Proposal Manager

Scout AI is the frontier AI lab for war. The future of defense will be decided by those who field intelligent machines at scale. At Scout, we’re developing Fury, the first robotic foundation model for defense, to give U.S. forces overwhelming, adaptable, and autonomous power across every domain. Fury enables human operators to command fleets of robots through natural language, and empowers those machines to sense, decide, and act together as one. This mission will ask everything of us: urgency, precision, and relentless work. We hope you’ll join us. The Role We're hiring for a Proposal Manager to drive world-class proposal execution across Scout AI's portfolio of government and commercial opportunities. You'll own the end-to-end proposal lifecycle, coordinating cross-functional teams to produce compliant, compelling responses to RFPs, RFIs, SBIRs, BAAs, and commercial bids. Think of this as the connective tissue between BD, Sales, Programs, Product, Engineering, Legal, and Finance: you'll keep teams aligned, on schedule, and focused on winning narratives. You'll report into Scout's growth organization and work daily with domain managers, engineering leadership, and the CEO to ensure proposals are technically sharp, strategically positioned, and submitted on time. Responsibilities Own proposal strategy and execution across all active pursuits: establish win themes, align technical approach, coordinate compliance review, and drive proposals to on-time submission Serve as Proposal Lead on active opportunities: facilitate kickoffs, assign writing tasks, set detailed milestones, manage proposal schedules, and surface blockers early Build and maintain a proposal asset library of reusable, high-quality templates including cover letters, SOWs, compliance matrices, cost volumes, organizational capability narratives, and past performance summaries Translate technical concepts into evaluator-focused narratives: work with Engineering, Product, and Program teams to distill complex capabilities into clear, persuasive proposal language that resonates with government and commercial evaluators Coordinate cross-functional reviews to stress-test win themes, validate compliance, confirm cost realism, and ensure all sections support a cohesive, differentiated story before submission Manage proposal schedules and status tracking, including risk reporting, milestone tracking, and resource coordination across functions Drive proposal operations and process improvement: establish scorecards, checklists, and workflows that enable consistent, scalable proposal execution as the company grows Lead pricing and cost volume coordination between technical teams and Finance to ensure credible, competitive cost narratives that align with technical scope Manage multiple concurrent proposals at varying stages of maturity, maintaining organized documentation, compliance artifacts, and version control Ensure compliant submissions across government portals (SAM.gov, agency-specific systems) in partnership with BD and Sales Qualifications 8+ years in proposal management, program management, or government contracting within defense tech, space, dual-use, or equivalent professional experience Proven track record leading proposals from kickoff through submission for SBIRs, RFPs, BAAs, or similar government solicitations Strong technical communication skills: ability to distill engineering and product concepts into clear, evaluator-friendly narratives without over-simplifying Foundational understanding of engineering, product development, and systems architecture to support credible technical scoping and writing CRM and pipeline tool proficiency for deal tracking, reporting, and workflow management Familiarity with government procurement processes, FAR/DFARS compliance, and common submission portals and timelines Comfort with process building: ability to create and refine templates, scorecards, checklists, and workflows that scale and improve over time APMP, PMP, or Shipley certification (or equivalent proposal management credential) Experience in space, defense, Earth observation, or robotics sectors Deep SBIR/STTR expertise, including Phase I → Phase II positioning strategy and program structure Hands-on pricing experience including rate structures, LOE estimation, risk/reserve methodology, and budget narrative development Experience with proposal automation tools or proposal writing platforms (Deltek, Responsive, Proposal software ecosystems) Why Join Scout Work on the world’s most important frontier, ensuring U.S. and allied dominance in the age of intelligent machines Be a core part of a team building the first defense-specific robotic foundation model Collaborate with some of the top engineers in autonomy, AI, and national security See your work deployed on real systems Help define the future of intelligent defense systems Backed by Draper Associates, Booz Allen Ventures, and other top investors Benefits Competitive compensation package including base salary and bonus Meaningful equity Premium medical, dental, and vision plans with $0 paycheck contribution Competitive PTO and company holiday calendar Unlimited AI tokens Catered lunch daily and fully stocked kitchen EV charging Relocation assistance (depending on role eligibility) The stated salary range below represents an estimated base pay only and reflects consideration of multiple compensation factors. Final salary offers may differ depending on factors including, but not limited to, relevant experience or training background, specialized skills, and business needs. Most full-time positions also include highly competitive equity awards, which form part of Scout AI's overall compensation package. In addition, Scout AI provides comprehensive, top-tier benefits to full-time employees. US Salary Range $160,000 — $190,000 USD