Proposal manager Jobs in Pasadena, CA

Manager Of U.S. Government Programs & Proposal Support

EnduroSat builds small satellites and satellite subsystems for commercial, scientific, and government missions. U.S. government programs are a growing share of the market we serve but we reach them through primes, integrators, and U.S. partners rather than as a direct bidder.

We are hiring a Manager of U.S. Government Programs & Proposal Support to own that path: know what the U.S. government is buying, get EnduroSat onto the right teams before solicitations drop, and produce the technical content our partners need to win with our hardware in their bid.

Is: the person who makes EnduroSat the easiest, best-documented subsystem partner a U.S. prime can put in a proposal. You are the internal owner of U.S. government market intelligence and the author of the content that goes into someone else's submission.

Is not: a prime proposal manager. EnduroSat does not submit U.S. government prime proposals and does not plan to. You will not own submission portals, cost volumes at the prime level, or bid/no-bid authority on prime pursuits. If your ambition is to run gold teams on a $200M SSC prime bid, this is the wrong seat, and we would rather you know that now.

What replaces that scope is real: you get earlier visibility, more partners, more concurrent pursuits, and the export-control and teaming complexity that comes with a Bulgarian-headquartered company supplying U.S. defense and civil space programs.

Where We Play

• Prime and integrator subcontracts the primary motion. Teaming and subsystem supply positions with primes and integrators pursuing U.S. Space Force (SSC, SDA, Space RCO), AFRL, DIU, and related work.
• Civil space NASA (rideshare, CSLI, science mission announcements), NOAA, and university and FFRDC programs that buy our hardware with federal funding. Often direct commercial sales rather than contracts, and a significant near-term channel.
• Partner-side SBIR/STTR supporting U.S. small businesses who bid SBIR/STTR and want EnduroSat hardware or engineering in their scope, including where foreign subcontracting requires agency approval. You will know when that approval is realistic and when it is not.
• Consortium and OTA vehicles SpEC and similar, where the path runs through a U.S. member as prime.
• Market-shaping RFI and sources-sought responses, where permissible and useful, and technical input into partner responses.

What You Will Own

• U.S. Government Market Intelligence
• Teaming and Partner Pipeline
• Proposal Support and Technical Writing
• Content Library and Infrastructure
• Export Control Discipline

What Success Looks Like

First 90 days: you own the pipeline and the market picture, have met the BD and engineering teams on both continents, and have made contact with capture or supply chain leads at our top target primes.

First year: EnduroSat is on partner teams we would otherwise have missed; our content library means partner requests are answered in days rather than scrambles; leadership can answer "what is the U.S. government buying that we should be building" from your work; and no pursuit has been lost or jeopardized because of an export-control or flow-down surprise.

Qualifications

Required

• 37 years in U.S. federal proposal management, proposal writing, capture, or government business development, with submissions you personally wrote or managed.
• Working knowledge of the federal acquisition process: FAR and DFARS structure, RFP anatomy including Sections L and M, evaluation criteria, subcontract flow-downs, and the difference between FAR-based competition, OTAs, BAAs, and SBIR pathways.
• Excellent technical writing and editing. You can take an engineer's explanation and make it persuasive to a non-specialist evaluator working through a scoring sheet.
• Demonstrated ability to work as a supplier or teammate inside someone else's proposal process, to their template and their deadline.
• Proven ability to manage multiple concurrent deadlines under fixed, immovable dates.
• Hands-on experience with SAM.gov and at least one opportunity intelligence tool (GovWin IQ, HigherGov, Govini, or similar).
• U.S. Person status under ITAR (22 CFR 120.62).
• Located in Los Angeles, CA or Denver, CO (or willing to relocate)

Preferred

• Former KO/CO
• Subcontractor-side or supplier-side proposal experience you have been the company contributing a volume section rather than owning the bid.
• Experience in space, satellite, aerospace, or defense hardware, particularly small satellites, payloads, or space subsystems.
• Direct experience with Space Force, SDA, SSC, AFRL, DIU, NASA, or their prime contractor ecosystems.
• Experience at a company with foreign ownership or a foreign parent, and familiarity with FOCI mitigation, ITAR, TAA, and export-controlled proposal workflows.
• SBIR/STTR experience, including where foreign subcontracting or approval questions arise.
• Established relationships with capture, BD, or supply chain organizations at U.S. space primes and integrators.
• Active or recently active U.S. security clearance.
• APMP certification (Foundation or above) or Shipley capture and proposal training.
• Bachelor's degree; technical or scientific field a plus, but relevant experience substitutes.

Salary range $130,000- $190,000 USD. The salary will likely be within this range although it may differ based on experience level or other factors.

Why EnduroSat?

• Fast-paced and delivery-focused culture
• We work with well-defined quarterly based objectives, that allow us to fast-track the progression of our work and improve as we go
• Tough engineering challenges & hard-core R&D
• You will be able to work on unique space technology and build next-gen innovations, while mentored by world-recognized space experts
• Constant learning and progression
• Own your personal growth by navigating through our career progression framework and educational programs

At EnduroSat, we embrace diversity and strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone is treated with fairness and respect. We are committed to equal employment opportunities without discrimination against any employee or job applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Additionally, this position is suitable for people with disabilities in accordance with the People with Disabilities National Regulation Act, ensuring accessibility and accommodation in the workplace.