Proposal Manager
At a glance
Manager-level Revenue & Sales Operations role at Leonardo DRS. Washington · $105,000–$185,000 base.
growthroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Run proposal efforts from kickoff to submission, building the plans, schedules, compliance tools and review steps that keep work on track
- Read solicitations and customer materials to map evaluation criteria, obligations, risks and response needs
- Bring business development, engineering, pricing and other contributors together to shape customer-specific strategies and proposal content
- Set ownership and deadlines across teams, gather expert input and clear issues that threaten quality or schedule
- Manage reviews and document control, then improve templates, reusable content and digital workflows
What you bring
- A relevant bachelor’s degree, or equivalent experience in place of the degree
- At least seven years in proposal management or a related function within defense, aerospace, government contracting or a comparable technical field
- A track record leading competitive proposals for U.S. Government customers, including Defense Department buyers
- Working knowledge of federal solicitations, compliance, evaluation methods and proposal development
- Strong writing, presentation and facilitation skills, with the ability to win stakeholder commitment without direct authority
Who this fits
This role suits an experienced proposal lead who can coordinate diverse teams without managing them directly and work against demanding deadlines. The schedule is hybrid, with listed locations in Washington, DC, Frederick, the Twin Cities, Johnstown or Largo; periodic travel is estimated below ten percent. The role follows a 9/80 schedule.
From the employer
Job ID: 115809
The Leonardo DRS Naval Electronics business provides leading naval computing infrastructure, network and data distribution and middleware enterprise services, as well as world-class manufacturing and support capabilities.
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Business Unit: Naval Electronics
Location: Washington, DC / Frederick, MD / Twin Cities, MN / Johnstown, PA / Largo, FL
Career Functional Area: Business Development / Strategic Growth
Telework Type: Hybrid
Type: Full Time
Schedule: 9/80
This position may require periodic travel (estimated at <10%) to Leonardo DRS sites, customer locations, and proposal review events.
Key Competencies
- Proposal Leadership: Drives disciplined execution from planning through submission
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Aligns diverse contributors toward a common objective
- Internal Sales and Influence: Gains commitment, motivates contributors, and communicates effectively at every organizational level
- Customer Focus: Understands customer priorities and translates them into differentiated, value-based responses
- Compliance Discipline: Ensures every proposal requirement is addressed accurately and completely
- Strategic Thinking: Connects solution strengths, customer needs, and competitive positioning
- Digital Fluency: Identifies and responsibly applies automation, AI-enabled capabilities, and modern collaboration tools to improve proposal quality and efficiency
- Attention to Detail: Maintains quality, consistency, and control in high-pressure environments
Job Summary
Leonardo DRS Naval Electronics is seeking an experienced, highly collaborative Proposal Manager to lead the development and delivery of compelling, compliant, and customer-focused proposals supporting U.S. Government and international defense opportunities.
The Proposal Manager will own the proposal process from opportunity assessment through final submission, coordinating cross-functional teams to develop winning strategies, persuasive content, accurate cost and technical inputs, and fully compliant deliverables. This individual must bring strong defense-industry knowledge, exceptional communication and internal sales skills, disciplined attention to detail, and the ability to drive accountability across a diverse team in a fast-paced environment.
Job Responsibilities
- Lead assigned proposal efforts from kickoff through submission and lessons learned, including development of proposal plans, schedules, outlines, compliance matrices, action trackers, review plans, and production checklists.
- Analyze solicitations, amendments, and related customer documentation to identify requirements, evaluation criteria, compliance obligations, risks, deliverables, and response strategy considerations.
- Partner with the Vice President, Strategic Growth; Business Development; Capture Management; Engineering; Program Management; Contracts; Pricing; Supply Chain; Finance; Operations; Quality; and executive leadership to develop cohesive, competitive, and customer-focused responses.
- Facilitate proposal strategy sessions and drive alignment around customer requirements, win themes, discriminators, proof points, and value propositions. Ensure those elements are consistently incorporated across technical, management, past-performance, cost, and other proposal volumes.
- Lead and influence cross-functional proposal teams without direct authority; establish clear responsibilities and deadlines, secure timely inputs from subject-matter experts and functional leaders, and resolve issues that may affect proposal quality, compliance, competitiveness, or schedule.
- Coordinate proposal reviews and incorporate stakeholder feedback while maintaining rigorous version control, configuration management, compliance discipline, and submission readiness.
- Ensure proposal content is accurate, responsive, well-integrated, persuasive, and tailored to the customer’s stated requirements and evaluation methodology.
- Advance the organization’s proposal capability through improved processes, reusable content, templates, knowledge-management practices, and responsible adoption of digital tools, automation, and artificial intelligence-enabled solutions.
- Maintain professional discretion and sound judgment in the handling of sensitive business, customer, technical, and proprietary information.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Communications, English, Engineering, Management, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree
- 7+ years of progressive proposal management, capture support, business development, contracts, program management, or related experience in the aerospace, defense, government contracting, or similarly complex technical industry
- Demonstrated experience managing competitive, high-value proposals for U.S. Government customers, including Department of Defense organizations
- Thorough understanding of the federal acquisition environment, including solicitation requirements, proposal compliance, evaluation criteria, and common proposal-development practices
- Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage multiple priorities under aggressive deadlines
- Strong written, verbal, presentation, facilitation, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to influence stakeholders and gain commitment without direct authority
- Highly organized and detail-oriented, with a demonstrated commitment to compliance, quality, accuracy, and configuration control
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, particularly Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, and SharePoint
Preferred Qualifications
- Advanced degree in a related discipline
- APMP certification or equivalent formal proposal-management training
- Experience supporting proposals involving complex hardware, software, systems integration, sustainment, manufacturing, or defense services
- Familiarity with FAR/DFARS requirements and government-contracting terminology
- Experience with proposal automation, collaboration, content-management, workflow, and knowledge-management tools
- Familiarity with the responsible use of artificial intelligence, generative AI, automation, and other digital tools to improve proposal planning, content development, compliance reviews, data analysis, collaboration, and workflow efficiency. Candidates should understand the importance of protecting proprietary, controlled, export-controlled, customer, and other sensitive information when using such tools.
The salary range for this position is $105,000/year - $185,000/year. This range reflects the good faith estimate of pay the employer is willing to offer at the time of posting. Several factors can influence the pay scale, including but not limited to: Federal contract labor categories and contract wage rates, collective bargaining agreements, geographic location, business considerations, scope, and responsibilities of the position, local or other applicable market conditions, and internal equity. Other factors include the candidate’s qualifications such as prior work experience, specific skills and competencies, education/training, and certifications. In addition to base pay, employees may be eligible for: annual performance-based bonuses, equity awards, and overtime pay (for non-exempt employees as applicable. Our benefits package includes comprehensive health insurance (medical, dental, vision), employer matching 401(k) retirement plan, paid time off including vacation, holidays, and sick leave (including ant state-mandated paid sick leave), parental leave benefits, tuition reimbursement, professional development support, and life and disability insurance coverage.
Taking care of our people is a top priority at Leonardo DRS. We are proud to offer competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental, and vision coverage, a company contribution to a health savings account, telemedicine, life and disability insurance, legal insurance, and a 401(k) savings plan. We champion wellness programs that focus on physical, emotional, and financial well-being. We develop our talent by offering programs and activities to support career-growth, professional development, and skill enhancement. And we understand there is more to life than work, and the importance of offering flexible work schedules with our 9/80 program, competitive vacation, health/emergency leave, paid parental leave, and community service hours.
*Some employees are eligible for limited benefits only
Leonardo DRS, Inc. and its subsidiaries provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
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