Senior Proposal Manager

Shadow Objects • Crofton, MD

2d • $155,000 - $175,000 • Remote

About The Position

ShadowObjects, LLC is seeking a results-driven Senior Proposal Manager to lead and scale its federal proposal development lifecycle. Reporting directly to the Chief Growth Officer, this role leads full-lifecycle proposal operations, translating capture strategies, technical solutions, and customer insights into compliant, compelling proposals. It is a high-impact player-coach position, independently managing complex prime and subcontract proposals valued at approximately $5 million to more than $100 million while modernizing the corporate proposal engine through automated workflows, reusable content repositories, and AI-enabled tools.

The role partners with growth, capture, and subject matter experts to develop proposal strategies and content; manages proposal schedules, compliance, resources, and production; and oversees proposal reviews through final submission and post-submission responses. It also builds a centralized proposal repository and uses lessons learned to improve efficiency and win performance.

The position is remote with occasional in-person meetings; Southern Maryland or the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area is preferred. Employment is full-time and exempt. Candidates must be eligible for U.S. security clearance; Secret or higher is preferred. The base salary is $155,000–$175,000, with a performance-based annual bonus.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Communications, English, Information Technology, or a related discipline, or equivalent experience.
• At least 8 years of dedicated federal proposal management experience; 10 or more years is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex federal prime bids.
• Expertise interpreting federal RFP Sections L and M, developing compliance matrices, and managing color-team reviews.
• Exceptional ability to write and edit clear, persuasive, technically credible proposal narratives across multiple volumes.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), SharePoint, Adobe Acrobat, and collaborative proposal tools.
• Eligibility for U.S. security clearance.

Nice To Haves

• Direct Navy/DoD proposal experience, particularly with 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.
• Secret security clearance or higher.

Responsibilities

• Lead 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 kickoff meetings, proposal standups, and Pink, Red, Gold, and Executive review milestones.
• Identify and resolve schedule, compliance, staffing, pricing, and content risks.
• Partner with the Chief Growth Officer, Capture Managers, and subject matter experts to translate capture strategies into discriminators, win themes, and customer-centric messaging.
• Author and edit Executive Summaries, Technical Approaches, Management Approaches, Staffing and Key Personnel Plans, Quality Assurance, Transition Plans, and Past Performance sections.
• Develop Section L and M requirements traceability matrices and ensure compliance with solicitation instructions, evaluation criteria, and formatting rules.
• Build, organize, and maintain a centralized, scalable corporate proposal repository.
• Integrate appropriate generative AI and workflow-automation tools to accelerate drafting and improve content consistency.
• Conduct post-submission lessons-learned reviews to improve proposal efficiency and increase win rates.
• Master the company’s contract vehicles, capabilities, past performance, and differentiators; establish standardized proposal procedures, templates, and checklists; and lead current pipeline proposals.
• Manage multiple concurrent prime and subcontractor pursuits across Navy/DoD and federal civilian customers, and establish a scalable proposal engine.

Benefits

• Performance-based annual bonus tied to proposal execution, knowledge management, and qualified contract awards.
• Sign-on incentives may be available for top candidates.
• Comprehensive 401(k) retirement plan with competitive corporate matching.
• 15 days of annual PTO plus 11 paid holidays.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage with significant employer contributions.
• Company-paid life, short-term disability (STD), and long-term disability (LTD) insurance.
• Flexible hybrid/remote working arrangements with modern collaboration tools.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior