Senior Proposal Manager
About this role
SENIOR PROPOSAL MANAGER
Business Development & Corporate Growth
Position Detail
Information
Reports To
Chief Growth Officer (CGO)
Location
Remote with occasional in-person meetings; Southern Maryland or Washington, D.C. metropolitan area preferred
Employment Type
Full-Time, Exempt
Security Clearance
Eligible for U.S. Security Clearance; Secret or higher preferred
Base Salary
$155,000–$175,000
Incentive
Performance-based annual bonus
About ShadowObjects
ShadowObjects, LLC is a 20-year federal contractor with continuous delivery since 2006, delivering mission-focused technology, enterprise data solutions, and domain expertise across the Department of Defense, U.S. Navy, and civilian agencies.
Our Core Capabilities Include:
- Enterprise Architecture & Portfolio Management
- Data Engineering, Visualization & Enterprise Migration
- Digital Transformation, Automation & Low-Code Integration
- Enterprise Business Systems, ERP (Navy ERP) & Systems Integration
- IT Service Management (ITSM), Cloud Operations & Program Management
Position Overview
ShadowObjects is seeking a results-driven Senior Proposal Manager to lead and scale our federal proposal development lifecycle. Reporting directly to the Chief Growth Officer, you will serve as the primary leader across full-lifecycle proposal operations—translating capture strategies, technical solutions, and customer insights into compliant, compelling, and winning proposals.
This is a high-impact Player-Coach role. You will independently manage complex prime and subcontract proposals ranging from approximately $5M to $100M+ in value while building and modernizing our corporate proposal engine with automated workflows, reusable content repositories, and AI-enabled tools.
Key Responsibilities
1. Full-Lifecycle Proposal Leadership
- Lead end-to-end proposal operations from solicitation release (RFP/RFQ/RFI) through final submission, post-submission responses, and BAFO/FPR.
- Establish and manage proposal schedules, compliance matrices, detailed outlines, resource assignments, and final production plans.
- Facilitate structured kickoff meetings, proposal standups, and rigorous Pink, Red, Gold, and Executive review milestones.
- Resolve schedule, compliance, staffing, pricing, and content risks early and decisively.
2. Strategy, Solutioning & Content Development
- Partner with the CGO, Capture Managers, and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to translate capture strategies into discriminators, win themes, and customer-centric messaging.
- Author and edit major proposal sections, including Executive Summaries, Technical Approaches, Management Approaches, Staffing & Key Personnel Plans, Quality Assurance, Transition Plans, and Past Performance.
- Develop detailed Section L & M requirements traceability matrices and ensure compliance with solicitation instructions, evaluation criteria, and formatting rules.
3. Knowledge Management & Proposal Infrastructure
- Build, organize, and maintain a centralized, scalable corporate proposal repository.
- Integrate appropriate generative AI and workflow-automation tools to accelerate drafting cycles and improve content consistency.
- Conduct post-submission lessons learned reviews to continuously improve proposal efficiency and increase win rates.
Performance Milestones & Expectations
First 90 Days
- Master ShadowObjects’ contract vehicles, capabilities, past performance, and corporate differentiators.
- Establish standardized proposal operating procedures, compliance templates, and review checklists.
- Deploy an updated, centralized proposal content repository and begin active proposal leadership on current pipeline opportunities.
First 12 Months
- Independently manage multiple concurrent prime and subcontractor pursuits across Navy/DoD and federal civilian customers.
- Establish a scalable, repeatable proposal engine that increases qualified bid throughput while maintaining high-quality submissions and strong win performance.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Communications, English, Information Technology, or a related discipline, or equivalent experience.
- 8+ years of dedicated federal proposal management experience; 10+ years strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated experience leading complex federal prime bids.
- Expertise parsing and interpreting federal RFP Sections L & M, developing compliance matrices, and managing color-team reviews.
- Exceptional ability to write and edit clear, persuasive, technically credible proposal narrative across multiple volumes.
- Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), SharePoint, Adobe Acrobat, and collaborative proposal tools.
Preferred Qualifications
- Direct Navy / DoD proposal experience, particularly NAVAIR, NAVWAR, Navy ERP, DASN(P), AIR 6.8, or related defense organizations.
- Experience managing task orders and prime pursuits on vehicles such as 8(a) STARS III, OASIS+, GSA MAS, SEWP, CIO-SP3, or SeaPort-NxG.
- APMP Foundation, Practitioner, or Shipley certification.
- Familiarity with federal IT services, digital transformation, cloud migrations, and Deltek Costpoint environments.
Compensation & Benefits
Component
Offering
Base Salary
$155,000–$175,000
Annual Incentive
Performance-based annual bonus tied to proposal execution, knowledge management, and qualified contract awards
Sign-On
Sign-on incentives may be available for top candidates
401(k)
Comprehensive 401(k) retirement plan with competitive corporate matching
Paid Time Off
15 days of annual PTO plus 11 paid holidays
Health & Wellness
Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage with significant employer contributions
Insurance
Company-paid Life, Short-Term Disability (STD), and Long-Term Disability (LTD)
Work Environment
Flexible Hybrid/Remote working arrangements with modern collaboration tools
Equal Opportunity Employer
ShadowObjects, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Originally posted on Himalayas
