AEC Business Development Specialist

Salas O'Brien; Raleigh (NC); On-site; USD 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid time off and holidays

Wellness programs and EAP

Job summary

Salas O’Brien in Raleigh, NC is seeking a Business Development Specialist to support and optimize BD activities across AEC markets. The role combines pipeline admin, market understanding, and pursuit coordination to drive growth and client engagement.

The successful candidate will manage opportunity tracking, collaborate with leadership, marketing, project teams, and technical leaders, and contribute to strategic growth initiatives. Office-based with limited travel and a strong benefits package.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 4–7 years in the AEC industry preferred.
• Without a degree, 6–10 years of relevant AEC experience required.
• Comprehensive understanding of AEC terminology, processes, and market dynamics.
• Experience maintaining accurate client and opportunity data.
• Experience developing reports and business performance metrics.

Responsibilities

• Maintain awareness of the firm's strategic markets and business objectives.
• Identify and track project opportunities, procurement activities, and market trends.
• Coordinate pursuit planning, qualification, capture strategy, and proposals.
• Interact with clients, consultants, partners, and internal teams.
• Support client relationship development and outreach initiatives.
• Manage BD pipelines, forecasting, and reporting processes.
• Analyze BD performance, market penetration, win rates, and office metrics.
• Administer Raleigh office client/pipeline data platform and data accuracy.
• Arrange meetings with prospective and existing clients to identify opportunities.
• Coordinate pursuit debriefs and lessons learned.
• Support annual business planning and forecasting.

Skills

Communication skills

Analytical skills

Deltek/Salesforce experience

Office software (Excel, PowerPoint)

Documentation and follow-through

Cross-functional collaboration

Prioritization and time management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in AEC or related field

Tools

Deltek Vantagepoint

Deltek/Gartner

Salesforce

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

At Salas O’Brien we tell our clientsthatwe’reengineered for impact. This passion for making a differenceapplies just as much to our team as it does to our projects.That’swhywe’recommitted to living ourvalues every day: inspiring, achieving, and connecting as shared owners of our success with a focus on a sustainable future.

Building for the long-term means thatall ofour team members can expect to work onamazingprojects with a people-first approach to problem solving.It also means that each member of our team has truly limitless potential to build a unique, meaningful, and high-impact career—andthey’llreceivegreattotal rewardsalong the way.

Salas O'Brien is searching for an AEC Business Development Specialist to join our Raleigh, NC office. The ideal candidate will have experience in the AEC industry.

About Us:

Founded in 1975, Salas O’Brienis anemployee-ownedengineeringand professional services firm focused on achieving impact for our clients,ourteam, and the world. We know that tomorrow’s requirements are today’s opportunities, and we are here todesignlasting solutionsforpressing challenges.

We work across a variety of industries providing integrated engineering and consulting services.Ourspecialized experience includes design for data centers, healthcare, science and technology, high-rise buildings, clean energy, education, and other building types as well as structural and building sciences,infrastructure asset management, advanced robotics, and more.

Our technicalexpertiseis paired with an exceptionalteam ofbusiness development,human resources,finance and accounting, information technology, andmarketingprofessionals,all of whomplay a key role in bringing our commitments to life every day.

The Raleigh, NC office began in 1977 and expanded over the course of 45+ years to be a respected mechanical and electrical design engineering practice outfitted to provide local action with national strength in service to the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry.

Job Summary:

The Business Development Specialist is responsible for supporting and optimizing business development activities for the Raleigh office across AEC market sectors. This role combines business development support, client/pipeline administration, market understanding, sales process management, pursuit tracking, reporting, and operational coordination to improve business growth and client engagement efforts.

The successful candidate will serve as the operational backbone of the Raleigh office business development team, ensuring accurate pipeline management, actionable market insights, efficient pursuit processes, and consistent execution of strategic growth initiatives. This position collaborates closely with executive leadership, business developers, marketing professionals, project managers, and technical leaders throughout the organization.

Responsibilities:

• Maintain awareness of the firm's strategic markets, services, project experience, and business objectives to support growth initiatives.
• Identify, research, qualify and track project opportunities, procurement activities, market trends, and industry developments.
• Coordinate pursuit planning activities, including opportunity qualification, capture strategy, teaming, proposal support, and milestone tracking.
• Interact with clients, consultants, partners, and internal teams to support business development efforts.
• Support client relationship development, strategic management, and outreach initiatives.
• Support proposal, presentation and interview preparation through research and content development.
• Manage business development pipelines, opportunity tracking, forecasting, and reporting processes.
• Analyze business development performance, market penetration, win rates, revenue trends, and office metrics.
• Administer the Raleigh office client/pipeline data platform and maintain accurate client, partner, pursuit, and engagement data.
• Arrange and coordinate meetings with prospective and existing clients to identify business opportunities.
• Coordinate pursuit debriefs and lessons learned activities.
• Support annual business planning and forecasting activities.
• Develop, document, and maintain business development processes, workflows, and best practices for the Raleigh office.
• Promote the Raleigh office brand by communicating firm capabilities, project successes, client wins, and notable achievements through internal and external marketing channels.
• Maintain business development and marketing resources, including office-specific materials and data repositories.
• Support industry conference participation, professional organization engagement, and networking activities.
• Foster a positive and informed office culture by communicating business development activities, project successes, and client achievements.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree with 4–7 years of experience in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry preferred.
• Without a degree, 6–10 years of relevant AEC experience required.
• Comprehensive understanding of AEC industry terminology, processes, and market dynamics.
• Strong proficiency with client/pipeline systems such as Deltek, Salesforce or similar platforms.
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Office Suite (particularly Excel and PowerPoint), and Adobe Acrobat (PDF).
• Demonstrated experience supporting business development pipelines, opportunity tracking, and performance measurement.
• Experience maintaining accurate client and opportunity data.
• Experience developing reports and business performance metrics.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Reliable follow-through with disciplined documentation and record-keeping.
• Results-driven with the ability to manage priorities and achieve successful outcomes.
• Effective collaborator who can work independently and across teams.

Preferred

• Experience working within an engineering, architectural, construction, or professional services firm.
• Knowledge of public and private sector procurement and AEC pursuit processes.
• Working experience with Deltek Vantagepoint.

This position is office-based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Regular coordination with office leadership, office seller-doers, project teams, and cross-functional stakeholders is required.

No regular travel is required; infrequent business travel occurs as needed.

This role is eligible forperformance-basedbonusesand a comprehensiveU.S. basedbenefits package, including:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off and company holidays
• Wellness programs and employeeassistanceresources

For more information, visit our full benefits overview here .

Equal Opportunity Employment Statement

Salas O’Brien provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state/provincial, or local laws. Salas O’Brien will accommodate the disability-related needs of applicants as required by law.

Third-Party Agency Notice

Salas O’Brien does not accept unsolicited resumes from external recruiters or agencies. We only work with approved partners engaged directly by our Talent Acquisition team for specific searches. Unsolicited submissions will not be eligible for placement fees.

Qualifications

Education

Preferred

Bachelors or better in Architecture.

Bachelors or better in Construction Engineering.

Bachelors or better in Engineering.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.