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.

We are seeking an experiencedProposal Managerto lead end-to-end proposal development for competitiveDoD and Federalpursuits with preference for candidates withIT and cybersecurityproposal 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 ahybrid rolebased inMcLean VA or Hanover MD requiringa minimum of two (2) days per week onsite.

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 teamswriters technical contributors graphic artists pricing analysts partners/subcontractors and reviewerstoward 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.
• UseSalesforce (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.

• Bachelors 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.

• 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.

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