Proposal Specialist

InvestedintheMission; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Medical, vision, and dental coverage

401(k) plan

Paid time off and holidays

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking a Proposal Specialist in Hawthorne, CA to manage the preparation and submission of bids for commercial and government opportunities. You will coordinate authors from across technical and business teams, edit and rewrite text for clarity, and develop visuals to create persuasive proposals that meet customer needs.

The role emphasizes rapid, reliable documentation, editing for grammar and style, and ensuring compliance with customer instructions and SpaceX standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree is required.
• 5+ years of professional publishing/editing experience.
• Experience with proposal or grant writing is preferred.
• Experience editing technical and nontechnical text.
• Ability to coordinate authors and deadlines across teams.

Responsibilities

• Read and understand complex requirements of new opportunities.
• Develop and manage proposal schedules and outlines.
• Manage authors from across the company and enforce deadlines.
• Gather technical information for proposals with staff.
• Draft clear, compelling executive summaries and proposal text.

Skills

Editing

Proposal writing

Editorial standards

Deadline management

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.

PROPOSAL SPECIALIST

From release of a customer’s requirements through award of a contract, SpaceX proposal specialists manage the preparation and submittal of SpaceX’s bids for competitive business opportunities, including launch and Starlink services. In this role, you’ll prepare proposals that describe the features and benefits of SpaceX’s constantly evolving technology and services. You’ll manage authors from across our technical and business teams as they prepare text addressing specific customer needs. You’ll edit, rewrite, and write technical and nontechnical text as necessary to prepare the most compelling possible proposals. You’ll also be responsible for the creation of clear, visually persuasive graphics and for the timely delivery of a clean, error-free final product.

The position requires the energy, initiative, flexibility, and dependability to produce documents that reflect SpaceX’s commitment to the rapid and reliable advancement of human spaceflight.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Read, understand, and communicate the highly complex requirements of new customer opportunities
• Develop and manage proposal schedules
• Draft proposal outlines
• Manage section authors from across the company, setting and enforcing deadlines and expectations
• Work with technical staff to gather and draft technical information for commercial and government proposals
• Help develop creative arguments and talking points into compelling executive summaries and proposal text tailored for each opportunity
• Work with technical and business staff to resolve open issues and questions about proposal text, figures, and tables
• Help identify and develop supporting graphics
• Edit and rewrite as necessary for clarity, logic, and readability
• Fact‑check information and flag technical errors
• Edit for spelling, grammar, and punctuation
• Ensure documents conform to company format and editorial style
• Ensure proposals comply with customer instructions
• Guide documents through review and approval processes
• Prepare documents for print. Produce required copies and arrange delivery
• Help develop and improve deliverable templates
• Help improve and streamline the proposal development process
• Help maintain repository of frequently used proposal information
• Support Mission Management, Sales, and other SpaceX organizations with editing, writing, publication, and communication

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree
• 5+ years of professional experience publishing and/or editing documents

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Degree in journalism, English, Technical Writing, or Professional Writing
• Experience with proposal or grant writing
• Experience in the preparing documents for publication in Microsoft Office (version 2016 or more recent)
• Ability, or potential, to help implement proposal strategies
• Knowledge of government or commercial proposals
• Experience writing captions or headlines
• Experience following an editorial style guidelines
• Strong grasp of language, including nuance and tone
• Proven ability to work under the pressure of long- and short-term deadlines
• Demonstrated record of successfully planning and completing both short- and long-term projects
• Demonstrated leadership, influence, and collaboration skills
• Demonstrated organizational skills
• Demonstrated attention to detail
• Basic knowledge of SpaceX’s mission, business model, and competition

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to work extended hours or weekends as needed for mission critical deadlines
• This role requires you to be onsite when you aren't traveling for work events/functions. Remote work or hybrid work will not be considered.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Pay Range:

• Level 1: $80,000.00 - $100,000.00
• Level 2: $95,000.00 - $125,000.00

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Employees accrue paid sick leave pursuant to Company policy which satisfies or exceeds the accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the law.

ITAR REQUIREMENTS

• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Aff… or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to [e-mail].