Proposal Specialist (EU)

DroneShield; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

DroneShield seeks a Proposal Specialist to own select proposal responses—tenders, RFIs, RFQs, and similar bids—across European and international defence and security markets, in support of regional Commercial Directors.

The role is in-office or hybrid, with an expectation of generally working at least 3 days/week from our Amsterdam HQ.

This is a hands-on, strategic writing role, collaborating with sales, engineering, legal, finance and executives to deliver competitive, compliant proposals.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of hands-on experience in technology proposal development, preferably in defence, aerospace, or dual-use sectors.
• Familiarity with defence and/or government procurement.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and structuring skills—you’re confident developing core content yourself.
• Outstanding independent organisational and project management skills—you can autonomously manage internal and external stakeholders and multiple bids simultaneously under tight deadlines.
• Experience with defence industrial participation (offset) programs is highly desirable, including the ability to assess offset obligations, develop industrial participation strategies, model offset credit requirements, engage with local industry partners, and support compliance reporting for government defence procurements in Europe and other international markets.
• Skilled at working cross-functionally with local and remote technical and non-technical teams.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), collaboration tools (e.g., SharePoint, Teams, Jira), and Salesforce.

Responsibilities

• Consult and collaborate with Commercial Directors in vetting and critically evaluating inbound opportunities.
• Own and manage the full lifecycle of proposal responses from initial RFP review to final submission—including internal gating reviews, compliance, scheduling, content development, and delivery.
• Lead the writing effort, developing high-quality narrative content across technical, management, and executive sections.
• Coordinate inputs from subject matter experts, commercial, legal, finance, and engineering to deliver complete and compliant submissions.
• Establish and manage proposal plans, timelines, response matrices, and internal review cycles.
• Run internal reviews and incorporate feedback to improve response quality continually.
• Contribute to building and maintaining a library of reusable content, templates, past performance examples, and standard boilerplate.

Skills

Proposal development

Defence procurement

Technical writing

Project management

Offset programs

Cross-functional work

MS Office

SharePoint

Jira

Salesforce

Tools

SharePoint

Teams

Jira

Salesforce

Job description

About the role

DroneShield seeks a Proposal Specialist to own select proposal responses—including tenders, RFIs, RFQs, and others—across European and international defence and security markets in support of regional Commercial Directors.

This role will be in-office or hybrid with an expectation of generally working at least 3 days/week from our Amsterdam European HQ.

This role is ideal for a strategic doer—someone comfortable managing a proposal response while writing the bulk of it.

You will collaborate closely with sales, engineering, legal, finance, and executive stakeholders. You will manage inputs across cross-functional teams to develop compelling, high-quality, compliant proposals. This is a hands-on role suited to someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment and is passionate about delivering winning bids.

Responsibilities, Duties and Expectations

• Consult and collaborate with Commercial Directors in vetting and critically evaluating inbound opportunities.
• Own and manage the full lifecycle of proposal responses from initial RFP review to final submission—including internal gating reviews, compliance, scheduling, content development, and delivery.
• Lead the writing effort , developing high-quality narrative content across technical, management, and executive sections.
• Coordinate inputs from subject matter experts, commercial, legal, finance, and engineering to deliver complete and compliant submissions.
• Establish and manage proposal plans, timelines, response matrices, and internal review cycles.
• Run internal reviews and incorporate feedback to improve response quality continually.
• Contribute to building and maintaining a library of reusable content, templates, past performance examples, and standard boilerplate.

Qualifications, Experience and Skills

• 2+ years of hands-on experience in technology proposal development, preferably in defence, aerospace, or dual-use sectors.
• Familiarity with defence and/or government procurement.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and structuring skills—you’re confident developing core content yourself.
• Outstanding independent organisational and project management skills—you can autonomously manage internal and external stakeholders and multiple bids simultaneously under tight deadlines.
• Experience with defence industrial participation (offset) programs is highly desirable, including the ability to assess offset obligations, develop industrial participation strategies, model offset credit requirements, engage with local industry partners, and support compliance reporting for government defence procurements in Europe and other international markets.
• Skilled at working cross-functionally with local and remote technical and non-technical teams.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), collaboration tools (e.g., SharePoint, Teams, Jira), and Salesforce.

Note for recruitment agencies: We do not accept unsolicited candidates from external recruiters unless specifically instructed.