Technical Proposal Writer

Lodestar; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity incentives

Unlimited PTO

401(k) retirement plan

Medical, vision and dental coverage

Job summary

Lodestar Space in Los Angeles, CA seeks an experienced technical proposal writer to translate complex space systems into compliant, evaluator-ready submissions for government and IC contracts. You will own RFx content, coordinate with engineering and business teams, and ensure timely, cohesive proposals across multiple opportunities.

You will collaborate with engineering and mission operations to extract input, maintain a content library, and apply FAR/DFARS requirements to deliver compelling

Qualifications

• 3 to 6 years of hands-on technical proposal writing for DoD, DoW, NASA, or IC.
• Experience writing for space systems, satellite tech, or defense software.
• Ability to decompose complex solicitations independently.
• Working knowledge of FAR and DFARS.
• Experience across RFPs, OTAs, CSOs, BAAs, and SBIRs.
• Exceptional written communication skills.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and self-reliance.

Responsibilities

• Own the writing of technical, management, and past performance volumes for prime and subcontractor submissions across DoD, DoW, NASA, IC, etc.
• Translate complex engineering concepts — orbital mechanics, autonomous systems architecture, machine vision, onboard edge computing, RPO, directed energy, etc. — into clear, compliant, evaluator-ready narrative.
• Write executive summaries, capability descriptions, technical approaches, staffing narratives, and past performance write-ups that are both compliant and compelling.
• Build and maintain a reusable proposal content library — boilerplate, capability sheets, past performance templates — that reduces per-submission workload over time.
• Perform thorough RFP decomposition — Section L, Section M, SOW, CDRLs, and all attachments — and produce compliance matrices and annotated outlines before writing begins.
• Track and enforce compliance across all volumes, ensuring every requirement is addressed, cross-referenced, and verifiable at submission.
• Apply working knowledge of FAR and DFARS to ensure submissions meet regulatory requirements without over-engineering the response.
• Flag solicitation ambiguities, conflicts, or requirement gaps early and raise them before they become submission-day problems.
• Work directly with Lodestar's technical team to extract input efficiently — structured interviews, architecture reviews, and targeted written Q&A rather than open-ended drafting requests.
• Coordinate inputs from Business Development, Finance, Legal, and Mission Operations to assemble complete, cohesive submissions on deadline.
• Support team reviews and incorporate feedback quickly without losing compliance or narrative coherence.
• Own proposal schedules, draft cycles, and submission logistics across multiple concurrent opportunities.

Skills

Proposal writing

Space systems

Solicitation analysis

FAR/DFARS

Acquisition vehicles

Written communication

Ambiguity tolerance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Aerospace, Political Science, Business, or related field

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

AI proposal tools

Job description

Lodestar Space is rewriting the paradigm of national security in orbit. We don't wait for a decade-long government requirements cycle; we build autonomous capabilities ahead of the threat and deliver them at the speed of relevance.

As space transforms into a contested operational and war-fighting domain, our national security assets and critical infrastructure that underpins our modern way of life faces unprecedented vulnerabilities. Lodestar addresses this crisis head-on. We are the architects of Mithril, the world's first fully autonomous, AI-driven intelligence designed to operate independently in space. We're building Mithril to autonomously maneuver and enable complex RPO missions, while simultaneously conducting the length of the kill-chain from detection, classification and intent prediction, to responding to orbital threats in denied environments. Combining cutting-edge machine vision, onboard edge computing, and pioneering fires and effects architectures, Lodestar gives warfighters and commercial operators unprecedented situational awareness and space superiority in the final frontier.

Backed by elite deep-tech venture capital, international space agencies and government stakeholders, Lodestar is rapidly expanding its footprint across the U.S. Space Force, the Department of War, and major commercial satellite operators. We are a lean, high-autonomy team of engineers and operators building the space defense infrastructure of tomorrow. Join us.

About the Job

Our engineering team is building some of the most technically sophisticated autonomous systems in the defense space ecosystem. Your job is to make sure that sophistication is translated into winning contracts.

This is a hands-on practitioner role where your writing is the work. You will collaborate closely with our technical team, learning what they have built and helping translate it into compliant, compelling, evaluator-ready proposals that resonate with government evaluators. We are a lean and supportive team that moves fast — you will have real ownership over your work and the autonomy to do it well, with the full backing of the commercial and engineering team behind you.

