[Hiring] Lead Proposal Developer @Ulteig

Role Description

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.
• Analyze solicitation requirements, evaluation criteria, and addenda.
• Facilitate strategy sessions (Blue Team), kickoff meetings, progress meetings, and Shipley color reviews.
• Manage concurrent pursuits, coordinate contributors and teaming partners, and anticipate content, resource, and schedule risks.
• Lead shortlist interview strategy, storyboarding, presentation development, rehearsals, and mock question-and-answer sessions.
• 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.
• Design and produce proposal layouts, interview presentations, and custom graphics.
• Manage version control, final production, approvals, and submission.
• 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.
• Develop and deliver practical training, guidance, and examples for proposal staff and technical contributors.
• Bring thought leadership to the department by evaluating AEC pursuit trends and proposal practices.
• Lead or support assigned initiatives involving proposal workflows, quality standards, templates, content, training, and tools.
• Partner with Sales, Technical Services, Marketing, and technology teams on improvements.
• Help evaluate and pilot approved automation and AI tools for research, analysis, reviews, and workflow support.
• Facilitate pursuit debriefs and use client feedback, proposal performance data, and team experience to recommend improvements.
• Advise Proposal leadership on pursuit effort, resource needs, recurring risks, and improvement opportunities.

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.
• Demonstrated technical writing, technical editing, proofreading, and graphic design expertise.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Benefits

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

Company Description

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.

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.

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.