Lead Proposal Developer - Water & Environment

The Opportunity

Ulteig is seeking a Lead Proposal Developer to join the Proposal Department within our Commercialization & Growth business unit, supporting Water & Environment LifeLine® sector pursuits. You will lead complex and strategically important proposals and shortlist interviews while contributing expertise that strengthens proposal practices across the department and enterprise.

This experienced individual contributor role combines hands-on proposal execution with mentorship, thought leadership, and initiative delivery. You will manage pursuit teams through Ulteig’s Shipley process and personally write, edit, design, and produce proposal and interview materials. You will also help colleagues develop their skills, advise pursuit teams, and lead or support improvements in how Ulteig pursues work. This position has no supervisory responsibilities; leadership comes through expertise, collaboration, and influence.

What You Will Do

Lead complex proposals and interviews

• Independently manage complex, multidisciplinary, and strategically important RFQ, RFP, and statement of qualifications responses from pursuit planning through submission and shortlist interviews.
• Partner with Sales and technical leaders to clarify client priorities, assess competitive positioning, and develop win themes and differentiators supported by evidence. Translate pursuit strategy into clear content and presentation plans.
• Analyze solicitation requirements, evaluation criteria, and addenda. Develop compliance matrices, annotated outlines, schedules, and assignments; align the level of effort with pursuit needs and available resources.
• Facilitate strategy sessions (Blue Team), kickoff meetings, progress meetings, and Shipley color reviews. Guide teams through competing viewpoints, document decisions, and drive review comments and action items to resolution.
• Manage concurrent pursuits, coordinate contributors and teaming partners, and anticipate content, resource, and schedule risks. Recommend solutions and engage Proposal leadership when priorities or resources require decisions.
• Lead shortlist interview strategy, storyboarding, presentation development, rehearsals, and mock question-and-answer sessions. Coach technical presenters on client-focused messaging, delivery, transitions, and timing.

Write edit and design persuasive materials

• Research and write original proposal content, including executive summaries, cover letters, project descriptions, qualifications, and technical narratives developed with subject matter experts.
• Interview technical staff, identify gaps in the proposed story, and translate complex engineering and environmental information into clear, persuasive responses aligned with client evaluation criteria.
• Perform substantive technical editing, copyediting, and proofreading. Challenge unsupported claims and generic content, strengthen the narrative, and coordinate technical validation with subject matter experts.
• Design and produce proposal layouts, interview presentations, and custom graphics, including process diagrams, organizational charts, schedules, and infographics, using Adobe Creative Cloud and Microsoft tools.
• Manage version control, final production, approvals, and submission. Verify that final materials meet solicitation requirements, brand standards, and quality expectations.

Mentor colleagues and strengthen proposal practice

• Mentor proposal professionals through coaching, paired assignments, and constructive reviews of writing, editing, design, facilitation, and proposal management practices.
• Serve as an experienced resource for pursuit teams and a reviewer on proposals led by others. Help teams identify compliance gaps, sharpen client messaging, and resolve difficult proposal challenges.
• Develop and deliver practical training, guidance, and examples for proposal staff and technical contributors. Support onboarding and knowledge sharing across markets.
• Bring thought leadership to the department by evaluating AEC pursuit trends and proposal practices, recommending approaches suited to Ulteig, and turning lessons learned into usable guidance.

Lead improvements across the department and enterprise

• Lead or support assigned initiatives involving proposal workflows, quality standards, templates, content, training, and tools. Define deliverables, coordinate stakeholders, track progress, and support implementation and adoption.
• Partner with Sales, Technical Services, Marketing, and technology teams on improvements that connect proposal work with broader business processes and support consistent practices across markets.
• Help evaluate and pilot approved automation and AI tools for research, analysis, reviews, and workflow support, maintaining human accountability for accuracy, confidentiality, and final deliverables.
• Facilitate pursuit debriefs and use client feedback, proposal performance data, and team experience to recommend improvements. Partner with the Proposal Content Specialist to preserve reusable content and examples.
• Advise Proposal leadership on pursuit effort, resource needs, recurring risks, and improvement opportunities while balancing assigned initiative commitments with active proposal deadlines.

