Proposal Manager

A well-established manufacturer supporting aerospace, defense, and other highly engineered markets is looking for a Proposals Manager to lead a team responsible for developing complex customer proposals and quotations.

This is an opportunity for a hands-on proposals/estimating leader who has owned the quoting process from RFQ through final proposal and is ready to make a meaningful impact on both the team and the process.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead a proposals/quoting team supporting materials and labor estimating


• Own the proposal process from RFQ through final submission


• Bring together materials, labor, engineering inputs, overhead, and pricing to develop complete proposals


• Review and challenge cost inputs to ensure accuracy, competitiveness, and completeness


• Analyze RFQs and recommend bid strategy, risk considerations, and pricing approaches


• Manage multiple complex proposals simultaneously in a high-volume environment


• Partner with Engineering, Supply Chain, Procurement, and other internal teams throughout the quoting process


• Communicate with customers and internal stakeholders during the proposal process and following award


• Establish consistency, accountability, and structure across the quoting function


• Identify opportunities to improve processes, reduce manual work, and increase adoption of available tools

What We’re Looking For:

• 5+ years of experience in proposals, estimating, quoting, pricing, or a related function


• Demonstrated experience owning the full proposal/quoting process, rather than only one portion of it


• Experience leading or mentoring a team; formal supervisory experience preferred


• Strong understanding of materials, labor, engineering inputs, and overhead within a complex manufacturing environment


• Experience managing multiple complex quotes/proposals simultaneously


• Strong Excel and ERP skills with the ability to work comfortably with detailed data


• Excellent organization, attention to detail, communication, and problem-solving skills


• Experience in electronics, aerospace/defense, contract manufacturing, or another complex manufacturing environment is highly relevant


• FAR/DFARS experience is a plus


• CAPA/process improvement experience is a plus

The Opportunity:

This role is about more than maintaining an existing quoting process. The organization is looking for a credible change agent who can earn the trust of an established team while also challenging the status quo, improving processes, and creating greater consistency and accountability.

The ideal candidate will bring enough technical depth to understand and challenge the work, combined with the leadership presence to move a team and a function forward.

100% onsite | Fox Cities, WI Area