Senior Technical Bid Writer

Lodestar•Los Angeles, CA

About The Position

Lodestar Space is seeking a Senior Technical Bid Writer to translate the sophistication of their autonomous defense systems into winning contracts. This is a hands-on role where writing is the primary work. The writer will collaborate closely with the technical team to create compliant, compelling proposals for government evaluators. The role involves working across various solicitation types (RFIs, RFPs, OTAs, CSOs, BAAs, SBIRs) targeting U.S. Space Force, AFRL, DIU, Space RCO, SDA, NASA, and Intelligence Community customers. Lodestar is a fast-paced, lean, and supportive team offering real ownership and autonomy.

Requirements

3 to 6 years of hands-on technical proposal writing experience supporting DoD, DoW, NASA, or IC customers.
Demonstrated experience writing for space systems, satellite technology, autonomous systems, defense software, or adjacent aerospace and defense domains.
Proven ability to decompose complex solicitations independently (Section L/M analysis, compliance matrix development, annotated outlines).
Working knowledge of FAR and DFARS sufficient to parse solicitation requirements, identify compliance obligations, and write to them correctly.
Experience across multiple acquisition vehicles: RFPs, OTAs, CSOs, BAAs, and SBIRs.
Exceptional written communication skills.
Comfort operating in ambiguity and self-reliance.
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Aerospace, Political Science, Business, or a related field required.
Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a related field preferred.
Specific experience writing for U.S. Space Force, AFRL, DIU, Space RCO, SDA, SpaceWERX, or NASA space systems programs.
Familiarity with USSF and DoW acquisition ecosystems including Space SBIR/STTR programs, STRATFI/TACFI pathways, and Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) OTA vehicles.
Experience as the primary or sole proposal writer at a defense tech startup or emerging technology company.
Ability to read and interpret system architecture diagrams, orbital mechanics profiles, or hardware block diagrams and write accurate technical prose from them without an engineer in the room.
Experience using AI-enabled proposal tools to accelerate drafting, gap analysis, and compliance review.
Active Secret or Top Secret clearance or eligibility and willingness to obtain one.

Responsibilities

Own the writing of technical, management, and past performance volumes for prime and subcontractor submissions across DoD, DoW, NASA, IC, etc. solicitations.
Translate complex engineering concepts (orbital mechanics, autonomous systems architecture, machine vision, onboard edge computing, RPO, directed energy, etc.) into clear, compliant, evaluator-ready narrative without requiring engineers to draft or heavily redline your work.
Write executive summaries, capability descriptions, technical approaches, staffing narratives, and past performance write-ups that are both compliant and compelling.
Build and maintain a reusable proposal content library (boilerplate, capability sheets, past performance templates) that reduces per-submission workload over time.
Perform thorough RFP decomposition (Section L, Section M, SOW, CDRLs, and all attachments) and produce compliance matrices and annotated outlines before writing begins.
Track and enforce compliance across all volumes, ensuring every requirement is addressed, cross-referenced, and verifiable at submission.
Apply working knowledge of FAR and DFARS to ensure submissions meet regulatory requirements.
Flag solicitation ambiguities, conflicts, or requirement gaps early and raise them before they become submission-day problems.
Work directly with Lodestar's technical team to extract input efficiently (structured interviews, architecture reviews, and targeted written Q&A).
Coordinate inputs from Business Development, Finance, Legal, and Mission Operations to assemble complete, cohesive submissions on deadline.
Support team reviews and incorporate feedback quickly without losing compliance or narrative coherence.
Own proposal schedules, draft cycles, and submission logistics across multiple concurrent opportunities.