Federal Proposals Lead for Robotics & Infrastructure

TERRANOVA; Berkeley (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Terranova in Berkeley, CA is seeking a Government Programs & Proposal Lead to turn Terranova’s robotics into funded government programs, demonstrations, and contracts. You will own the proposal process from opportunity identification through submission, evaluation, negotiation, and follow-up.

You will work directly with Terranova’s founders, engineers, field operators, and external partners to translate complex technical work into clear, persuasive, and compliant government submissions.

Qualifications

• Exceptional technical writing, strategic judgment, and attention to detail.
• Experience leading federal government proposals, non-dilutive funding applications, or complex technical submissions from start to finish.
• Ability to understand complex engineering quickly and turn it into a clear, persuasive argument for technical and nontechnical evaluators.
• Strong project-management skills and the ability to drive multiple contributors toward a hard submission deadline.
• Experience developing project scopes, work plans, milestones, budgets, and deliverables in collaboration with technical teams.
• Comfort working directly with founders, engineers, field operators, government customers, contracting officers, and external partners.
• Ability to distinguish a technically interesting idea from a fundable government program with a defined mission need, execution plan, and measurable outcome.
• Willingness to work on-site in Berkeley, CA.
• U.S. work authorization. We cannot sponsor H-1B visas at this time.

Responsibilities

• Identify and evaluate government funding, contracting, and partnership opportunities aligned with Terranova’s technology and mission.
• Own proposal development from solicitation review through final submission, including schedules, compliance matrices, writing assignments, reviews, and supporting materials.
• Lead submissions for CSOs, BAAs, OTAs, SBIR/STTR programs, grants, RFIs, white papers, solution briefs, concept papers, quad charts, pitch decks, and full technical proposals.
• Translate complex engineering, robotics, geotechnical, field deployment, and performance data into clear, specific, mission-focused narratives.
• Work with technical and operations teams to define project scope, technical objectives, milestones, deliverables, schedules, staffing plans, budgets, and rough-order-of-magnitude pricing.
• Build a compelling argument for why Terranova’s technology addresses an urgent government capability gap and why the proposed program should be funded now.
• Ensure every submission directly responds to solicitation requirements, evaluation criteria, formatting rules, and contracting constraints.
• Coordinate inputs from engineers, founders, customers, academic collaborators, subcontractors, advisors, and external partners.
• Support government pitches, technical evaluations, site demonstrations, oral presentations, requests for clarification, and contract negotiations.
• Develop agency-specific concepts and materials that help shape customer thinking before a formal solicitation is released.
• Build Terranova’s government opportunity pipeline, proposal calendar, content library, templates, review cadence, and submission processes.
• Track submitted opportunities, agency feedback, next steps, and follow-on pathways from initial study through demonstration, procurement, and scaled deployment.

Skills

Technical writing

Strategic judgment

Attention to detail

Proposal leadership

Technical storytelling

Project management

Scope & budgeting

Stakeholder management

Opportunity qualification

On-site work

US work authorization

Job description

Terranova in Berkeley, CA is seeking a Government Programs & Proposal Lead to turn Terranova’s robotics into funded government programs, demonstrations, and contracts. You will own the proposal process from opportunity identification through submission, evaluation, negotiation, and follow-up.

You will work directly with Terranova’s founders, engineers, field operators, and external partners to translate complex technical work into clear, persuasive, and compliant government submissions.