Proposal Manager

Proposal Manager

Birmingham, AL Leading engineering and technology company delivering advanced solutions for defense, aerospace, space, and other highly regulated industries is seeking an experienced Proposal Manager to lead strategic pursuits for complex technical programs supporting government and commercial customers. In this role, you will own the complete proposal lifecycle—from evaluating new opportunities through proposal development, customer submission, contract award, and transition to program execution. Working across sales, engineering, product management, operations, finance, contracts, legal, and executive leadership, you'll ensure high-quality, compliant proposals are delivered on time while helping position the organization for continued growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage multiple concurrent proposal efforts while maintaining quality, compliance, accuracy, and customer deadlines.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams including Sales, Engineering, Product Management, Operations, Finance, Contracts, Legal, and Executive Leadership to develop winning proposal responses.
• Interpret customer requirements and develop clear, compelling, and compliant proposal submissions.
• Partner with Business Development, Sales and Capture to evaluate customer opportunities, facilitate bid/no-bid reviews, and develop pursuit strategies.
• Develop proposal schedules, establish priorities, assign responsibilities, and monitor progress throughout each pursuit.
• Support the development of technical solutions, pricing strategies, commercial assumptions, and risk assessments.
• Lead proposal reviews with executive leadership and secure required approvals prior to customer submission.
• Communicate proposal status, risks, recommendations, and key milestones to leadership and customer-facing teams.
• Manage the proposal lifecycle from opportunity qualification through contract award and transition to program execution.
• Capture lessons learned and continuously improve proposal processes, templates, and best practices.

Core Qualifications

• 5+ years of proposal management experience supporting complex technical products, engineered solutions, or technology-based programs.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical field of study.
• Strong project management, organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Experience supporting customer pursuits involving U.S. Government agencies, defense organizations, prime contractors, or other highly regulated markets.
• Working knowledge of military, aerospace, or safety-critical standards and certification frameworks, including MIL-STD-704, MIL-STD-810, DO-178C, DO-254, or similar industry standards.
• Experience supporting hardware, software, systems engineering, or integrated technology solutions.
• Ability to quickly understand technical concepts and collaborate effectively with engineering and cross-functional teams.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent proposals in a fast-paced environment.
• Familiarity with U.S. Government acquisition processes, Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), export compliance regulations, and government contracting environments.
• Knowledge of proposal development, pricing strategies, contract review, and commercial negotiations.
• Experience using enterprise CRM, ERP, or proposal management systems.
• Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional teams and drive projects to successful completion without direct authority.
• U.S. Citizen or U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident eligible to work with export-controlled information.

If you enjoy leading high-impact proposal efforts, collaborating with multidisciplinary technical teams, and helping deliver innovative technology solutions for mission-critical programs, we'd welcome the opportunity to speak with you. Take the next step in your career by providing your resume and a summary of your technical product successes to Webster & Webster Associates today.