Narrative Writer Jobs in Reston, VA (NOW HIRING)

SAIC is seeking a highly skilled and experienced BOE Narrative Subject Matter Expert (SME) with Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) expertise to join our dynamic Proposal Development team. This is a hybrid opportunity, and candidates must be located in Reston, VA or surrounding areas. 

This is a high-impact, high-visibility role that sits at the intersection of technical writing, cost estimating, and program scheduling. The ideal candidate is not simply a data entry specialist or a scheduling technician - they are a storyteller and strategist who understands how to translate complex programmatic and technical work into clear, compelling, and defensible BOE narratives that resonate with government evaluators and withstand the scrutiny of fact-finding, audits, and negotiations. Paired with a strong command of IMS development, this individual must demonstrate the ability to build and manage complex, multi-phase, multi-discipline schedules with intricate task dependencies, critical path analysis, and full alignment to the SOW and WBS. They must also be proficient in developing resource-loaded schedules that assign labor categories, hours, and costs to individual tasks - directly corroborating the cost volume and ensuring seamless integration between the schedule and the estimate. This individual will be a cornerstone of our proposal team and a critical contributor to our company's ability to win and retain government contracts.
 

Position Summary
The BOE Narrative SME / IMS Specialist will serve as the lead expert responsible for crafting high-quality, compliant, and persuasive Basis of Estimate narrative documentation and developing logic-driven, resource-loaded Integrated Master Schedules in support of competitive and sole-source government proposal efforts. This individual will ensure that every estimate is clearly explained, well-justified, and strategically positioned to support the company's overall win strategy.

Working in close collaboration with capture managers, proposal managers, pricing analysts, Lead Solution Architect, technical subject matter experts, program managers, and subcontractor partners, the BOE Narrative SME will ensure that all cost and schedule artifacts tell a cohesive, credible story - one that demonstrates a deep understanding of the customer's requirements, a realistic and executable program plan, and a compelling value proposition. This role demands exceptional writing skills, sharp analytical thinking, and the ability to synthesize inputs from diverse stakeholders into polished, evaluator-ready documentation under tight proposal deadlines.

Key Responsibilities

BOE Narrative Development & Ownership

• Serve as the primary author and owner of all Basis of Estimate narrative documentation across proposal efforts, ensuring that each BOE clearly articulates the methodology, assumptions, rationale, and basis for all proposed labor hours, labor categories, materials, subcontractor costs, and other direct costs (ODCs).
• Translate raw estimates, spreadsheet data, and verbal inputs from technical and programmatic SMEs into well-structured, evaluator-friendly BOE narratives that are compliant with RFP instructions and government cost evaluation criteria.
• Develop and maintain a consistent narrative framework and writing style for BOE documentation, ensuring that all sections follow a logical flow.
• Craft BOE narratives that clearly establish the traceability between the Statement of Work (SOW)/Performance Work Statement (PWS), Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), labor category descriptions, staffing profiles, and proposed hours, and our technical and management solutions - leaving no gaps for government evaluators to question.
• Write compelling assumption and exclusion statements that protect the company's interests while remaining transparent and credible to the government customer.
• Develop labor category justification narratives that clearly explain why specific labor categories and skill levels are required to perform the proposed work, drawing on position descriptions, contract requirements, and industry standards.
• Ensure BOE narratives are internally consistent with the technical volume, management volume, and pricing volume, working closely with volume leads to identify and resolve any discrepancies or disconnects.
• Incorporate historical data references, analogous program comparisons, engineering judgment statements, and parametric relationships into BOE narratives as appropriate based on estimation methodology(s) used to strengthen the credibility and defensibility of estimates.
• Support and participate in BOE working sessions with technical leads, engineers, and program managers to extract the information needed to write accurate and complete narratives, asking the right questions to uncover scope nuances, risks, and execution strategies.
• Review and edit BOE narrative inputs provided by subcontractors and teaming partners, ensuring consistency with prime narrative standards and compliance with RFP requirements.
• Respond to and incorporate feedback from color reviews, revising BOE narratives as needed to address reviewer comments and strengthen the overall cost volume.
   

Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) Development & Management

• Develop comprehensive, logic-driven, resource-loaded Integrated Master Schedules for proposal efforts in compliance with RFP requirements, customer expectations, and industry best practices, in alignment with DCMA, GAO, and any applicable DOD/DOW standards.
• Build IMS artifacts using industry-standard scheduling tools, including Microsoft Project and/or Oracle Primavera P6, ensuring all tasks are properly sequenced, predecessor/successor relationships are defined, and the critical path is clearly identified and defensible.
• Integrate programmatic inputs from technical leads, functional managers, subcontractors, and teaming partners into a unified, coherent IMS that reflects the full scope of proposed work and demonstrates a realistic, executable program plan.
• Ensure full alignment between the IMS, WBS, BOE, and technical and management approach, verifying that all contract deliverables, milestones, reviews, and key events are accurately reflected in the schedule and traceable to the SOW/PWS.
• Develop Integrated Master Plans (IMP) as required, clearly defining program events, significant accomplishments, and accomplishment criteria linked to the IMS.
• Conduct critical path analysis and schedule risk analysis (SRA) to identify schedule drivers, near-critical paths, float consumption risks, and potential schedule compression or acceleration opportunities.
• Write clear, well-organized schedule narrative sections for proposal volumes, explaining the scheduling methodology, key assumptions, critical path rationale, and schedule risk mitigation strategies in language that is accessible to both technical and non-technical evaluators.
• Develop schedule management plan content describing how the program will establish, maintain, and report schedule performance post-award, including EVM integration, schedule status processes, and variance analysis procedures.
• Ensure IMS artifacts are visually clear and presentation-ready, with appropriate use of summary bars, milestones, swim lanes, and color coding to communicate the program timeline effectively to evaluators.
• Support the development of schedule-related discriminators and win themes, articulating how the company's scheduling approach, tools, and processes demonstrate superior program execution capability compared to competitors.
   

Proposal Integration & Cross-Volume Consistency

• Serve as the BOE/IMS integration lead within the proposal team, responsible for ensuring that cost and schedule narratives are fully aligned with and supportive of the technical, management, and past performance volumes.
• Participate in proposal kickoff meetings and color team reviews providing expert input on cost and schedule narrative quality, compliance, and competitiveness.
• Collaborate with the pricing team to ensure that BOE narratives accurately reflect and support the pricing model, and that any changes to the pricing structure are promptly reflected in the BOE documentation.
• Work with subcontractor and teaming partner coordinators to collect, review, and integrate subcontractor BOE narratives and IMS inputs, providing guidance and feedback to ensure consistency and compliance.
• Contribute to lessons learned and after-action reviews following proposal submissions, identifying opportunities to improve BOE narrative quality, IMS development processes, and overall cost volume competitiveness.
   

SAIC is a premier mission integrator focused on advancing the power of technology and innovation to serve and protect our world. Our robust portfolio of offerings across the defense, space, intelligence, and civilian markets includes secure high-end solutions in mission IT, enterprise IT, engineering services, and professional services. We integrate emerging technology, rapidly and securely, into mission critical operations that modernize and enable critical national imperatives.

Required Qualifications: 

• Education: Bachelor's degree in engineering, Technical Writing, Business, Finance, Project Management, or a related discipline and 18+ years of experience, or a Masters and 16+ years of experience, or a PhD or JD and 15+ years of experience. An additional 4+ years of experience may be considered in lieu of a degree. 
• 8+ years of progressive experience in BOE development, cost estimating, technical writing, and scheduling within a DoD or federal government contracting environment, with a strong emphasis on proposal-specific BOE narrative writing across multiple domains.
• Demonstrated ability to write clear, compelling, and defensible BOE narratives that translate complex technical and programmatic scope into evaluator-ready cost justification documentation.
• Deep understanding of government cost evaluation criteria, including cost realism analysis, most probable cost assessments, and price reasonableness determinations.
• Strong working knowledge of Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), labor category structures, staffing profiles, and resource allocation methodologies.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Project and/or Oracle Primavera P6 for IMS development.
• Solid understanding of Earned Value Management (EVM) principles and their relationship to BOE and IMS development.
• Exceptional written communication skills, with the ability to write clearly and persuasively under deadline pressure.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, with the ability to identify gaps, inconsistencies, and weaknesses in BOE and schedule documentation.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel (advanced), Microsoft Word, and Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent proposal efforts under tight deadlines in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Must be a US Citizen with the ability to obtain a Secret security clearance.