What We Expect from You

Required qualifications

• Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in communications, English, journalism, marketing, graphic design, technical communication, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• At least seven years of progressive proposal development and management experience in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry or a related technical professional services environment, including independently leading complex proposals and interview preparation.
• Demonstrated technical writing, technical editing, proofreading, and graphic design expertise, with the ability to personally develop persuasive content, layouts, presentations, and technical graphics.
• Proficiency in Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, and Acrobat; advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint; and working knowledge of Excel, Teams, and SharePoint.
• Strong command of structured proposal development, compliance, and color reviews, with the ability to apply Ulteig’s Shipley process and guide others in its use.
• Demonstrated success facilitating multidisciplinary teams, influencing senior stakeholders, exercising independent judgment, and resolving competing priorities with limited oversight.
• Experience mentoring colleagues, reviewing others’ work, and leading or materially contributing to process, training, content, or tool improvements.
• Must have authorization to work permanently in the United States.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience supporting water and environmental engineering pursuits and public-sector qualifications-based selection processes.
• Experience implementing improvements across teams or markets, including stakeholder alignment, pilot testing, training, and adoption.
• Formal Shipley training, APMP certification, or active participation in an AEC or proposal professional organization.
• Experience with CRM systems, Bluebeam/Adobe, proposal content governance, or approved automation and AI tools.

As you consider applying for a position at Ulteig, we encourage you to think outside the box – because we do! You might not meet 100% of the skills listed in a description, but we are committed to hiring people with exceptional talent, ability and potential, and then creating an environment where they can become the best versions of themselves. We don’t want to miss out on the possibility of speaking with the next outstanding Ulteig team member, so please apply if you think this role is a great match for your unique skills and strengths. And, yes, relevant military experience is absolutely considered for transitioning service members.

What You Can Expect from Ulteig

Ulteig is a purpose driven organization that has built a culture focused on people – both our clients and our employees –for over 80 years. Working at Ulteig is more than a job, opening opportunities to make an impact by creating and solving for a sustainable future. We recognize our success relies heavily on the dedication and focus of our workforce; this is why we make investing in our employees a top priority. We prioritize flexibility and staying connected to meet your needs and help you achieve your goals. We value your unique perspective, respect your individuality and celebrate your contributions. At Ulteig, we take our own success and the success of our clients personally.

We offer our team members:

• Flexible Workplace
• Employee Ownership
• Competitive Pay
• Comprehensive Benefits Package
• Collaborative Environment
• Innovative Culture

Our vision is to be the most trusted partners transforming our world’s critical infrastructure. Ulteig connects people and resources to develop compelling, integrated solutions across multiple Lifeline Sectors®, including Power, Renewables, Transportation and Water. Ulteig is a trusted partner in engineering North America’s essential infrastructure and leverages its expertise with a wide range of public and private clients.

At Ulteig, we care deeply about our team, listening to their needs and ensuring they have the tools necessary to be productive whether they choose to work remotely, hybrid or in office. Regardless of where you work, you are empowered to build a workday that best suits your strengths. We strive to ensure a balance and separation between home and work life. We support a flexible working schedule so employees are able to focus on what's important to them.

If you would like to be a part of a company that empowers their employees, apply today!

Ulteig is a Drug Free Workplace

ACHIEVE | GROW | COLLABORATE

Additional Opportunity Details:
Target Base Compensation Range for this role is $93,800 - $126,900
* Factors that may be used to determine your actual salary include your job specific skills, education, training, job location, number of years of experience related to this role and comparison to other employees already in this role

This position will be posted for a minimum of 3 days and will continue to be posted for an average of 60 days until a qualified applicant is selected or the position has been cancelled.

Notice to Recruiters and Staffing Agencies: to protect the interests of all parties, Ulteig Engineers, Inc., will not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from a candidate or an approved vendor that has a written and signed agreement in place with Ulteig. Please do not contact or forward resumes to our company employees or locations. Any unsolicited resumes will be considered Ulteig property. Ulteig is not responsible for any charges or fees related to unsolicited resumes.