Senior Proposal Manager

AeroVironment, Inc.

Arlington (VA)

On-site

USD 93,000 - 142,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision
401K with company matching
9/80 work schedule
Paid holiday shutdown

Job summary

AeroVironment, Inc. is seeking a Senior Proposal Manager to own the full lifecycle of government proposals, from planning through delivery.

You will coordinate cross-functional teams, assemble resources, and ensure compliance with FAR/DFAR guidelines while guiding writers and subcontractors to produce compelling, compliant bids. The role requires a Bachelor’s degree, 7+ years of federal proposal experience, MS Office proficiency, and the ability to travel up to 15% in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's Degree in relevant discipline or equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
  • Minimum of 7 years' experience in Federal Government proposal development utilizing Shipley process with varying classification levels.
  • Basic knowledge of FAR/DFAR compliance with regard to US Government solicitations.
  • Proficient with MS Office business applications.
  • Exceptional people skills to work in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment.
  • Knowledge of the business development life cycle in the aerospace, defense, or intelligence industry.
  • Demonstrated proposal experience with comprehensive knowledge of solicitation analysis, developing compliance matrices, and generating annotated outlines.
  • Ability to travel up to 15% of the time.

Responsibilities

  • Assemble resources and support functions to develop proposal content and ensure conformance to solicitation requirements.
  • Coordinate efforts across multiple projects, balancing priorities and timelines.
  • Manage all aspects of proposal development from RFP receipt to customer delivery.
  • Analyze solicitations and determine final document structure.
  • Prepare proposal plans, schedules, and compliance matrices.
  • Lead major project meetings and color reviews.
  • Develop and manage proposal schedules, compliance matrices, and document configuration control.
  • Provide guidance to proposal writers and subcontractors.
  • Ensure processes follow standard style guides and that documents meet guidelines.
  • Manage collection and editing of proposal materials for compliance.
  • Ensure proposals comply with section L&M or equivalent requirements.
  • Work semi-routinely but tailor processes to stakeholder needs.

Skills

Proposal development
RFP analysis
FAR/DFAR compliance
MS Office
Security clearance
Project coordination
Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's Degree in relevant discipline

Tools

MS Office

Job description

Summary

The Senior Proposal Manager's core function is to ensure the company's proposals are fully executed from start to finish. In this role, one is responsible for all aspects of the proposal development from planning through delivery, including evaluation, kick off, compliance tracking, progress status, and reviews. The Senior Proposal Manager will gather, research, organize, and analyze information and coordinate information requirements from many sources to generate cohesive and compelling proposals and presentations.

Position Responsibilities
  • Responsible for assembling required resources, skills and matrixed support functions to develop proposal content and conformance to solicitation requirements.
  • Coordinate efforts across several projects simultaneously, requiring self-organization and time management.
  • Manage all aspects of proposal development from assignment and receipt of RFP, through delivery and receipt by the customer.
  • Analyze solicitations (RFP, RFQ, RFI, etc.) in conjunction with other customer requirements and communications and determine final document structure.
  • Prepare detailed proposal plans, schedule outline and compliance matrix for assigned pursuits.
  • Coordinate and lead major project meeting events, such as Kick-off meetings, Strategy meetings, Pink, Red, and Gold Color Team reviews, etc.
  • Develop and manage a proposal schedule, compliance matrix, and configuration control of documents.
  • Provide detailed guidance to proposal writers/contributors and subcontractors.
  • Support and ensure proposal processes are followed, standard style guide is used, and documents are submitted in accordance with established guidelines.
  • Manage the collection and editing of proposal materials to ensure compliance.
  • Ensure proposals are compliant with section L&M or similar instructions/requirements.
  • Works on assignments that are semi-routine in nature but able to tailor processes to ensure efficient proposal development balancing the specific needs of internal and external stakeholders with each opportunity's resources.
  • Other duties as assigned.
Basic Qualifications (Required Skills & Experience)
  • Bachelor's Degree in relevant discipline is required or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
  • Minimum of 7 years' experience in Federal Government proposal development utilizing Shipley process with varying classification levels.
  • Basic knowledge of FAR/DFAR compliance with regard to US Government solicitations.
  • Proficient with MS Office business applications.
  • Exceptional people skills to work in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment.
  • Knowledge of the business development life cycle in the aerospace, defense, or intelligence industry.
  • Demonstrated proposal experience with comprehensive knowledge of solicitation analysis, developing compliance matrices, and generating annotated outlines.
  • Ability to travel up to 15% of the time.
Other Qualifications & Desired Competencies
  • Current active Secret security clearance or ability to obtain one.
  • Has a full understanding of this area of specialization and resolves a wide range of issues in creative and effective ways.
  • Able to excel in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, where small teams share a broad variety of duties.
  • Displays strong initiative and drive to accomplish goals and meet company objectives.
  • Is committed to learning from mistakes and driven to improve and enhance performance of oneself, others, and the company.
  • Has effective problem-solving, analytical, interpersonal, and communication skills.
Physical Demands

