Proposal Lead

Poseidon Aerospace; California; On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Relocation support

Health benefits

Retirement matching

Flexible PTO

Free meals

AI tools access

Job summary

Poseidon Aerospace is seeking a Proposal Lead to direct end-to-end proposals from strategy to submission. You will collaborate with growth, capture, and engineering teams to develop winning responses for major RFPs, OTAs, CSOs, and other solicitations from federal agencies.

Ideal candidates will have deep knowledge of FAR/DFARS, experience with various contract types, and a track record of delivering compliant, persuasive proposals under time pressure.

Qualifications

• Experience with OTAs, CSOs, SBIRs.
• Knowledge of FAR/DFARS and proposal compliance.

Responsibilities

• Lead proposals from initiation through award with schedules and templates.
• Develop proposal strategies with leadership, capture, and engineering.
• Prepare white papers, graphics, and content for major RFPs and federal solicitations.
• Build and manage a reusable proposal content library and standards.
• Coordinate submission timelines and ensure compliance.

Skills

Proposal management

Technical writing

Business writing

Communication

Security clearance readiness

Tools

Compliance matrices

Job description

About Poseidon Aerospace:

Poseidon Aerospace is reimagining how the world moves goods. We build and operate full-size autonomous cargo aircraft - capable of carrying two tons of payload over a thousand nautical miles. From remote communities to contested logistics operations, our platforms unlock a new cost curve for air freight, making it faster, cheaper, and accessible anywhere it's needed. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with locations in Washington DC, Oregon, and Maine; we're building something consequential.

About the role:

We're looking for a Proposal Lead to manage and direct Poseidon’s proposal activities from proposal strategy to submission to contract award, and build the infrastructure that scales with us. You'll work directly with our growth, capture, and engineering teams to develop winning proposals.

What you’ll do:

• Execute and lead well-coordinated winning proposals from initiation through award including solicitation decomposition, proposal schedules, compliance matrices, proposal team roles, proposal formats and templates, writing assignments, single-voice edits, color team reviews, and timely submissions

• Establish and direct proposal processes, methods, enterprise solution implementation and use, and operational metrics for repeatable high quality winning proposals that can be tailored as Poseidon Aerospace scales

• Develop and lead proposal strategies working closely with leadership, capture, and engineering in preparation for solicitation release and effective proposal kickoff, execution, and timely submission

• Work with capture and engineering to prepare compelling white papers, graphics, concept briefs and other content in response to major RFPs, OTAs, CSOs, and other solicitation types from various federal agencies

• Build and own the proposal enterprise including content libraries, writing schedules, reusable prose and graphics, and documentation standards that enable high-quality and rapid responses to customer solicitations

• Working with leadership and growth teams to update pipelines, track future solicitations for proposal resource and talent management, and coordinate with customers for submission and award status

Required:

• Experience with non-standard solicitations such as OTAs, CSOs, SBIRs, etc.

• Experience with various contract types including IDIQs, cost plus, T&M, FFP, etc.

• Strong business and technical writing skills: you can translate complex business, financial, and engineering concepts into clear and compelling narratives and graphical presentations

• Deep knowledge of FAR/DFARS and proposal compliance requirements to ensure that cost and technical proposals are informed, persuasive and compliant, and which balances risks between Poseidon Aero and the U.S. Government

• Experience developing compliance matrices, managing submission schedules, and owning document configuration

• Technical literacy in federal contracting, pricing schemes, contract types, and aerospace systems

• US citizenship and eligibility for a secret security clearance or higher

Ideally you have:

• 4 – 8 years in contracting or proposals, ideally at a fast-moving defense company or government contractor

• A documented track record of leading and developing winning proposals with DoW and federal agencies

• Excellent organizational, writing, and organizational skills in a scaling proposal organization

• Worked in or alongside a fast-moving team under time pressure

• Active security clearance

What you get from us

• Competitive salary and meaningful early-stage equity

• Relocation support if applicable

• Employee Health Benefit Plans

• 6% Retirement matching

• Flexible PTO

• Free lunches, snacks, and a stocked fridge at our offices

• AI tools and subscriptions