Proposal Lead

About Poseidon Aerospace:

Poseidon Aerospace is reimagining how the world moves goods. We build and operate full-size autonomous cargo aircraft - capable of carrying two tons of payload over a thousand nautical miles. From remote communities to contested logistics operations, our platforms unlock a new cost curve for air freight, making it faster, cheaper, and accessible anywhere it's needed. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with locations in Washington DC, Oregon, and Maine; we're building something consequential.

About the role:

We're looking for a Proposal Lead to manage and direct Poseidon’s proposal activities from proposal strategy to submission to contract award, and build the infrastructure that scales with us. You'll work directly with our growth, capture, and engineering teams to develop winning proposals.

What you’ll do:

Execute and lead well-coordinated winning proposals from initiation through award including solicitation decomposition, proposal schedules, compliance matrices, proposal team roles, proposal formats and templates, writing assignments, single-voice edits, color team reviews, and timely submissions

Establish and direct proposal processes, methods, enterprise solution implementation and use, and operational metrics for repeatable high quality winning proposals that can be tailored as Poseidon Aerospace scales

Develop and lead proposal strategies working closely with leadership, capture, and engineering in preparation for solicitation release and effective proposal kickoff, execution, and timely submission

Work with capture and engineering to prepare compelling white papers, graphics, concept briefs and other content in response to major RFPs, OTAs, CSOs, and other solicitation types from various federal agencies

Build and own the proposal enterprise including content libraries, writing schedules, reusable prose and graphics, and documentation standards that enable high-quality and rapid responses to customer solicitations

Working with leadership and growth teams to update pipelines, track future solicitations for proposal resource and talent management, and coordinate with customers for submission and award status

Required:

Experience with non-standard solicitations such as OTAs, CSOs, SBIRs, etc.

Experience with various contract types including IDIQs, cost plus, T&M, FFP, etc.

Strong business and technical writing skills: you can translate complex business, financial, and engineering concepts into clear and compelling narratives and graphical presentations

Deep knowledge of FAR/DFARS and proposal compliance requirements to ensure that cost and technical proposals are informed, persuasive and compliant, and which balances risks between Poseidon Aero and the U.S. Government

Experience developing compliance matrices, managing submission schedules, and owning document configuration

Technical literacy in federal contracting, pricing schemes, contract types, and aerospace systems

US citizenship and eligibility for a secret security clearance or higher

Ideally you have:

4 – 8 years in contracting or proposals, ideally at a fast-moving defense company or government contractor

A documented track record of leading and developing winning proposals with DoW and federal agencies

Excellent organizational, writing, and organizational skills in a scaling proposal organization

Worked in or alongside a fast-moving team under time pressure

Active security clearance

What you get from us

Competitive salary and meaningful early-stage equity

Relocation support if applicable

Employee Health Benefit Plans

6% Retirement matching

Flexible PTO

Free lunches, snacks, and a stocked fridge at our offices

AI tools and subscriptions