Proposal Lead

About Poseidon Aerospace:

Poseidon Aerospace is reimagining how the world moves goods. We build and operate full-size autonomous cargo aircraft - capable of carrying two tons of payload over a thousand nautical miles. From remote communities to contested logistics operations, our platforms unlock a new cost curve for air freight, making it faster, cheaper, and accessible anywhere it's needed. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with locations in Washington DC, Oregon, and Maine; we're building something consequential.

About the role:

Proposals are how Poseidon wins contracts, and contracts are how Poseidon builds aircraft. We're looking for a Proposal Lead to own that function from first response to submission and build the infrastructure that scales with us. You'll work directly with our engineering and flight operations teams and be the person who turns what we're building into narrative that wins.

What you’ll do:

• Execute and lead well-coordinated winning proposals from initiation through

  award including solicitation decomposition, proposal schedules, compliance

  matrices, proposal team roles, proposal formats and templates, writing

  assignments, single-voice edits, color team reviews, and timely submissions

• Establish and direct proposal processes, methods, enterprise solution

  implementation and use, and operational metrics for repeatable high quality

  winning proposals that can be tailored as Poseidon Aerospace scales

• Develop and lead proposal strategies working closely with leadership, capture,

  and engineering in preparation for solicitation release and effective proposal

  kickoff, execution, and timely submission

• Work with capture and engineering to prepare compelling white papers, graphics,

  concept briefs and other content in response to major RFPs, OTAs, CSOs, and

  other solicitation types from various federal agencies

• Build and own the proposal enterprise including content libraries, writing

  schedules, reusable prose and graphics, and documentation standards that

  enable high-quality and rapid responses to customer solicitations

• Working with leadership and growth teams to update pipelines, track future

  solicitations for proposal resource and talent management, and coordinate with

  customers for submission and award status

Required:

• Experience with non-standard solicitations such as OTAs, CSOs, SBIRs, etc.

• Experience with various contract types including IDIQs, cost plus, T&M, FFP, etc.

• Strong business and technical writing skills: you can translate complex business,

  financial, and engineering concepts into clear and compelling narratives and

  graphical presentations

• Deep knowledge of FAR/DFARS and proposal compliance requirements to

  ensure that cost and technical proposals are informed, persuasive and compliant,

  and which balances risks between Poseidon Aero and the U.S. Government

• Experience developing compliance matrices, managing submission schedules,

  and owning document configuration

• Technical literacy in federal contracting, pricing schemes, contract types, and

  technical domains (aerospace, mission systems, autonomy, aviation, or adjacent

  engineering domains)

• US citizenship and eligibility for a secret security clearance or higher

Ideally you have:

• 4–8 years in contracting or proposals, ideally at a fast-moving defense company

  or government contractor

• Written proposals where the contracting structure itself was part of the problem to

  solve, not just the narrative

• Worked in or alongside a fast-moving team under time pressure

• Active security clearance

What you get from us

• Competitive salary and meaningful early-stage equity

• Relocation support if applicable

• Employee Health Benefit Plans

• 6% Retirement matching

• Flexible PTO

• Free lunches, snacks, and a stocked fridge at our offices

• AI tools and subscriptions