You will work across RFIs, RFPs, OTAs, CSOs, BAAs, SBIRs, etc. primarily targeting U.S. Space Force, AFRL, DIU, Space RCO, SDA, NASA, and Intelligence Community customers.

What You’ll Do

1. Proposal Writing and Content Development

• Own the writing of technical, management, and past performance volumes for prime and subcontractor submissions across DoD, DoW, NASA, IC, etc. solicitations.
• Translate complex engineering concepts — orbital mechanics, autonomous systems architecture, machine vision, onboard edge computing, RPO, directed energy, etc. — into clear, compliant, evaluator-ready narrative without requiring engineers to draft or heavily redline your work.
• Write executive summaries, capability descriptions, technical approaches, staffing narratives, and past performance write-ups that are both compliant and compelling.
• Build and maintain a reusable proposal content library — boilerplate, capability sheets, past performance templates — that reduces per-submission workload over time.

2. Solicitation Analysis and Compliance

• Perform thorough RFP decomposition — Section L, Section M, SOW, CDRLs, and all attachments — and produce compliance matrices and annotated outlines before writing begins.
• Track and enforce compliance across all volumes, ensuring every requirement is addressed, cross-referenced, and verifiable at submission.
• Apply working knowledge of FAR and DFARS to ensure submissions meet regulatory requirements without over-engineering the response.
• Flag solicitation ambiguities, conflicts, or requirement gaps early and raise them before they become submission-day problems.

3. Cross-Functional Coordination

• Work directly with Lodestar's technical team to extract input efficiently — structured interviews, architecture reviews, and targeted written Q&A rather than open-ended drafting requests.
• Coordinate inputs from Business Development, Finance, Legal, and Mission Operations to assemble complete, cohesive submissions on deadline.
• Support team reviews and incorporate feedback quickly without losing compliance or narrative coherence.
• Own proposal schedules, draft cycles, and submission logistics across multiple concurrent opportunities.

Qualifications

• 3 to 6 years of hands‑on technical proposal writing experience supporting DoD, DoW, NASA, or IC customers. We need someone who can execute independently on day one.
• Demonstrated experience writing for space systems, satellite technology, autonomous systems, defense software, or adjacent aerospace and defense domains. You need to understand what you are writing about well enough that engineers trust your first draft.
• Proven ability to decompose complex solicitations independently — Section L/M analysis, compliance matrix development, annotated outlines — before a single word of narrative is written.
• Working knowledge of FAR and DFARS sufficient to parse solicitation requirements, identify compliance obligations, and write to them correctly. You do not need to be a contracting officer — you need to be dangerous enough to catch the issues that matter.
• Experience across multiple acquisition vehicles: RFPs, OTAs, CSOs, BAAs, and SBIRs. Non-traditional defense acquisition pathways are a significant part of our pipeline.
• Exceptional written communication skills. Your proposals should read like they were written by someone who understands the mission — not assembled from a library of boilerplate.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and self‑reliance. There is no proposal center here. You own it end to end.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Aerospace, Political Science, Business, or a related field required. Master’s degree in a related field preferred.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Specific experience writing for U.S. Space Force, AFRL, DIU, Space RCO, SDA, SpaceWERX, or NASA space systems programs.
• Familiarity with USSF and DoW acquisition ecosystems including Space SBIR/STTR programs, STRATFI/TACFI pathways, and Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) OTA vehicles.
• Experience as the primary or sole proposal writer at a defense tech startup or emerging technology company — not one member of a large proposal center.
• Ability to read and interpret system architecture diagrams, orbital mechanics profiles, or hardware block diagrams and write accurate technical prose from them without an engineer in the room.
• Experience using AI-enabled proposal tools to accelerate drafting, gap analysis, and compliance review.
• Active Secret or Top Secret clearance or eligibility and willingness to obtain one.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here .

• Competitive base salary commensurate with experience
• Meaningful equity incentives as part of our employee option pool
• Unlimited PTO with generous paid vacation, holidays, and sick leave
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match

Additional Information

Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case‑by‑case basis and may vary based on job‑related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full‑time hires, you may also be eligible for long‑term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision and dental coverage, as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.

Lodestar is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Lodestar 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.