Proposal Manager

By Light Professional IT Services LLC readies warfighters and federal agencies with technology and systems engineered to connect, protect, and prepare individuals and teams for whatever comes next. Headquartered in McLean, VA, By Light supports defense, civilian, and commercial IT customers worldwide.

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Proposal Manager to lead end-to-end proposal development for competitive DoD and Federal pursuits, with preference for candidates with IT and cybersecurity proposal experience. This role will manage proposal execution from RFP release through submission and post-submittal activities (e.g., orals and FPRs), ensuring compliance, quality, and on-time delivery.

This is a hybrid role based in McLean, VA or Hanover, MD, requiring a minimum of two (2) days per week onsite.

Responsibilities

Proposal Leadership & Execution:

• Own end-to-end proposal development for highly complex, competitive DoD procurements, including written volumes, oral presentations, and demonstration components.
• Develop and enforce proposal schedules, outlines, compliance matrices, resource plans, and annotated templates.
• Lead, organize, and motivate diverse proposal teams-writers, technical contributors, graphic artists, pricing analysts, partners/subcontractors, and reviewers-toward on-time, high-quality submissions.
• Conduct and manage structured color reviews (Pink, Red, Gold, White Glove) to drive continuous quality improvement from draft to final.
• Translate win strategy and capture intelligence into compelling proposal narratives that differentiate the company and directly address evaluator criteria.
• Manage post-submittal deliverables including oral presentation preparation, clarification responses, final proposal revisions (FPRs), and debrief preparation.
• Coordinate with contracts, pricing, and legal teams to ensure fully compliant, responsive submissions.
• Serve as the central point of contact for proposal status, risk, and escalation; provide clear reporting to leadership and stakeholders.

Process, Tools & Infrastructure:

• Define, document, and continuously improve proposal management policies, procedures, workflows, and toolsets across the organization.
• Champion adoption of AI-enabled proposal tools (e.g., AwardedAI or similar), including automated compliance checking, content curation, graphics generation, and predictive pricing support.
• Evaluate and implement new tools and technologies that improve proposal quality, velocity, and team efficiency.
• Maintain and grow a structured proposal content library (past performance, resumes, boilerplate, graphics) for rapid, accurate reuse.
• Use Salesforce (or equivalent CRM) for tracking opportunity records, proposal milestones, and performance metrics.
• Ensure all proposal activities comply with company policy and ethical standards throughout every pursuit.

Required Experience/Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent relevant experience.
• 5+ years of proposal management experience supporting government contracting proposals, including complex, competitive pursuits.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional proposal teams and deliver on-time, compliant submissions.
• Strong working knowledge of proposal best practices (compliance matrices, outlines, review cycles, configuration/version control).
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word (styles/templates/formatting); working proficiency with SharePoint/Teams and PDF tools.

Preferred Experience/Qualifications

• Familiarity with IT and cybersecurity proposals (preferred).
• Experience with AI-enabled proposal tools such as AwardedAI (desired).
• APMP certification (Foundation/Practitioner/Professional) or active pursuit.
• Experience supporting DoD or IC customers and/or IDIQ/task-order proposal environments.
• Experience supporting oral presentations, demonstrations, and/or FPRs.

Special Requirements/Security Clearance

• Active U.S. security clearance (Secret or higher) is strongly preferred.