Ability to work in an office environment. Required to sit and stand for long periods; talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone keyboard.

Special Requirements

U.S. Citizenship required.

Clearance Level No Clearance

Salary Range

The salary range for this role is: $93,000 - $141,750

Benefits
  • AV offers an excellent benefits package including medical, dental vision, 401K with company matching, a 9/80 work schedule and a paid holiday shutdown.

For more information about our company benefit offerings please visit: http://www.avinc.com/myavbenefits.

We also encourage you to review our company website at http://www.avinc.com to learn more about us.

About AV

AV isn’t for everyone. We hire the curious, the relentless, the mission-obsessed. The best of the best. We don’t just build defense technology—we redefine what’s possible. As the premier autonomous systems company in the U.S., AV delivers breakthrough capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. From AI-powered drones and loitering munitions to integrated autonomy and space resilience, our technologies shape the future of warfare and protect those who serve. Founded by legendary innovator Dr. Paul MacCready, AV has spent over 50 years pushing the boundaries of what unmanned systems can do. Our heritage includes seven platforms in the Smithsonian—but we’re not building history, we’re building what’s next. If you're ready to build technology that matters—with speed, scale, and purpose—there’s no better place to do it than AV.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

AeroVironment, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and welcomes all qualified applicants. Qualified applicants will receive fair and impartial consideration without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic data, sexual orientation, gender identity or other legally protected status.

ITAR Note

ITAR Requirement: This position requires access to information that is subject to compliance with the International Traffic Arms Regulations ("ITAR") and/or the Export Administration Regulations ("EAR"). In order to comply with the requirements of the ITAR and/or the EAR, applicants must qualify as a U.S. person under the ITAR and the EAR, or a person to be approved for an export license by the governing agency whose technology comes under its jurisdiction. Please understand that any job offer that requires approval of an export license will be conditional on AeroVironment’s determination that it will be able to obtain an export license in a time frame consistent with AeroVironment’s business requirements. A “U.S. person” according to the ITAR definition is a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or protected individual such as a refugee or asylee. See 22 CFR § 120.15. Some positions will require current U.S. Citizenship due to contract requirements.

ITAR U.S. Citizenship required

About AV

AV isn’t for everyone. We hire the curious, the relentless, the mission-obsessed. The best of the best. We don’t just build defense technology—we redefine what’s possible. As the premier autonomous systems company in the U.S., AV delivers breakthrough capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. From AI-powered drones and loitering munitions to integrated autonomy and space resilience, our technologies shape the future of warfare and protect those who serve. Founded by legendary innovator Dr. Paul MacCready, AV has spent over 50 years pushing the boundaries of what unmanned systems can do. Our heritage includes seven platforms in the Smithsonian—but we’re not building history, we’re building what’s next. If you're ready to build technology that matters—with speed, scale, and purpose—there’s no better place to do it than AV.

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Careers at AeroVironment

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