Proposal manager Jobs in Pasadena, CA

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. What This Role Is — and Is Not 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 Maintain the authoritative internal picture of U.S. government demand relevant to EnduroSat:

• programs of record, agency roadmaps, budget and appropriations movement, solicitation activity, and award announcements. Monitor SAM.gov, agency forecast sites, consortium portals, prime supplier portals, and commercial databases (GovWin IQ, HigherGov, Govini, or similar) — filtered to what we can actually serve. Track who is winning what.
• When a prime wins a constellation or demonstration award, know within days whether there is a subsystem opportunity in it and who to call. Translate all of this into a standing briefing for BD, Product, and Engineering leadership.

The test is whether our roadmap decisions are better informed because of you, not whether your tracker is comprehensive. Teaming and Partner Pipeline Identify which primes and integrators are pursuing what, and get EnduroSat positioned on those teams before RFP release, while team composition is still open. Maintain a single source of truth for the U.S. pipeline:

• opportunity, end customer, prime or partner, vehicle, our scope and value, key dates, pursue decision, owner, and status. Run a documented pursue/decline gate for partner requests.
• Primes generate a constant volume of data calls, RFI inputs, and “can you quote this by Friday” requests, most of which go nowhere.

Protecting engineering capacity from low-probability pursuits is as valuable as supporting the good ones, and saying no clearly is part of the job. Streamline our responses. Build and maintain relationships with capture and supply chain leads at target primes, so we are a known quantity rather than a cold email. Proposal Support and Technical Writing Write and edit the content EnduroSat contributes to partner proposals:

• technical approach for our scope, subsystem and platform descriptions, heritage and flight history, past performance narratives, resumes in government format, compliance responses, and graphics. Work inside the prime's process, template, page limits, and schedule — including when their schedule is unreasonable.
• You are a supplier to their proposal, not the owner of it. Map partner and solicitation requirements to what we can actually commit to, and flag the gap between what a prime wants to claim about our hardware and what we can substantiate.

Catching that before submission is one of the highest-value things you will do. Interview engineers and subject matter experts — including colleagues in Bulgaria, across a time-zone and language boundary — and turn what they tell you into evaluator-ready prose. Assemble technical inputs to our quotes and basis of estimate in coordination with Finance and Program Management, who own pricing. Run internal review of our contributions before they leave the building, on a schedule that leaves time to act on the findings. Content Library and Infrastructure Build and maintain a reusable, current, export-cleared U.S. government content library:

• technical descriptions, heritage and mission citations, capability statements, standard compliance and questionnaire responses, resumes, and graphics.
• When a prime asks for a two-page write-up in 48 hours, the answer should already be 80% written. Maintain EnduroSat's supplier-side registrations and records — UEI and CAGE where applicable, prime supplier portal profiles and qualifications, and the representations and certifications that flow down to us. Track the FAR and DFARS flow-down obligations that reach subcontractors and affect our eligibility — cybersecurity requirements under DFARS 252.204-7012 and 252.204-7021, supply chain and source restrictions, and country-of-origin conditions — and escalate them before they become award blockers for a partner. Work with Legal and Contracts on NDAs, teaming agreements, proprietary information exchange, and subcontract terms on the schedule the pursuit requires, not after. Export Control Discipline This is not a footnote.

It is structural to the role. Maintain export-control discipline over proposal content itself, working with Export Compliance so controlled technical data is handled correctly when non-U.S. colleagues contribute to U.S. defense proposals. Know where the lines are — ITAR, EAR, TAA and license requirements, and FOCI considerations — well enough to route questions correctly and to avoid creating a problem in the first place. 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 3–7 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.
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