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San Carlos, California, United States
Onsite
Each year, more than 40,000 people in the U.S. leave home and never make it back due to traffic crashes. At Obvio, we believe these deaths are preventable. We deploy solar-powered, AI-assisted cameras to enforce traffic laws where pedestrians are most vulnerable, automating enforcement in ways that traditional systems cannot. Our approach has already led to a 50% reduction in reckless driving in early partner cities.
Founded by the team behind Motive's AI dashcam and backed by Bain Capital Ventures and Khosla Ventures, we are building the intelligence layer for safer streets globally.
Proposal & Content Writer
At Obvio, we believe traffic deaths are preventable when a community-oriented approach merges with purpose-built technology. But technology alone doesn't win contracts. Telling the right story to the right city at the right moment does.
Every RFP we respond to puts us against 5+ competitors, nearly all of them incumbents who have been operating with the same technology and the same fixed playbook for decades. We are newer, faster, and better, but that doesn't matter if an evaluator doesn't understand why our story, our approach to traffic safety, and our long-term vision are fundamentally different from every other vendor in the market. This role exists to close that gap, across every proposal we write and every piece of content we put out.
Winning requires holding two things at once: meeting municipalities exactly where they are by checking every compliance box, while being the most tailored and compelling response in the pile. Compliance gets you in the room but creativity gets you the contract. Cities aren't just buying cameras; they're deciding whether the promise of real safety impact is worth betting on a vendor they don't yet know. The best response answers both questions at once.
This is not a role for someone who treats RFPs as a document-filling exercise. We are looking for someone who has already cracked this problem: who has beaten larger, better-known competitors by doing the research and finding the specific angle that makes Obvio the obvious choice.
What You'll Do
This role has two components, both requiring a deep understanding of our products and the customers they serve:
Proposal Planning and Writing (70%)
Own RFP responses end-to-end from opportunity identification through contract award: set deadlines, hold internal teams accountable, and chase down whatever is needed to make the response sharper
Ask the right questions before writing: what does this municipality care about, what did the incumbent get wrong, and what data do we have that speaks directly to them
Research each municipality before writing: Vision Zero plans, crash data, council priorities, legislative landscape, incumbent vendor history, and relevant state statutes; translate legal requirements into accurate proposal language
Partner closely with our operations and technical teams to ensure every response is grounded in what we can actually deliver
Build and maintain a proposal asset library of reusable prose, briefs, and graphics: compliance language by state, case studies, data points, and personnel bios so each response starts from a strong base
Monitor procurement channels and flag relevant opportunities to the sales team
Content and Marketing (30%)
Build a content playbook from scratch: decide what to write, where to publish, and how to turn our customer results and market insights into a recognizable external voice
Write blog posts, op-eds, and thought leadership on traffic safety, enforcement policy, and community outcomes
Produce customer-facing collateral: one-pagers, product explainers, capability statements, landing pages, conference material, and sales documents
Maintain a consistent voice across everything Obvio publishes
What We're Looking For
2-5 years spanning both structured proposal writing and marketing or editorial content
Experience at a fast-growing startup in govtech, public safety, or civic tech, preferably with direct exposure to GTM and product teams
Clear examples of winning contracts against larger, better-known competitors on the strength of the proposal
Strong municipal research instincts: you know how to find what an agency cares about
Comfortable reading and synthesizing regulatory and statutory language
Assertive enough to push internal teams for better material. "We don't have that" is not an acceptable answer if getting it would make the doc win
You've built proposal or content infrastructure from scratch: templates, asset banks, compliance trackers
You track contract wins, not RFP completions
You have opinions about what good writing looks like and can defend them
Your work will help save lives and improve road safety
Series A of $54M
Fast-moving startup environment with meaningful ownership
Competitive compensation and early-stage equity
Obvio is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or any employment decision based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. Obvio considers qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local law. Obvio is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please let your recruiter know.