Proposals Engineer, Service

Ascent Aerospace•Macomb, MI

8d•Onsite

About The Position

The Proposals Engineer leads the technical development, estimating, and proposal process for automated equipment upgrade & modification opportunities. Partnering with Sales and Service leadership, this role translates customer requirements, drawings, and manufacturing objectives into well-defined, executable, and commercially competitive solutions. This position coordinates Engineering, Estimating, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, and Program Management to develop the technical scope, manufacturing approach, automation concepts, assumptions, risk assessments, schedules, and proposal documentation required to support a winning offer. The Proposals Engineer also improves the systems, standards, templates, review gates, and lessons-learned practices that increase proposal quality, speed, estimating accuracy, and execution readiness.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering or engineering technology, or an equivalent of work history.
Minimum of 5 years of proven controls engineering, application/concept engineering or proposal development with a demonstrated competence in aerospace and/or automated solutions.
Demonstrated experience with customer interaction and interface
Strong communication skills and ability to communicate technical information
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
Must be able to obtain and maintain a valid passport.
Must be a U.S. person within the meaning of ITAR (U.S. Citizen, U.S. Permanent Resident).

Responsibilities

Serve as the technical customer-facing representative, working collaboratively with the customer to develop and define the deliverables for the proposal.
Possess a comprehensive understanding of industrial controls architecture, including PLCs, CNC controllers, field bus networks, and drive systems, ensuring efficient and effective solution development.
Develop and implement a cohesive methodology that ensures commonality of parts and operations across the solution.
Develop equipment upgrade & modification strategies from limited customer inputs, requirements, and drawings.
Efficiently gather necessary information from customers and lead the generation of clear ground rules and assumptions where information is incomplete.
Translate compiled requirements into cost estimate including, materials and labor, risk analysis, etc.
Communicate abstract ideas and conceptual solutions to both internal and external stakeholders, ensuring clarity and understanding.
Leverage internal expertise and resources to refine and enhance the conceptual designs, ensuring manufacturability and feasibility.
Collaborate with the Ascent team to create and refine the technical offer to the customer, ensuring alignment with customer expectations and Ascent’s capabilities.
Align customer pricing expectations with the cost of conceptual models, providing realistic and competitive pricing structures.
Contribute to the creation of the technical documentation required for the proposal, ensuring accuracy and completeness.
Continuously seek opportunities for improvement, both in processes and in the solutions provided to customers, driving efficiency, quality, and customer satisfaction.