Jobs and Careers

Associate Proposal Manager

Trident Systems

United Statesfull_timeVerifiedPosted 19 May 2026

About the role

Position Title

Requisition ID

Associate Proposal Manager

1779

Position Location

Fairfax, VA

Position Reports To

Director of Proposals

Supervises Others

At Trident Systems, we believe that strong engineering principles are fundamental to driving innovation and solving complex problems. We promote a culture characterized by rigorous engineering practices and a commitment to continuous improvement. This is achieved by leveraging our organization's collective expertise through collaborative development processes, which include thorough design and peer reviews. We can deliver innovative, high-performance solutions that meet our customers' evolving requirements by integrating our specialized knowledge in aerospace electronic systems with appropriately scaled development methodologies.

We are a mission partner supporting DoD, Intelligence Community, and Civil space customers. We develop complex, radiation effects mitigated, designs that balance competing requirements in modern space programs, delivering cutting-edge solutions that enable our customers to achieve more in space.

Position Summary

Trident Space Electronics Systems (SES) is seeking a detail-oriented and driven Associate Proposal Manager to spearhead the delivery of high-impact, winning bid packages. Operating within the RF & Digital Systems (RDS) Business Area, this role is the engine behind our submission process, ensuring that our revolutionary space technology solutions are translated into flawless, compliant, and persuasive proposals

The Associate Proposal Manager acts as the central hub of the business development lifecycle. You won't just track deadlines; you will own the proposal machine, transforming complex technical concepts into structured, winning narratives. You will bridge the gap between engineering, finance, and executive leadership to ensure every response we send out is positioned to win.

Duties and Responsibilities

Supports the pursuit of new business opportunities by coordinating proposal input & deliveries, developing strategies to improve responsiveness, and research competitors. Assist senior managers in identifying qualified leads, shaping requirements, and managing the capture lifecycle to increase win rates.

Proposal Lifecycle Management: Lead the end-to-end proposal process, from initial RFP shredding and kickoff to final production and delivery.
Cross-Functional Orchestration: Align technical Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), pricing teams, and contracts to ensure a unified voice and a cohesive value proposition.
Compliance & Quality Control: Rigorously review requirements to ensure 100% compliance with customer instructions while maintaining the highest standards of editorial quality.
Schedule & Resource Governance: Establish and enforce aggressive internal milestones to ensure all stakeholders contribute high-quality content on time, every time.
Win-Rate Optimization: Implement best practices in proposal writing and design to increase our competitive edge in the global space electronics market.
Pricing: Develop Pro-Pricer outputs to support "Quick Turn" Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) estimates and formal bids.

Other Duties/Responsibilities:

Requirement Parsing: Ingest, index, and parse incoming RFPs/RFQs into internal proposal systems.
System Management: Maintain and update CRM, JIRA, and SharePoint environments.
Technical Facilitation: Facilitate the development of Basis of Estimates (BOEs) and requirement matrixes as needed

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science or Business Management.
5+ years in technical sales, business development, or proposal writing, preferably within the space industry.
Must have an active US Security Clearance (or the ability to obtain one).
Familiarity with the Shipley-based Capture Lifecycle and federal procurement processes.
Proficiency in MS Word, SharePoint, Jira, and CRM systems.
Knowledg