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Abaco Systems is a global leader in modular, high performance, open architecture, standards-based rugged embedded computing for the most demanding applications in defense and industry. Our products and solutions are found in high-profile military/aerospace sea, land and air programs, plus commercial and industrial organizations in which rugged reliability is mission critical.

The Proposal Manager is responsible for managing the whole commercial and technical proposal development lifecycle from receipt of a customer Request for Proposal through Purchase Order handover to the execution team. The Proposal Manager will bid manage a cross functional team through a gated process to develop innovative technical solutions for rugged computing systems and board level products for use in predominately Military and Aerospace markets.

Key Responsibilities:

• Liaise with Sales Team to collate opportunity information and conduct bid/no-bid meetings to allow wider business to determine whether to pursue an opportunity.
• Lead and interact with other department groups within the company and third parties to find the best product and service solutions to satisfy customer requirements. 
• Determine proposal response strategy with Sales and Product Management.
• Generate technical and commercial information as required to support the proposed response.
• Coordinate and lead deal reviews with Senior Leadership to gain approval to submit the proposal.
• Apply technical and sales knowledge in direct support to customers and internal sales force while maintaining a positive message.
• Efficiently and effectively manage multiple concurrent and competing priorities to meet customer deadlines.
• Clearly and concisely communicate technical and commercial information to senior leadership.
• Analyze past proposals and gather feedback to improve future submissions. Stay updated on industry trends and best practices in proposal management.
• Maintain organizational standards of satisfaction, quality, and performance.

Education and Experience:

• BS Degree in Engineering or related discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in the rugged Military/Aerospace field in a technical and commercial capacity.
• Proven experience in leading and generating multiple/in-parallel proposals to tier 1 Defense Companies.
• System level development experience in rugged applications.
• Board level development experience in Military/Aerospace electronics.
• Experience of Open architecture platforms including VPX and VME.
• Experience with Military Standards such as MIL-STD-704, MIL-STD-810 and DO-160 equivalents.
• Experience with DO-178/DO-254.

Qualifications:

• Ability to understand new concepts and other technical details of a Military/Aerospace system quickly
• Familiarity with legal terms and conditions, US DFARs
• Familiarity with contract law and export compliance regulations
• Familiarity with SAP CRM tools
• Demonstrate expertise in a variety of the field's concepts, practices, and procedures used in rugged/conduction-cooled Military/Aerospace systems. Knowledge of Military Specifications and Standards and their implementation
• Positive "can-do" attitude and technically creative thought process.
• Energized by high profile/high impact tasks and assignments.
• Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills with the ability to work accurately and efficiently.
• Customer-centric mindset.
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to use AI tools to improve productivity, decision-making, work quality, and to reduce costs. The successful candidate must be able to identify appropriate AI use cases and critically evalute AI-genetated outputs.

Abaco is a Department of Defense (DoD) supplier and as such employees may work with or be exposed to export controlled information and/or information that has been designated as classified information. This information may only be seen or handled by US citizens or qualified permanent residents or those with proper clearances.