Proposal Manager

Haley & Aldrich; San Jose (CA); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance-based bonus

Hybrid work schedule

Job summary

Haley & Aldrich seeks a Proposal Manager to lead the development of engineering and environmental service proposals. Collaborate with engineers, scientists, and business developers to translate complex technical concepts into clear, client-focused messages.

This full-time, hybrid role is based in Seattle with potential consideration for other West Coast offices. You will manage pursuits from capture to submission, coach teams, and apply lessons learned to improve future proposals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in a related field.
• 8+ years relevant experience in AEC proposal development, pursuit management, or related professional services.
• Strong critical thinking and analytical judgment, with ability to question weak assumptions and recycled content.
• Exceptional facilitation and communication skills to draw expertise from busy technical professionals.
• Excellent writing and editing skills for concise, client-focused content.
• Proven success developing win themes, differentiators, and proposal improvements.
• Ability to manage multiple pursuits, deadlines, and stakeholders while prioritizing strategy.
• Hybrid work schedule from Seattle office, approx. three days/week.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex, high-value pursuits from capture planning through submission and interviews.
• Analyze RFP requirements, priorities, and competition to develop tailored strategies.
• Facilitate kickoff meetings, strategy sessions, and reviews to align on differentiated content.
• Partner with engineers, scientists, and business developers to define client challenges and solutions.
• Translate technical information into concise client-focused narratives and content.
• Strengthen proposal quality by identifying gaps and reducing generic language.
• Manage pursuit schedules, reviews, and submission requirements.
• Support interview planning and team coaching.
• Conduct post-submittal evaluations to apply lessons learned.

Skills

Proposal leadership

Facilitation

Communication

Technical writing

Project management

Strategic thinking

Organizational discipline

Team collaboration

Hybrid scheduling

Client focus

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, English, Business, Engineering, Environmental Science, or related field

Tools

Adobe InDesign

Microsoft 365

CRM / proposal-management systems

Job description

Find your path and enjoy the journey at Haley & Aldrich. With us, you’ll tackle clients’ most meaningful challenges in the built and natural environments – and, in turn, build stronger communities. You’ll work with teams of passionate colleagues, driven by a commitment to technical excellence and continuous learning.

As a company, we aim to build a world where communities go beyond resilience, embracing change as an opportunity to enhance safety, well-being, and quality of life. Join us to accelerate this vision and your professional development.

We are looking to add new talent to our growing team! We are currently seeking a Proposal Manager to work in a strategic role with highly skilled professionals on diverse project teams in a dynamic environment. This is an excellent opportunity to join a growing group and company and get involved in a variety of projects for a diverse range of clients. This is a full-time, hybrid position located in our Seattle, WA office (preferred) with consideration in any of our other mainland west coast offices - Portland, OR, Walnut Creek, CA, Oakland, CA, San Jose CA, Costa Mesa, CA or San Diego, CA.

In this strategic role, you will lead the development of compelling proposals for our engineering and environmental consulting services. Working closely with engineers, scientists, constructors, client leaders, and business developers, you will translate complex technical concepts into clear, persuasive, and client-focused messages. This position extends beyond proposal administration and compliance management, requiring independent judgment, strong facilitation, technical storytelling, and the confidence to challenge generic content, uncover meaningful differentiators, and articulate why Haley & Aldrich offers the right approach for each client.

