Capture Manager

Proposal & Capture Manager

Karman Space & Defense is seeking a Proposal & Capture Manager to own the end-to-end proposal and quoting process for one of Karman's four market segments — from solicitation receipt through compliant, on-time submission. This role is centered on disciplined proposal execution and process management. You will work alongside a segment Business Development team that owns customer relationships and capture strategy, while you translate that strategy into winning, compliant proposals delivered on schedule.

The role requires strong coordination across engineering, contracts, program management, pricing, and corporate capture functions. You will right-size process rigor depending on opportunity complexity and ensure that every pursuit is executed with discipline.

This position reports to the segment General Manager, with a dotted-line relationship to the segment BD Senior Director. You are the primary interface between segment commercial activity and Karman's centralized Capture Governance, Proposal Operations, and Pricing teams.

Karman Space & Defense delivers high-performance manufacturing solutions across launch vehicles, hypersonics, missile defense, tactical missiles, and maritime defense platforms. With a growing pipeline exceeding $3B and customers including the DoD, commercial launch providers, and major defense prime contractors, Karman's continued growth depends on proposal excellence — and this role is central to that mission.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Proposal & Quote Management

• Own the full proposal and quote lifecycle from solicitation receipt through final submission (RFIs, RFQs, RFPs, ROMs, etc.)
• Serve as the single point of accountability for proposal compliance (requirements, evaluation criteria, contractual alignment)
• Build and manage proposal schedules and enforce milestones
• Triage incoming requests, applying the appropriate process rigor for complexity
• Coordinate proposal resources with the segment GM (engineering, contracts, PM, estimating)
• Leverage Proposal Operations for shared services (writers, DTP, compliance reviewers)
• Lead or coordinate development of all volumes (technical, management, past performance, cost/price)
• Own on-time delivery and identify schedule risk early

Capture Process Execution

• Execute Karman's structured capture framework (gate reviews, win-probability scoring, bid/no-bid documentation)
• Prepare accurate gate review packages for segment leadership
• Translate BD win strategy into proposal structure, themes, and discriminators
• Maintain accurate opportunity data in CRM (stages, probabilities, dates, status)
• Conduct win/loss post-mortems and deliver structured feedback to Capture Governance

Team Coordination & Process Management

• Lead the segment proposal team (writers, estimators, proposal engineers, admin support)
• Maintain a tiered response framework based on opportunity complexity
• Own triage decisions for incoming requests, escalating when strategically necessary
• Run color-team reviews (pink/red/gold) and ensure feedback incorporation
• Build and maintain a segment content library (past performance, boilerplate, graphics)
• Drive continuous improvement through lessons learned

Pricing & Cost Volume Coordination

• Coordinate cost volume development with segment Finance, PM, and Contracts
• Ensure pricing decisions align with technical and management volumes
• Escalate complex pricing, FAR/CAS compliance, or strategic pricing issues to centralized Pricing

Pipeline & Reporting

• Own all segment pipeline data in CRM and ensure accuracy from ID to award
• Provide regular pipeline and proposal status reporting to GM and BD Senior Director
• Support Long Range Planning & Orders Attainment with pipeline data
• Track key proposal performance metrics (on-time delivery, compliance pass rate, win rates, etc.)

Education & Experience

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Communications, or related field
• 8+ years of proposal management or capture experience in aerospace/defense or federal contracting
• Direct experience managing compliant, on-time submissions under FAR/DFARS
• Proven record as the single accountable owner of multiple concurrent proposals
• Strong working knowledge of proposal compliance (Section L/M, outlines, compliance matrices)
• Experience leading cross-functional proposal teams over multi-week/month cycles
• Proficiency with proposal tools (SharePoint, Microsoft Office, document/version control)
• Ability to obtain a security clearance if required

Preferred

• APMP Foundation/Practitioner/Professional certification
• Experience within structured capture governance (stage-gate, bid/no-bid)
• Familiarity with defense CRM systems (Salesforce GovCon, Deltek)
• Experience in multi-segment or multi-BU defense companies
• Experience building/maintaining proposal content libraries
• Background supporting tactical missiles, strategic missile defense, or hypersonics

ITAR REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must comply with U.S. export regulations and may need to be a U.S. citizen, national, permanent resident, refugee, or asylee, or be eligible for required authorizations.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Karman is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status, citizenship, pregnancy, or any legally protected class.