Staff Proposal Specialist (R3847)
Shield AI
Washington, DC, USA
Posted on Nov 5, 2025
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With nine offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
Job Description:
Shield AI is looking for a Senior Proposal Specialist to take extreme ownership of growth, technical writing and content development for international proposals across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa—specifically supporting CENTCOM and EUCOM opportunities.
This role is part of Business Development Operations (BD Ops) and works cross-functionally to develop compliant, compelling, and technically sound proposals for government and commercial defense customers.
The ideal candidate will have a background in autonomy, UAS/UAV systems, aerospace, and defense software, paired with a firm grasp of military strategy, international defense markets, and the DoD acquisition lifecycle.
If you’re a technical storyteller who thrives at the intersection of strategy, operations, and growth—and you’re passionate about leveraging autonomy to protect service members and civilians—this is your opportunity to lead.
What we are looking for:
--Editorial lead to support the Proposal Team by developing global proposal efforts across EUCOM, CENTCOM, and INDOPACOM markets.
--Facilitate engagement with internal and external stakeholders to ensure alignment with business development goals, customer needs, and regional strategy.
--Exceptional Content Developer and Communicator
--Develop clear, compliant, and persuasive proposal content tailored to defense and commercial audiences.
--Translate complex technical inputs into compelling, strategically aligned narratives that meet customer requirements and evaluation criteria.
--Communicate effectively with SMEs, executives, and international partners in both written and verbal formats.
What you'll do:
- Balance competing priorities in a dynamic, fast-paced environment including technical content generation, and process improvement.
- Serve as the editorial lead to manage, develop, and author technical content for RFIs, RFPs, RFQs, abstracts, white papers, and quad charts.
- Opportunity to craft content for best-in-class products while collaborating cross-functionally with both international and domestic teams.
- Translate complex autonomy and UAS software concepts into customer-focused proposal narratives.
- Maintain rigorous document control and versioning practices throughout the proposal process.
- Develop briefing decks, customer-facing materials, and internal knowledge artifacts to support business development operations.
Required qualifications:
- 4-6+ years of federal or international government proposal experience, business development, strategy consulting, or technical writing.
- Alternatively, 5+ years working with federal or international government requirements, with exposure to defense procurement.
- Active DoD Security Clearance (Secret)
- BS in Business, STEM, or related field.
- Familiarity with Shipley or similar proposal methodologies and project management tools.
- Strong experience editing and writing technical content in support of aerospace, defense, or autonomy-related offerings.
- Proven record of high performance in collaborative, fast-paced environments.
- Strong presentation and public speaking skills.
- Experience supporting BD efforts with technical storytelling and deal structuring.
- Deep understanding of DoD acquisition processes, especially within CENTCOM and EUCOM AORs.
Preferred qualifications:
- MBA or advanced degree in a relevant discipline.
- Experience managing FMS and DCS proposals in support of international customers.
- Strong technical background in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and autonomous software systems.
- Experience with international defense sales, solution engineering, geopolitical analysis, and military strategy development.
- TS/SCI Clearance
#LI-HM1
#LD
Full-time regular employee offer package:
Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
Temporary employee offer package:
Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.
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Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.
