Technical Subject Matter Expert (SME) – (RFP, Proposal Development, Government Contracting)
About The Position
Technical SME is a senior-level technical and strategic advisor across the full business development lifecycle — from capture and solutioning through proposal submission — for large, complex, and/or high-value federal, state, and local government IT pursuits. This individual owns the technical solution strategy for major proposals, leads and mentors’ proposal and technical writers, and serves as a trusted technical expert for proposal development efforts. This role is distinguished from a standard SME by its scope (typically supporting the most strategically significant pursuits), its influence on win strategy and pricing-to-win, and its mentorship/leadership responsibility over other technical contributors. Incumbent will regularly travel for customer engagements, industry days, orals presentations, and capture strategy sessions. Must comply with, and help enforce, all company and customer data security, data handling, and AI usage policies, including those specific to government/classified environments.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field; Master's degree preferred.
- 12+ years of progressive technical experience in IT (cloud, cybersecurity, software/systems engineering, network, or data/AI), including 8+ years directly supporting government contract pursuits.
- 12+ years of progressive technical experience in IT (cloud, cybersecurity, software/systems engineering to include DevSecOps, network, or data/AI), including 8+ years directly supporting government contract pursuits.
- Demonstrated track record leading technical volumes on large-scale government proposals, with a history of contract wins.
- Deep working knowledge of federal acquisition processes (FAR/DFARS), solicitation structures, and compliance-driven technical writing at a senior/authoritative level.
- Proven leadership experience managing or mentoring technical SME teams across multiple concurrent proposal efforts.
- Executive-level written and verbal communication skills, with experience presenting to C-suite, customers, and evaluation boards.
Nice To Haves
- Established relationships and direct experience with target agencies (DoD, DHS, VA, civilian agencies) and their technical/compliance frameworks.
- Advanced understanding of data security, data integrity, and responsible AI governance — including how AI usage requirements differ by customer (particularly government customers) and the imperative to confirm rather than assume permitted use.
- Shipley or equivalent advanced proposal methodology certification.
- Senior technical certifications (e.g., AWS/Azure/GCP Professional/Architect level, CISSP, PMP, ITIL, TOGAF).
- Extensive experience with GWAC/IDIQ vehicles (GSA MAS, OASIS+, SEWP, Alliant) and large Task Order competitions.
- History of building or leading Centers of Excellence, technical practice areas, or solution architecture functions.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the senior-most technical expertise for high-value, strategically significant government IT pursuits, owning the end-to-end technical solution strategy from capture through submission.
- Lead technical solutioning sessions and black hat/competitive assessments to shape differentiated, winning solutions ahead of RFP release.
- Advise Capture Managers and Business Development leadership on technical win strategy, teaming/partnering decisions, and make/buy assessments for proposed solutions.
- Own and drive the technical volume(s) for major proposals, ensuring alignment with Sections L/M, PWS/SOW/SOO, and agency evaluation criteria.
- Lead and mentor teams of technical writers and proposal contributors across multiple concurrent pursuits, ensuring consistency, quality, and compliance of technical content.
- Serve as writer and senior reviewer for Pink/Red/Gold Team reviews, providing authoritative sign-off on technical accuracy and competitiveness.
- Partner directly with pricing/cost leads to align technical solution decisions with Basis of Estimate (BOE), price-to-win strategy, and cost realism.
- Represent the organization in customer engagements, industry days, oral presentations, and executive-level discussions on technical solutions.
- Own and evolve the organization's technical proposal content library, win themes, and reusable architectures across service lines and recompete pipelines.
- Lead post-submission technical strategy: responses to Evaluation Notices (ENs), Clarification Requests, Discussions, and Best and Final Offer (BAFO) submissions.
- Maintain command of emerging technology trends, agency modernization priorities, and competitive intelligence to shape long-range capture and technical strategy.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
