position requires solid technical knowledge of elastomeric, polymer, composite, and mechanical fabrication processes in a fast-paced defense and aerospace manufacturing environment. Key Responsibilities Proposal & Quote Development: Organize and prepare comprehensive proposal packages and formal price/delivery quotations for defense primes, naval contractors, and aerospace OEMs using internal ERP systems, MS Excel, and proposal templates RFQ & Technical Review: Review and analyze customer RFQs, statements of work (SOW), drawings, MIL-SPECs , quality clauses, and engineering BOMs Manufacturing Process Planning: Identify routing steps and operational sequences across core processes—including polymer/rubber molding, urethane/silicone casting, composite lamination/bonding, CNC machining/routing, laser cutting, and subsystem kitting. Cost Modeling: Calculate detailed labor run times, setup hours, tooling/mold fabrication costs, raw material yields/scrap factors, and outside special processing rates (e.g., destructive/non-destructive testing, environmental testing, coatings) Vendor & Supply Chain Coordination: Solicit, evaluate, and integrate competitive pricing from approved suppliers for specialized polymers, resins, metallic inserts, tooling, and qualified outside processing. Risk & Producibility Assessment: Partner with Engineering and Operations to evaluate manufacturability, identify tooling/processing risks, and ensure adherence to ITAR, defense compliance, and quality standards Pipeline & RFQ Tracking: Maintain active RFQ logging, tracking key performance metrics (win rates, turnaround time, margin analysis), and manage revision updates throughout the program lifecycle. Continuous Improvement: Support estimating standardizations, cycle-time reductions, post-award job cost reviews, and 5S/HSE standards. Required Qualifications 5+ years of estimating and quoting experience in a precision manufacturing, defense, or aerospace environment. Solid experience utilizing cost models and/or formulas that incorporate pre-determined Overhead, G&A and profit rates. Proven ability to interpret engineering blueprints, MIL-…