Proposal Specialist

ICEYE US; Herndon, Irvine (VA, CA); Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

ICEYE US is seeking a Proposal Specialist to support federal proposal development and grow into greater proposal management responsibilities. This entry‑level role emphasizes strong writing, organization, and document production skills, with hands-on mentoring through the federal lifecycle.

You will work with cross-functional teams, translating technical input into clear content, and helping ensure compliant, high-quality submissions from Herndon, VA (onsite) with remote/hybrid options based on

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in English, Writing, Communications, Business, Engineering, or related discipline.
• Recent graduates with experience in proposal development, technical writing, project coordination, business development, government contracting, or related field.
• Experience drafting, editing, proofreading, or formatting professional materials and communicating technical content clearly.
• Experience coordinating projects with multiple contributors, deadlines, and priorities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 applications (Word, Teams, SharePoint, Excel, PowerPoint) and advanced Word formatting.
• Ability to interpret instructions, identify requirements, and verify documents; AI tools (e.g., Copilot) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Review solicitations and compliance requirements; create compliance matrices and outlines.
• Coordinate inputs across SMEs, program managers, business development, contracts, and executives.
• Draft, edit, and format proposal content for technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Support colour-team reviews and document revisions; track resolutions.
• Produce, format and QC complex Word documents with advanced features.
• Maintain proposal files, version control, and organization throughout the lifecycle.
• Assist with final proposal production and submission readiness.
• Leverage AI tools to assist research, drafting, and workflow improvements while ensuring accuracy.
• Communicate requirements and track outstanding actions across teams.

Skills

Strong writing

Organization

Project coordination

Microsoft Word / 365

AI-enabled productivity tools

Education

Bachelor's degree in English/Writing/Communications/Business/Engineering or related

Tools

Microsoft Word (advanced)

SharePoint

Excel

PowerPoint

Teams

Job description

Proposal Specialist

At ICEYE, we design, build and operate the largest fleet of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites in the world. Using advanced technology, our constellation collects topographical data about any location on Earth, day or night, through any weather conditions.

Headquartered in Southern California, our customers are society’s heroes – intelligence professionals, warfighters, first responders, and scientific researchers. As a trusted mission partner, the United States and its allies depend on us for critical information when it matters most.

Role Description

ICEYE US is seeking a Proposal Specialist to support federal proposal development activities and grow into progressively greater proposal management responsibility.

This role is intended for an early-career professional with strong writing, organization, project coordination, and document-production skills who wants to build a career in proposal management. The Proposal Specialist will receive hands‑on mentoring in the federal proposal lifecycle while contributing directly to active pursuits, proposal development, reviews, compliance activities, and submissions.

Prior space‑industry experience is not required. We are looking for someone who can learn complex technical subject matter quickly, is comfortable asking questions, embraces new technologies and ways of working, and brings a fresh perspective to established proposal processes.

Responsibilities

The Proposal Specialist will support Proposal Managers and cross‑functional teams throughout the proposal lifecycle, including:

