AEC Business Development Specialist

Salas O'Brien•Raleigh, NC

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Salas O’Brien is seeking an AEC Business Development Specialist for its Raleigh, North Carolina office. The role supports and optimizes business development across AEC market sectors by combining pipeline and client administration, market research, pursuit coordination, reporting, and operational support. The specialist helps ensure accurate pipeline management, actionable market insights, efficient pursuit processes, and consistent execution of growth initiatives. The position works closely with executive leadership, business developers, marketing professionals, project managers, and technical leaders. The office-based role requires regular coordination with office leadership, seller-doers, project teams, and cross-functional stakeholders. No regular travel is required, though infrequent business travel may occur as needed. Salas O’Brien is an employee-owned engineering and professional services firm founded in 1975. It provides integrated engineering and consulting services across industries, including data centers, healthcare, science and technology, high-rise buildings, clean energy, education, structural and building sciences, infrastructure asset management, and advanced robotics. The Raleigh office began in 1977 and provides mechanical and electrical design engineering services to the AEC industry.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and 4–7 years of AEC industry experience preferred; without a degree, 6–10 years of relevant AEC experience required.
Comprehensive understanding of AEC industry terminology, processes, and market dynamics.
Strong proficiency with client and pipeline systems such as Deltek, Salesforce, or similar platforms.
Advanced skills in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel and PowerPoint, and Adobe Acrobat (PDF).
Demonstrated experience supporting business development pipelines, opportunity tracking, and performance measurement.
Experience maintaining accurate client and opportunity data.
Experience developing reports and business performance metrics.
Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
Reliable follow-through with disciplined documentation and record-keeping.
Results-driven, able to manage priorities and achieve successful outcomes.
Able to collaborate effectively, work independently, and work across teams.

Nice To Haves

Experience working within an engineering, architectural, construction, or professional services firm.
Knowledge of public and private sector procurement and AEC pursuit processes.
Working experience with Deltek Vantagepoint.

Responsibilities

Maintain awareness of the firm’s strategic markets, services, project experience, and business objectives to support growth initiatives.
Identify, research, qualify, and track project opportunities, procurement activities, market trends, and industry developments.
Coordinate pursuit planning, including opportunity qualification, capture strategy, teaming, proposal support, and milestone tracking.
Interact with clients, consultants, partners, and internal teams to support business development efforts.
Support client relationship development, strategic management, and outreach initiatives.
Support proposal, presentation, and interview preparation through research and content development.
Manage business development pipelines, opportunity tracking, forecasting, and reporting processes.
Analyze business development performance, market penetration, win rates, revenue trends, and office metrics.
Administer the Raleigh office client and pipeline data platform and maintain accurate client, partner, pursuit, and engagement data.
Arrange and coordinate meetings with prospective and existing clients to identify business opportunities.
Coordinate pursuit debriefs and lessons-learned activities.
Support annual business planning and forecasting activities.
Develop, document, and maintain business development processes, workflows, and best practices for the Raleigh office.
Promote the Raleigh office brand by communicating firm capabilities, project successes, client wins, and notable achievements through internal and external marketing channels.
Maintain business development and marketing resources, including office-specific materials and data repositories.
Support industry conference participation, professional organization engagement, and networking activities.
Communicate business development activities, project successes, and client achievements to foster an informed office culture.