Proposal Manager in Rockville, Maryland at Essential Software Inc

ESI is an established federal technology contractor with more than a decade of continuous performance delivering mission-critical IT solutions across the federal government. Our portfolio spans cloud-hosted data systems, applied artificial intelligence and machine learning, and Agile software delivery in complex, data-intensive federal environments.

Building on this track record and a deep body of federal past performance, ESI is investing in the infrastructure required to compete for and win direct federal contract awards. As we expand our access to government-wide and agency-specific contract vehicles and mature our capture and proposal capabilities, we are building a dedicated proposal function that converts our technical credibility and past performance into compliant, competitive, winning responses.

The Proposal Manager leads the development of ESI’s federal proposals from opportunity qualification through submission, owning the proposal process end to end. This role establishes and enforces compliance discipline, drives the writing and review schedule, and shapes technically strong, evaluator-focused responses. Working closely with capture leads, technical staff, executives, and teaming partners, the Proposal Manager turns win strategies into fully compliant proposals and is central to ESI’s ability to grow its base of direct federal contract awards.
Roles & Responsibilities of the Proposal Manager:

• Lead end-to-end management of federal IT proposals, including responses to OASIS+ task orders, agency-specific IDIQ vehicles, GSA Schedule orders, and full-and-open and set-aside solicitations.
• Build and maintain compliance matrices against Section L instructions and ensure every proposal is fully responsive to Section M evaluation factors.
• Develop annotated outlines reviewed against the evaluation criteria and manage each proposal through a structured color team review cadence — kickoff, Pink Team at draft, Red Team at near-final, and a compliance check before submission.
• Run proposal kickoffs, establish and enforce production schedules, and coordinate contributions from technical staff, capture leads, teaming partners, and subject matter experts.
• Write, edit, and shape Technical Approach, Management Approach, and Past Performance narratives that score competitively against published evaluation factors.
• Build and maintain a bank of reusable technical narrative sections around ESI’s core capabilities, including cloud architecture and migration, applied AI/ML, the Agile Delivery Framework, and FedRAMP and cloud compliance experience.
• Partner with capture leads to translate win strategies, discriminators, and pre-solicitation intelligence developed during capture into the written proposal.
• Support bid/no-bid decisions with realistic assessments of compliance requirements, level of effort, competitive positioning, and proposal risk.
• Contribute to the maintenance of ESI’s past performance library and reference list, ensuring funded values, quantified outcomes, and CPARS-relevant data are packaged and proposal-ready.
• Manage proposal version control, final production, and on-time submission through government portals such as SAM.gov, GSA eBuy, and agency e-portals.
• Mentor and guide contributors on federal proposal best practices, compliance discipline, and persuasive, evaluator-focused writing.

Basic Qualifications of the Proposal Manager:

• Possession of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college/university according to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in English, Communications, Business, a technical discipline, or a related field.
• At least 5+ years of experience managing federal proposals, with demonstrated experience leading IT or professional services responses to a successful submission.
• Demonstrated experience building compliance matrices against Section L and writing to Section M evaluation factors under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).
• Demonstrated experience managing proposals through a structured color team review process (Pink, Red, and Gold teams).
• Direct experience with government-wide acquisition contracts and IDIQ vehicles — such as OASIS+, GSA MAS, NITAAC, or agency-specific vehicles — and their task order ordering procedures.
• Hands-on experience with Deltek GovWin IQ for opportunity identification, pipeline management, and competitive intelligence.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills, including the ability to translate complex technical content into clear, compliant, and persuasive narrative.
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple concurrent pursuits under firm deadlines.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, SharePoint) and proposal collaboration tools.
• Exceptional interpersonal and collaboration skills, with experience coordinating inputs from technical staff, executives, and teaming partners.
• Ability to work effectively in a complex, fast-paced environment, including with government stakeholders and in adherence to government practices and processes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) certification (Foundation, Practitioner, or Professional).
• Familiarity with the Shipley or a comparable capture and proposal methodology.
• Familiarity with FedRAMP, cloud-hosted solutions (AWS), and Agile delivery as they appear in technical proposals.
• Prior experience supporting small business capture efforts and contract vehicle on-ramps (e.g., OASIS+).

Work With ESI
In a time when federal agencies have relied on novel technology solutions, ESI stands as a trusted partner. We have built our success on our commitment to technology, teamwork, and trust. At ESI, we acknowledge and celebrate our talented staff who consistently strive for and achieve excellence.
ESI offers a robust benefits package that includes health care, paid time off, 401(k) retirement savings, professional development opportunities, and more.

Salary range: $100,000–$145,000 per year, depending on skills and experience.

Work Location: Hybrid (1 day in office, 4 days off-site per week) in Rockville, MD 20850

Equal Opportunity Employer
ESI is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, including equitable hiring and promotion practices, and ongoing learning that supports belonging for every team member.

Work Authorization Notice
Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire. ESI is unable to provide employment visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future. Because this role may be performed in support of government contract work and does not allow ESI to provide the level of direct employer oversight and training administration required for certain temporary work authorization categories, ESI cannot support those employer-specific training obligations for this position.

Essential Software Inc. provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type, without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.