• Proposal Requirements and Compliance: Review solicitations, amendments, statements of work, evaluation criteria, and procurement documents to identify requirements, deliverables, submission instructions, and compliance obligations. Develop and maintain compliance matrices, annotated outlines, and other proposal planning materials to ensure traceability between solicitation requirements and proposal content.
• Proposal Coordination: Coordinate proposal activities and inputs across technical subject matter experts, program managers, business development, contracts, executives, and other contributors. Track assignments, deadlines, dependencies, outstanding actions, and deliverables to support completion of proposal milestones.
• Technical Writing and Content Development: Draft, edit, proofread, and format proposal content. Translate technical and subject matter expert input into clear, concise, customer‑focused language appropriate for technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Proposal Reviews: Support colour‑team and other structured proposal reviews by preparing review materials, coordinating feedback, documenting comments, and tracking revisions through resolution.
• Document Production and Quality Control: Produce, format, and troubleshoot complex Microsoft Word documents, including templates, styles, automatic numbering, tables, captions, cross‑references, headers and footers, section breaks, tracked changes, and page‑layout requirements. Conduct quality‑control reviews to verify formatting, accuracy, completeness, and compliance with submission instructions.
• Document and Configuration Management: Maintain proposal files, repositories, version control, document organization, naming conventions, and configuration records to preserve document integrity throughout the proposal lifecycle.
• Proposal Submission Support: Assist with final proposal production, submission‑readiness reviews, and electronic proposal submissions, ensuring deliverables meet applicable formatting, file, and submission requirements.
• AI‑Enabled Tools and Technology: Use Microsoft Copilot and other approved AI‑enabled tools to support research, analysis, drafting, content comparison, compliance reviews, editing, and workflow improvement. Validate AI‑generated content against authoritative source materials and follow applicable information‑security and data‑handling requirements.
• Cross‑Functional Communication and Collaboration: Communicate proposal requirements, assignments, deadlines, and outstanding actions to relevant contributors. Follow up on deliverables, address coordination issues, incorporate feedback, and help maintain progress across competing priorities and changing deadlines.
• Process Improvement and Professional Development: Identify opportunities to improve proposal processes, templates, tools, automation, and workflows. Apply feedback from Proposal Managers and team members, develop knowledge of company products and technical capabilities, and assume increasing responsibility for proposal activities as experience and proficiency develop.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in English, Writing, Communications, Business, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Recent Bachelor’s graduates with professional experience in proposal development, technical writing, project coordination, business development, government contracting, communications, or a related field.
• Experience drafting, editing, proofreading, or formatting professional written materials, including the ability to organize information and communicate technical or complex subject matter in written form.
• Experience coordinating projects, assignments, or deliverables involving multiple contributors, deadlines, and competing priorities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 applications, particularly Microsoft Word, Teams, SharePoint, Excel, and PowerPoint. Experience with advanced Microsoft Word formatting and document‑production features is required.
• Ability to interpret written instructions, identify requirements, organize supporting information, and verify documents against established standards. Experience using AI‑enabled productivity tools, including Microsoft Copilot, is preferred.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with Requests for Proposals, Requests for Quotations, Requests for Information, Sources Sought notices, Statements of Work, Performance Work Statements, proposal instructions, evaluation criteria, amendments, and federal submission requirements.
• Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) Foundation-level certification or willingness to obtain APMP Foundation certification within the first year if not already certified.
• Experience working within a Shipley‑based proposal‑development process.
• Experience supporting compliance matrices, annotated outlines, colour‑team reviews, proposal schedules, comment‑resolution matrices, or submission checklists.
• Familiarity with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and common federal acquisition terminology.
• Experience using SharePoint as a collaborative proposal workspace.
• Advanced Microsoft Word skills, including styles, templates, automatic numbering, tables, section formatting, headers and footers, cross‑references, captions, tracked changes, and complex document troubleshooting.
• Experience applying generative AI to professional writing, research, analysis, project management, knowledge management, or workflow automation.
• Experience supporting technical, engineering, aerospace, defense, intelligence, information technology, or other complex solutions.
• Familiarity with Shipley proposal development methodology or comparable structured proposal‑development practices.
• Security clearance, Top Secret preferred, or clearable and willing to get a clearance
• On‑site in Herndon, VA or Irvine, CA; remote/hybrid depending on candidate location
• Occasional travel, up to 25%

Who Will Thrive in This Role

Be curious. Ask questions, investigate unfamiliar topics, seek to understand the customer and technical solution, and continue developing your knowledge.

See the big picture. Understand how individual requirements, proposal sections, reviews, deadlines, and contributions come together to create a compliant and compelling submission.

Drive effective teamwork. Communicate clearly, follow up on commitments, remove obstacles where possible, and help contributors work effectively together.

Act as one. Ask for help when needed, offer help to others, share information, and take collective ownership of the success of the proposal.

Have fun. Bring energy, enthusiasm, and perspective to a fast‑moving environment where teams work together to solve challenging problems.

We are looking for someone who wants to learn from experienced proposal professionals while also bringing new ideas, technologies, and perspectives that help us continuously improve how we work. The right candidate will be coachable without being passive, confident enough to ask questions, and willing to challenge an inefficient process when there may be a better way.

What Success Looks Like

A successful Proposal Specialist will steadily develop from a strong proposal‑team contributor into someone capable of owning increasingly complex proposal activities. Over time, that may include independently developing compliance matrices and outlines, coordinating proposal sections and contributors, managing review cycles, supporting or leading smaller responses, and ultimately progressing toward proposal management responsibility.

ICEYE US is interested not only in what a candidate already knows, but also in their ability and desire to learn, take ownership, and grow.

Pay Range and Compensation Package

The estimated base salary range for this role is $75k - $90k depending on experience

Other benefits include health coverage, flexible PTO, a friendly work environment, plus extra fun perks!

Physical Requirements

This position primarily works in an office environment. It requires the ability to sit or stand for long periods of time and frequent walking. Daily use of a computer, phone, office equipment and other computing and digital devices is required. Some travel may be necessary – the ability to travel by car, plane, train, bus, vessel, or metro, operate a motor vehicle and maintain a valid Driver’s License and/or effectively navigate public transportation is required.

While performing the responsibilities of the job, the employee must be able to read and respond to inter‑office communications as well as effectively participate in meetings. The employee is often required to sit and use their hands or fingers, to lift up to 50 lbs., pull, push, carry, handle, or feel. The employee is required to carry, handle items, reach with arms and hands, to stoop, kneel, or crouch; talk, or hear. Mental demands may require prolonged concentration, reading comprehension, understanding and interpretation of concepts, ideas, and philosophies. The physical demands of the position described herein are essential functions of the job and employees must be able to successfully perform these tasks for extended periods. Reasonable accommodations may be made for those individuals with real or perceived disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job described unless such accommodations would cause ICEYE US an undue burden.

EEO Statement

ICEYE US is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, or any other protected characteristic under federal, state, or local law.