As a Proposal Manager, you will be a critical driver of Defense Unicorns’ growth. Collaborating closely with business development, account executives, and technical stakeholders, you will help expand Defense Unicorns’ support of the US Department of Defense (DoD) leading the development and submission of competitive, high-quality, and compliant proposals for federal contracts. By deeply understanding Mission Hero goals, you will effectively deliver content that aligns with their needs. You will drive the proposal lifecycle from opportunity shaping through post-submission activities. As a key driver of growth, this position offers outcome based variable compensation to recognize and reward your contributions to a fast paced defense tech startup.
Responsibilities:
- Own and manage the end-to-end proposal process for RFPs, RFIs, BAAs, OTAs, and IDIQ task orders.
- Coordinate capture, technical, pricing, and executive inputs to develop compelling, compliant responses.
- Write, edit, and review technical and management sections with a focus on clarity, compliance, and persuasion/win themes.
- Collaborate with internal teams to craft content that aligns with customer requirements and priorities.
- Develop and maintain proposal templates, checklists, calendars, compliance matrices, and style guides.
- Conduct opportunity assessments, competitive analyses, and market research.
- Manage proposal timelines, compliance, and resources while coordinating with partners and stakeholders.
- Support continuous improvement in proposal tools, processes, and strategies.
- Collaborate with marketing, finance, and customer success teams to ensure alignment and integration of revenue operations.
- Implement and manage CRM and other sales/marketing tools to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
- Develop and maintain dashboards and reports to provide visibility into key performance metrics and support data-driven decision-making.
- Implement proposal best practices (e.g., Shipley) and lessons learned to improve proposal quality and win rate.
Travel Expectations/Requirements: 25%
The listed responsibilities are not exhaustive and additional responsibilities may be assigned based on the evolving needs of the organization. We are seeking a dynamic individual who is able to adapt and take on new responsibilities as they arise.
Preferred Experience and Qualifications:- 5+ years experience writing, drafting and editing proposals for US Government contracts, ideally in support of DoD.
- Active security clearance highly preferred (i.e., Secret or Top Secret).
- Proven experience in Proposal management, revenue operations, sales operations, or a related role.
- Proficiency in CRM systems (e.g., Monday.com, HubSpot) and other sales/marketing tools.
- Strong experience in proposal writing, business development, preferably at the intersection of federal government and technology.
- Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
- Expert knowledge of government contracting processes, acquisition strategies and regulations.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
Full compensation packages are based on candidate experience. Compensation ranges are established using national benchmarking data and apply across all geographic locations within the United States.
Defense Unicorns delivers mission value by streamlining software delivery so our customers can focus on the most important challenges. We share a vision of freedom and security for the advancement of progress and innovation. Our commitment to this vision, and to our mission-driven customers, means a commitment to speed, user experience and optionality, without compromising security. Our team is composed of innovators, software engineers, and veterans with decades of experience delivering technology programs across the federal market.
What We DoWe create and deliver secure solutions for continuous software integration and delivery. Defense Unicorns consolidates the best practices for security pipelines, testing, and deployment automation in order to meet the high security requirements valued by mission owners. Our solutions are agnostic by design and we believe that growing a robust ecosystem of secure, cloud-native software solutions can help enterprise customers inside and outside the federal market buy and integrate software more easily.
Who We ServeDefense Unicorns’ customers are mission-focused leaders across public and private enterprises. We proudly support defense and civil agencies across the U.S. government and we work closely with the creators of leading-edge software solutions to deliver value to the mission-owner by improving the security and consumability of commercial software products.
What We Work On- Kubernetes
- Cloud Environments (AWS/GCP and Azure)
- Infrastructure-as-code (like Terraform/Pulumi)
- Continuous Delivery and automation tooling
- GitOps
- Containers
- CNCF projects and open source products and packages
- Helm/Kustomize-Value Stream Mapping
- Building and improving security delivery
- Building Kubernetes and cloud native applications
- Medical/Dental/Vision
- Premiums are 100% Company Paid
- Health Reimbursement Account
- Life Insurance
- Disability Insurance
- 401k Retirement Plan
- Company Stock Options
- Home Office Budget
- Unlimited paid time off, with a mandatory 10 days off on top of 11 federal government holidays, week of Thanksgiving, last two weeks of December (including New Year’s Day)
- Paid Parental Leave
- Reimbursement for approved trainings/subscriptions
- Conferences (travel, lodging, and fees)
Don’t have all the preferred experience or qualifications? Studies show that underrepresented groups like women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs if they don't meet every requirement listed.
At Defense Unicorns, we're committed to diversity. If you're enthusiastic about the role but don't match every criteria, we encourage you to apply. You could be the perfect fit for this or another role! Defense Unicorns is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.
CCPA DISCLOSURE
Top Skills
Similar Jobs
What you need to know about the Chicago Tech Scene
Key Facts About Chicago Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 245,800; 5.2% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: McDonald’s, John Deere, Boeing, Morningstar
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, fintech, software, logistics technology
- Funding Landscape: $2.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Arch Venture Partners, MATH Venture Partners, Jump Capital, Hyde Park Venture Partners
- Research Centers and Universities: Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois Institute of Technology, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
