Proposal Technical Writer

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

JOB SUMMARY

The Proposal Technical Writer is responsible for developing clear, compelling, compliant, and technically accurate proposal content that supports GMRE’s federal growth objectives across the Department of Defense and other government customers.

This role serves as a strategic contributor within the Growth organization, translating complex technical concepts, operational approaches, and customer mission requirements into evaluator-focused proposal narratives that improve proposal quality and competitiveness.

In addition to formal proposal support, the Proposal Technical Writer contributes to pre-RFP and shaping activities including Requests for Information (RFIs), Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) responses, Sources Sought notices, capability statements, technical white papers, executive briefings, and other customer-facing growth artifacts. This role supports the development of persuasive, technically credible content that improves early customer engagement, opportunity positioning, and capture effectiveness across the business development lifecycle.

The Proposal Technical Writer works closely with Capture Managers, Proposal Managers, Technical SMEs, Program Managers, Pricing, and Executive Leadership to develop proposal content that aligns with customer priorities, acquisition objectives, and overall win strategy.

Success in this role requires more than strong writing capability. It requires intellectual curiosity, operational awareness, responsiveness under deadline pressure, and the ability to synthesize fragmented technical input into coherent, persuasive proposal messaging.

This role operates within a high-accountability, high-trust environment where ownership, responsiveness, preparation, and professionalism are baseline expectations. The Proposal Technical Writer must be capable of working independently while collaborating effectively across cross-functional teams operating under compressed schedules and evolving customer requirements.

This position is not transactional content production. It requires strategic thinking, technical comprehension, disciplined writing execution, and the ability to communicate complex ideas in ways that are clear, credible, and evaluator-focused.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Technical Proposal Writing & Content Development
• Write and develop technical, management, staffing, transition, past performance, and executive proposal content for federal solicitations.
• Translate complex engineering, integration, sustainment, logistics, cybersecurity, mission support, and operational concepts into clear and evaluable proposal narratives.
• Develop compliant proposal responses aligned to solicitation requirements, evaluation criteria, and customer mission priorities.
• Support development of win themes, discriminators, feature-benefit messaging, and customer-focused value propositions.
• Organize and structure proposal content to improve evaluator readability, comprehension, and scoring potential.
• Coordinate creation and incorporate graphics concepts, callouts, proof points, and evidence-based messaging into written content.
• Ensure consistency of tone, terminology, and messaging across proposal volumes and contributors.
• Tailor proposal content to specific customer organizations, acquisition environments, and mission contexts.
• Strategic Growth & Pre-Proposal Writing Support
• Develop written content supporting RFIs, ROMs, Sources Sought responses, capability statements, technical white papers, executive summaries, presentations, and other pre-proposal business development artifacts.
• Support early opportunity shaping efforts by developing customer-focused messaging, technical narratives, and solution descriptions prior to formal solicitation release.
• Collaborate with Capture Managers, Proposal Managers, Technical SMEs, Pricing, and Operations personnel to develop rapid-turnaround written responses supporting qualification and positioning activities.
• Translate technical approaches, operational concepts, and engineering discussions into concise and persuasive customer-facing materials.
• Assist with development of reusable content libraries, annotated boilerplate, proposal templates, and strategic messaging repositories.
• Support development of briefing materials, gate review content, and customer engagement documentation for leadership and capture teams.
• Ensure consistency of messaging, terminology, tone, and technical positioning across all customer-facing written products.
• Contribute to continuous refinement of GMRE’s technical writing standards, proposal content quality, and growth communications capability.
• Proposal Strategy & Collaboration
• Partner closely with Proposal Managers and Capture Managers to align written content with overall capture and proposal strategy.
• Participate in proposal kickoff meetings, storyboarding sessions, color team reviews, and recovery efforts.
• Collaborate with Technical SMEs, engineers, program managers, and operations personnel to gather source material and validate technical accuracy.
• Support proposal teams in identifying proposal gaps, weaknesses, and improvement opportunities.
• Maintain responsiveness and communication discipline throughout proposal execution cycles.
• Coordinate effectively across multiple simultaneous proposal efforts and shifting priorities.
• Proposal Quality & Compliance
• Ensure written content complies with solicitation instructions, formatting requirements, page limitations, and evaluation criteria.
• Review proposal drafts for clarity, consistency, grammar, accuracy, and readability.
• Incorporate reviewer feedback efficiently while preserving narrative consistency and strategic messaging.
• Support proposal recovery efforts following color team reviews.
• Verify alignment between technical narratives, staffing approaches, management plans, and pricing assumptions where applicable.
• Contribute to proposal quality assurance and final production readiness activities.
• Research, Analysis & Knowledge Management
• Conduct customer, competitor, and mission research to support development of informed and relevant proposal messaging.
• Analyze RFPs, Statements of Work (SOW), Performance Work Statements (PWS), and evaluation criteria to identify writing requirements and strategic emphasis areas.
• Support development and maintenance of reusable proposal content libraries, templates, boilerplate, and lessons learned repositories.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of proposal writing processes, standards, and tools.
• Stay informed on federal acquisition trends, proposal best practices, and emerging AI-enabled proposal development technologies.
• AI-Enabled Writing & Proposal Support
• Utilize AI-enabled writing, editing, summarization, and content analysis tools where appropriate to improve proposal quality and efficiency.
• Apply sound judgment when integrating AI-assisted content into proposal responses.
• Ensure all AI-supported work products maintain technical accuracy, compliance integrity, and customer relevance.
• Support development of scalable proposal content generation and knowledge management practices.
• Post-Submission Activities
• Support proposal debriefs, lessons learned activities, and content recovery efforts.
• Assist with maintaining proposal archives, reusable content repositories, and proposal performance data.
• Contribute to process refinement initiatives informed by proposal outcomes and reviewer feedback.
• Cultural Leadership & Internal Relationships
• Operate with low ego, high accountability, and a team-first mindset.
• Demonstrate professionalism, responsiveness, and ownership throughout proposal execution cycles.
• Build productive working relationships across Business Development, Capture, Proposal Management, Technical Teams, Operations, and Executive Leadership.
• Maintain composure and execution quality during high operational tempo and compressed proposal deadlines.
• Accept and apply direct feedback constructively during review cycles and content recovery efforts.
• Contribute positively to a high-performance Growth organization centered on trust, preparation, and execution discipline.
• Support institutional knowledge development and continuous improvement across the proposal organization.
• Balance speed with quality, accuracy, and professionalism.
• This Position May Not Be a Fit If:
• You prefer narrowly scoped writing assignments with minimal collaboration.
• You are uncomfortable operating under compressed deadlines and evolving requirements.
• You struggle to synthesize incomplete or fragmented technical information into coherent written products.
• You require extensive oversight to maintain productivity or quality.
• You are resistant to iterative review cycles and direct editorial feedback.
• You prioritize stylistic preferences over customer requirements, evaluation criteria, or proposal strategy.
• You are uncomfortable engaging directly with technical SMEs, engineers, or senior operational personnel.
• You view proposal writing solely as content production rather than a strategic contributor to capture success.
• You struggle to maintain organization and responsiveness while managing multiple proposal efforts simultaneously.

