Cutting Edge Communications has an opening for Senior Proposal Manager. As a member of our team, you’ll support our client in a vital role in advancing innovative technologies. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to groundbreaking missions and work alongside industry leaders in a fast-paced, high-energy environment.
As a Senior Proposal Manager you will lead strategic capture efforts supporting major pursuits across the aerospace, defense, intelligence, and government sectors. This individual will manage the full proposal lifecycle, from pre-RFP planning through final submission, ensuring compliant, compelling, and competitive proposals that drive business growth. The ideal candidate possesses 15–25+ years of proposal management experience within the aerospace and defense industry and has a proven track record of leading successful proposals for large, strategic government programs.
Responsibilities:
- Lead proposal efforts for competitive federal procurements from opportunity qualification through contract award.
- Manage all phases of the proposal lifecycle, including pre-RFP planning, proposal kickoff, content development, reviews, production, and final submission.
- Develop proposal schedules, compliance matrices, outlines, and writing assignments while ensuring milestones and deadlines are achieved.
- Coordinate cross-functional teams including Business Development, Capture, Engineering, Program Management, Contracts, Pricing, Finance, and Executive Leadership.
- Ensure proposals are fully compliant with solicitation requirements, FAR/DFARS regulations, and customer instructions.
- Facilitate proposal color team reviews (Pink, Red, Gold, White Team) and implement reviewer feedback.
- Oversee development of executive summaries, management volumes, technical narratives, staffing plans, and past performance content.
- Work closely with Capture Managers to develop winning proposal strategies, discriminators, and win themes.
- Manage proposal risks, action items, and issue resolution while maintaining schedule and quality standards.
- Support pricing and cost volume development to ensure alignment between technical, management, and pricing solutions.
- Lead proposal status meetings and provide executive leadership with regular updates on proposal progress and risks.
- Develop and maintain proposal processes, templates, lessons learned, and best practices to improve proposal quality and efficiency.
- Mentor proposal coordinators, proposal writers, and junior proposal managers.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Communications, Engineering, English, Marketing, or a related field.
- 15–25+ years of proposal management experience supporting aerospace, defense, government contracting, or national security programs.
- Demonstrated success managing winning proposals ranging from multi-million-dollar to billion-dollar federal opportunities.
- Extensive knowledge of the federal proposal lifecycle, FAR, DFARS, and government acquisition processes.
- Experience managing proposals for DoD, Space Force, Air Force, Navy, Army, NASA, Missile Defense Agency, Intelligence Community, or other federal agencies.
- Strong understanding of Shipley-based proposal processes, proposal best practices, and proposal compliance methodologies.
- Experience coordinating large, cross-functional proposal teams in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments.
- Exceptional project management, organizational, and leadership skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent proposals.
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills with exceptional attention to detail.
Qualifications:
- Master's degree in Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field.
- APMP Foundation, Practitioner, or Professional Certification.
- Active TS/SCI security clearance.
- Experience supporting IDIQ, GWAC, OTA, SBIR/STTR, and major competitive acquisitions.
- Proficiency with proposal management and collaboration tools including Microsoft Office Suite, SharePoint, Adobe Acrobat, Salesforce, GovWin, and proposal management software.
Desired Skills:
- Federal Proposal Management
- Government Contracting & Acquisition
- Proposal Compliance & Quality Assurance
- Proposal Scheduling & Project Management
- Shipley Proposal Methodology
- Capture & Proposal Strategy Development
- Executive-Level Communication
- Cross-Functional Team Leadership
- Risk & Schedule Management
- Technical & Management Volume Development
- Pricing Coordination
- Color Team Review Facilitation
- Process Improvement & Best Practices
- Customer-Focused Solution Development
Location: Denver, CO or Sunnyvale, CA or Remote with 50% required travel
Schedule: Onsite, Full Time while working proposal
Pay Range: $170,000 - $200,000, Pay rate as FTE
Employment Type: 1099
Note: Final pay is based upon years of experience, qualifications such as education and relevant certifications, and market conditions.
About Cutting Edge Communications: Founded in 1998, Cutting Edge Communications, LLC, is a small business dedicated to technical excellence and responsive customer support. A company of roughly 150+ individuals in eight states, we combine considerable program and proposal development knowledge with extensive management and engineering experience necessary to win and execute large-scale aerospace programs. We are a services company that provides exceptional, high quality, experienced personnel that exceed our clients’ expectations. We have led clients in the successful capture of over $35 billion in new contracts, often continuing support after award by providing expertise critical to program success.
Learn more about Cutting Edge Communications by visiting our LinkedIn page:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/cutting-edge-communications-llc/