Duties/Responsibilities

In this position, you will:

• Lead complex, high-value pursuits from capture planning through proposal submission, interview preparation, and post-submittal evaluation, ensuring each pursuit reflects a deliberate strategy rather than a compliance-driven response.
• Analyze RFP requirements, client priorities, evaluation criteria and competitive context to develop tailored pursuit strategies, win themes, value propositions, and messaging that improve responsiveness and client relevance.
• Facilitate kickoff meetings, strategy sessions, reviews, and working sessions that produce clear decisions, assignments, risk awareness, and alignment around a differentiated approach.
• Partner directly with technical and client-facing teams to define client challenges, proposed solutions, project risks, meaningful differentiators, and measurable value.
• Translate complex technical information into concise, client-focused narratives while shaping executive summaries, technical approaches, project descriptions, qualifications, resumes, and other content that influences evaluator decisions.
• Strengthen proposal quality by identifying gaps, unsupported claims, inconsistencies, and generic language and guiding teams toward clear, credible, and differentiated content.
• Manage pursuit schedules, reviews, production, compliance, and submission requirements while maintaining a strong focus on strategy and quality.
• Support interview planning and preparation, including message development, presentation content, team coaching, and rehearsal facilitation.
• Conduct post-submittal evaluations and apply feedback and lessons learned to improve future pursuit strategies and proposal practices.
• Manage multiple concurrent pursuits, contributors, deadlines, and stakeholder expectations while maintaining effective communication and sound professional judgment.
• Leverage ability to effectively utilize AI and automation tools to reduce administrative effort, accelerate delivery, and focus time on higher-value strategic activities.
• Perform all work in accordance with company and client health and safety protocols.
• Demonstrate the company's foundational safety behaviors.

Skills/Experience

Minimum Skills and Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, English, Business, Engineering, Environmental Science, or a related field.
• Minimum 8 years relevant experience and prefer 4 years of relevant AEC proposal development, pursuit management, marketing, communications, business development, or related professional-services experience.
• Strong critical thinking and analytical judgment, including the confidence to question weak assumptions, recycled content, unsupported messaging, and drafts that merely restate the RFP.
• Exceptional facilitation and communication skills, including the ability to draw expertise from busy technical professionals, manage competing viewpoints, resolve conflicting input, and guide teams toward decisions.
• Excellent writing and editing skills, with demonstrated ability to produce concise, technically accurate, client-focused content without oversimplifying the technical approach.
• Demonstrated success developing opportunity-specific pursuit strategies, win themes, value propositions, differentiators, and proposal improvements that strengthen responsiveness, clarity, credibility, and competitiveness.
• Strong organizational discipline and professional judgment, with the ability to manage multiple pursuits, contributors, deadlines, and stakeholder expectations while keeping strategy and quality ahead of process, boilerplate, or technology shortcuts.
• Ability to work collaboratively with engineers, scientists, constructors, client leaders, business developers, and other technical and corporate professionals.
• Ability to work a hybrid schedule from the Seattle office approximately three days per week, ideally Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and additional days as business needs require.

Preferred Skills

• AEC proposal leadership experience and the ability to quickly learn Haley & Aldrich’s markets, services, technical capabilities, client relationships, and competitive position.
• Experience supporting engineering, environmental, or related professional consulting services.
• Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) and/or Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPC) certification or related proposal-management training.
• Proficiency with Adobe InDesign.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 and experience using CRM, proposal-management, or content-management systems.

The salary range for this position onthe West Coast is $100,000 - 120,000 annually. Actual compensation will be based upon a variety of factors such as education, related work experience, certificates, skills, and current market conditions. Haley & Aldrich reviews salary ranges each quarter to assess competitiveness with the market. This role is eligible to participate in the company's performance-based bonus program. This bonus program is based on overall company performance and the results achieved compared to peers.

About Haley & Aldrich

Haley & Aldrich is committed to solving our clients’ most meaningful challenges in the built and natural environments. Our team of 1,000+ engineers and scientists across the United States draws inspiration from one mission: to work closely with clients as they navigate change to create safer, more robust places to live and work. Since our founding in 1957, organizations across the public and private sectors have relied on us for technical excellence and empathetic leadership that achieve results and secure a thriving tomorrow. Find us at haleyaldrich.com and LinkedIn.

Haley & Aldrich is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender, race, age, disability, veteran, or any other legally protected status.

We offer excellent career growth, a highly competitive total compensation plan, and a solid benefits package.