Lead Proposal Developer - Water & Environment

Ulteig • ,

2h • $93,800 - $126,900

About The Position

Ulteig is seeking an experienced individual contributor to join the Proposal Department within its Commercialization & Growth business unit, supporting Water & Environment LifeLine® sector pursuits. The role leads complex, strategically important proposals and shortlist interviews while helping strengthen proposal practices across the department and enterprise. It combines hands-on proposal execution with mentorship, thought leadership, and delivery of improvement initiatives. The position has no supervisory responsibilities; leadership is exercised through expertise, collaboration, and influence.

The Lead Proposal Developer manages pursuit teams through Ulteig’s Shipley process and personally writes, edits, designs, and produces proposal and interview materials. The role also advises pursuit teams, develops colleagues’ skills, and leads or supports improvements to proposal workflows and related practices. The position supports work involving essential infrastructure and water and environmental engineering pursuits.

Requirements

• Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in communications, English, journalism, marketing, graphic design, technical communication, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• At least seven years of progressive proposal development and management experience in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry or a related technical professional services environment, including independently leading complex proposals and interview preparation.
• Demonstrated technical writing, technical editing, proofreading, and graphic design expertise, including the ability to personally develop persuasive content, layouts, presentations, and technical graphics.
• Proficiency in Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, and Acrobat; advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint; and working knowledge of Excel, Teams, and SharePoint.
• Strong command of structured proposal development, compliance, and color reviews, with the ability to apply Ulteig’s Shipley process and guide others in its use.
• Demonstrated success facilitating multidisciplinary teams, influencing senior stakeholders, exercising independent judgment, and resolving competing priorities with limited oversight.
• Experience mentoring colleagues, reviewing others’ work, and leading or materially contributing to process, training, content, or tool improvements.
• Authorization to work permanently in the United States.

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting water and environmental engineering pursuits and public-sector qualifications-based selection processes.
• Experience implementing improvements across teams or markets, including stakeholder alignment, pilot testing, training, and adoption.
• Formal Shipley training, APMP certification, or active participation in an AEC or proposal professional organization.
• Experience with CRM systems, Bluebeam/Adobe, proposal content governance, or approved automation and AI tools.

Responsibilities

• Independently manage complex, multidisciplinary, strategically important RFQ, RFP, and statement of qualifications responses from pursuit planning through submission and shortlist interviews.
• Partner with Sales and technical leaders to clarify client priorities, assess competitive positioning, develop evidence-supported win themes and differentiators, and translate pursuit strategy into content and presentation plans.
• Analyze solicitation requirements, evaluation criteria, and addenda; develop compliance matrices, annotated outlines, schedules, and assignments; and align the level of effort with pursuit needs and available resources.
• Facilitate Blue Team strategy sessions, kickoff and progress meetings, and Shipley color reviews; guide teams through differing viewpoints, document decisions, and resolve review comments and action items.
• Manage concurrent pursuits, coordinate contributors and teaming partners, anticipate content, resource, and schedule risks, recommend solutions, and engage Proposal leadership when decisions about priorities or resources are needed.
• Lead shortlist interview strategy, storyboarding, presentation development, rehearsals, and mock question-and-answer sessions; coach technical presenters on client-focused messaging, delivery, transitions, and timing.
• Research and write original proposal content, including executive summaries, cover letters, project descriptions, qualifications, and technical narratives developed with subject matter experts.
• Interview technical staff, identify gaps in proposed narratives, and translate complex engineering and environmental information into clear, persuasive responses aligned with client evaluation criteria.
• Perform substantive technical editing, copyediting, and proofreading; challenge unsupported claims and generic content, strengthen narratives, and coordinate technical validation with subject matter experts.
• Design and produce proposal layouts, interview presentations, and custom graphics—including process diagrams, organizational charts, schedules, and infographics—using Adobe Creative Cloud and Microsoft tools.
• Manage version control, final production, approvals, and submission, verifying that materials meet solicitation requirements, brand standards, and quality expectations.
• Mentor proposal professionals through coaching, paired assignments, and constructive reviews of writing, editing, design, facilitation, and proposal management practices.
• Serve as an experienced resource for pursuit teams and review proposals led by others, helping identify compliance gaps, sharpen client messaging, and resolve difficult proposal challenges.
• Develop and deliver practical training, guidance, and examples for proposal staff and technical contributors; support onboarding and knowledge sharing across markets.
• Evaluate AEC pursuit trends and proposal practices, recommend approaches suited to Ulteig, and turn lessons learned into usable guidance.
• Lead or support initiatives involving proposal workflows, quality standards, templates, content, training, and tools; define deliverables, coordinate stakeholders, track progress, and support implementation and adoption.
• Partner with Sales, Technical Services, Marketing, and technology teams on improvements that connect proposal work with broader business processes and support consistent practices across markets.
• Help evaluate and pilot approved automation and AI tools for research, analysis, reviews, and workflow support while maintaining human accountability for accuracy, confidentiality, and final deliverables.
• Facilitate pursuit debriefs and use client feedback, proposal performance data, and team experience to recommend improvements; partner with the Proposal Content Specialist to preserve reusable content and examples.
• Advise Proposal leadership on pursuit effort, resource needs, recurring risks, and improvement opportunities while balancing initiative commitments with active proposal deadlines.

Benefits

• Flexible Workplace
• Employee Ownership
• Competitive Pay
• Comprehensive Benefits Package
• Collaborative Environment
• Innovative Culture
• Flexible working schedule
• The company states that it invests in employees and provides flexibility to work remotely, hybrid, or in office.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree