Proposal Writer - Defense

About Applied Intuition

Applied Intuition, Inc. is powering the future of physical AI. Founded in 2017 and now valued at $15 billion, the Silicon Valley company is creating the digital infrastructure needed to bring intelligence to every moving machine on the planet. Applied Intuition services the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining and agriculture industries in three core areas: tools and infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy. Eighteen of the top 20 global automakers, as well as the United States military and its allies, trust the company’s solutions to deliver physical intelligence. Applied Intuition is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices in Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; Ann Arbor, Michigan; London; Stuttgart; Munich; Stockholm; Bangalore; Seoul; and Tokyo. Learn more at applied.co.

We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that employees primarily work from their Applied Intuition office 5 days a week. However, we also recognize the importance of flexibility and trust our employees to manage their schedules responsibly. This may include occasional remote work, starting the day with morning meetings from home before heading to the office, or leaving earlier when needed to accommodate family commitments.

About the role

The Proposal Writer is the hands-on-keyboard person who translates capture strategy, technical inputs, and customer requirements into compliant, compelling written products. Reporting to the Head of Growth, you will be responsible for drafting direct-to-customer proposals, responses to RFPs, Statements of Work (SOWs), Basis of Estimates (BoEs), technical documentation, and other customer-facing materials that enable Applied Intuition to win and execute defense contracts. You are a writer first, someone who can take complex technical concepts from engineering teams and turn them into clear, scannable, customer-focused narratives that address evaluation criteria and win themes.

You work cross-functionally with BD, engineering, delivery, and product teams to pull what you need, push back when inputs are unclear, and produce proposal sections that are compliant, compelling, and on time. We’re looking for someone with startup energy who can operate both within a team and independently.

At Applied Intuition, you will:

• Draft and edit proposals from first draft through final submission, including executive summaries, technical volumes, management volumes, past performance narratives, staffing plans, resumes, and other required sections

• Collaborate with Engineering, Product, Delivery, and Solutions teams and translate technical capabilities and engineering inputs into clear, customer-facing language that addresses evaluation criteria and speaks to government customer pain points

• Ensure proposals are compliant with solicitation instructions, evaluation factors, page limits, formatting requirements, required attachments, and submission rules

• Draft Statements of Work with clear deliverables, milestones, and acceptance criteria that align with technical approaches and pricing structures

• Develop Rough Order of Magnitudes (ROMs) and pricing proposals, milestone-based pricing structures, and Basis of Estimates narratives in collaboration with contracts and engineering teams

We’re looking for someone who has:

• BA/BS in English, Communications, Technical Writing, Engineering, or a related field

• 3–8 years of proposal writing, technical writing, grant writing, or related experience

• Demonstrated ability to write Statements of Work, technical specifications, or similar structured technical documents and compelling, customer-focused proposals under tight deadlines and while managing multiple efforts simultaneously

• Comfortable working directly with BD, and the technical fluency to translate complex technical concepts from delivery, engineering, and product teams

• Bias toward action and self-starting mentality and a rigorous attention to detail and compliance

Nice to have:

• Government contracting fluency. Familiarity with RFP structures, evaluation criteria, FAR/DFARS, and DoD procurement processes without being dogmatic about “how it’s always been done”

• Experience writing proposals or technical documentation for defense, aerospace, or similarly regulated industries

• Hybrid background spanning both traditional defense primes and startup/scale-up environments

• U.S. citizenship and eligibility to obtain a Secret or Top Secret security clearanceCompensation at Applied Intuition for eligible roles includes base salary, equity, and benefits. Base salary is a single component of the total compensation package, which may also include equity in the form of options and/or restricted stock units, comprehensive health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance coverage, 401k retirement benefits with employer match, learning and wellness stipends, and paid time off. Note that benefits are subject to change and may vary based on jurisdiction of employment.

Applied Intuition pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum intended target base salary for new hire salaries for the position. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, interview performance, and the level and scope of the position.

Please reference the job posting subtitle for where this position will be located. For pay transparency purposes, the base salary range for this full-time position in the location listed is: $100,000 USD to $150,000 USD annually

Applicants will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 upon commencing employment. Reasonable accommodations will be considered on a case-by-case basis for exemptions to this requirement in accordance with applicable federal and state law. Applicants should be aware that for external-facing roles that involve close contact with Company employees or other third parties on the Company's premises, accommodations that involve remaining unvaccinated against COVID-19 may not be deemed reasonable. The Company will engage in the interactive process on an individualized basis taking into account the particular position.

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Applied Intuition is an equal opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor. Consequently, the parties agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-1.4(a), 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and that these laws are incorporated herein by reference. These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. These regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability. The parties also agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of Executive Order 13496 (29 CFR Part 471, Appendix A to Subpart A), relating to the notice of employee rights under federal labor laws.