Proposal Writer / Growth Operations Manager

Proposal Writer / Capture & Growth Manager

Growth / Business Development · Remote (U.S.), Washington, DC or San Francisco preferred · Full time

About Us

Swan delivers the future of defense and industry through scalable autonomous products. Swan is backed by leading defense VCs including a16z’s American Dynamism fund.

Role Overview

Swan is seeking a Proposal Writer / Growth Operations Manager to sit at the heart of our growth engine. In this role you are, first and foremost, a writer. You will craft the compelling technical narratives and documents that win new business, while also owning the capture process that shapes and qualifies the opportunities behind them. You will partner across business development, engineering, program management, finance, legal, and the executive team to translate Swan’s autonomy and hardware capabilities into mission-focused proposals that close deals. This is a build-it role. You will create structure where none exists, run the proposal operation end to end, keep the pipeline and internal initiatives moving, and navigate the fast-paced, high-stakes environment of a hyper-growth defense-technology startup. You thrive on short timelines, understand the U.S. Government acquisition process, and know how to move an opportunity from first contact to signed contract. This position supports DoD, OTA, SBIR/STTR, DIU, and other federal technology pursuits.

Key Responsibilities

Proposal Writing and Technical Content

• Serve as primary author for technical and management proposal volumes, including technical and management approaches, past performance narratives, staffing approaches, Quality Management Plans, Risk Management Plans, Statements of Work, CDRLs, and supporting technical documentation.

• Produce supporting artifacts including white papers, quad charts, one-pagers, and capability statements.

• Translate complex engineering concepts into clear, persuasive, evaluator-focused proposal language, working closely with Swan’s engineering team to accurately represent our technology to customers.

• Maintain consistency in terminology, voice, and tone across every volume and pursuit.

• Refine drafts to improve clarity, flow, and persuasiveness, and support other authors through review cycles.

• Build and curate a reusable content library of past performance, technical boilerplate, briefs, and graphics for use across the business.

Proposal Management and Process

• Own end-to-end proposal development, leading responses to Government and customer RFPs, RFIs, RFQs, white papers, SBIR/STTR, and OTA solicitations from kickoff through submission.

• Develop compliance matrices, build proposal schedules, track writing assignments, coordinate SMEs, manage action items, and maintain document versions.

• Run color team reviews (pink, red, gold), incorporate executive feedback, and prepare final production packages.

• Continuously improve the proposal process to ensure on-time, fully compliant, high-quality submissions across multiple concurrent pursuits.

• Manage proposal content on unclassified and, as needed, classified systems, ensuring security compliance and proper marking and handling throughout.

Capture and Pipeline

• Drive capture management for priority pursuits: qualify opportunities, build and execute capture plans, shape requirements with customers, and improve probability of win (pWin) through disciplined gate reviews.

• Build and maintain the opportunity pipeline; monitor SAM.gov, DIU, AFWERX/SpaceWERX, SOCOM, SBIR/STTR, and other channels; flag and qualify new opportunities for leadership.

• Support go/no-go reviews, conduct opportunity research, organize customer intelligence, and maintain CRM data.

• Prepare customer briefing materials and support commercialization planning.

• Lead teaming and partner strategy with primes, subcontractors, and non-traditional partners.

• Develop and maintain strategic pricing and Basis of Estimate in partnership with finance; support cost and price volumes.

Project and Program Coordination

• Assist leadership in managing internal strategic initiatives by tracking project schedules, monitoring action items, and coordinating meetings.

• Develop executive briefings, maintain project documentation, support risk tracking, and create status reports.

• Improve internal workflows so multiple company initiatives stay organized and moving forward.

AI-Enabled Proposal Development

• Leverage AI tools to accelerate first drafts, improve technical writing quality, perform compliance cross-checks, build structured outlines, and edit for clarity and concision.

• Develop internal prompt libraries and organize proposal knowledge repositories.

• Maintain a technically credible writing style while avoiding generic AI-generated language.

Qualifications and Skills

• 5+ years of experience in federal proposal writing, capture management, technical writing, or business development within government, defense contracting, or GovCon.

• Exceptional writing and editing skills, with a demonstrated ability to generate large, compliant documents on short timelines.

• Working knowledge of the U.S. Government solicitation and acquisition process (RFPs, RFIs, RFQs, white papers, SBIR/STTR, OTAs).

• Experience owning or driving capture plans, gate and color team reviews, and win strategy (Shipley or a comparable methodology).

• Proven ability to build process where none exists and to operate independently in a fast-paced, hyper-growth environment.

• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills, able to extract technical content from engineers and translate it clearly for non-technical customers.

• Strong organizational and project management ability, with comfort managing competing priorities and overlapping proposal schedules.• Familiarity with Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, and Figma, and comfort using AI tools to improve writing and productivity.

• Structured, systems-oriented thinker who is deadline-driven, coachable, and comfortable receiving heavy feedback on drafts.

• Must be a U.S. Person (this role requires access to export-controlled data); U.S. Citizenship may be required for certain classified pursuits.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with SBIR/STTR, OTAs, DIU, AFWERX/SpaceWERX, SOCOM, or other non-traditional DoD acquisition pathways.

• Familiarity with autonomy, robotics, UAS, aerospace, or other hardware-centric defense products.

• Shipley Associates and/or APMP certification.

• Experience developing pricing strategies and Basis of Estimate or cost volumes.

• Experience with CRM or pipeline management tools.

• Prior experience standing up a proposal or capture function at an early-stage company.

• Active security clearance (Secret or TS/SCI).

What We Offer

Swan is a fast-paced, innovative, and collaborative startup environment. We offer a top-notch benefits package, including:

• Top-tier health, dental, vision, short- and long-term disability, and life insurance, with full employee

coverage and partial coverage for dependents

• Flexible and reasonable vacation and sick leave

• 401(k) plans, FSA, HSA, and commuter benefits

Location

Remote (U.S.). Washington, DC or San Francisco strongly preferred.

Swan is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, religion, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, uniform service, veteran status, disability status, or any other protected characteristic per federal, state, or local law. Swan considers qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures, and we work to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all applicants throughout the interview process.