WHY WORK FOR GMRE?

GMRE is a small veteran owned company who cares about our employees. We offer health, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k), vacation, Paid Time Off (PTO), or Paid Sick Leave (PSL) based on state laws, paid holidays, and life insurance to all permanent full-time employees. GMRE’s mission is to provide high quality engineering and technical services to help our customers grow and succeed.

GMRE is an equal opportunity employer. GMRE is committed to making employment decisions based on valid requirements, without regard to age 40 and over, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, military or veteran status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or any other applicable status protected by state or local laws.

REQUIRED SKILLS/ABILITIES

• Exceptional writing, editing, proofreading, and verbal communication skills.
• Strong ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly and concisely.
• Excellent organizational and time management capability.
• Strong analytical, research, and critical-thinking skills.
• Ability to operate effectively in high-pressure, deadline-driven environments.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate across cross-functional teams.
• Ability to incorporate feedback rapidly while maintaining narrative consistency and proposal quality.
• High attention to detail and proposal compliance discipline.
• Ability to manage multiple simultaneous writing assignments and priorities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and proposal collaboration platforms.
• Familiarity with proposal automation, content management, or AI-enabled writing tools preferred.
• Ability to work flexible hours and respond to short-notice proposal requirements when needed.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in English, Communications, Journalism, Marketing, Technical Writing, Business, Engineering, or a related discipline preferred.
• In lieu of degree, equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
• Minimum of 3–5 years of federal proposal writing or technical writing experience preferred.
• Experience supporting DoD proposals or federal government contracting environments preferred.
• Experience writing technical proposals related to engineering, sustainment, integration, logistics, cybersecurity, mission support, or technical services preferred.
• Shipley Proposal Training or APMP-related training is a plus.
• Demonstrated experience developing compliant proposal content under deadline-driven environments preferred.
• Experience supporting color team reviews and proposal recovery efforts preferred.

SECURITY CLEARANCE AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS

• Must have the ability to obtain an active U.S. SECRET clearance and be subject to a government security investigation.
• Driving or renting a car for company business is expected with some frequency. For insurance purposes, a valid driver’s license is required.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.

TRAVEL REQUIRED

• Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position for meetings, trainings, and/or proposal support.
• Position will travel up to 25% of the time out of state and overnight.