DEFENSE PROPOSAL & CONTRACTS MANAGER
Pay: Fixed fee per engagement, typically $3,500 to $12,000 depending on complexity
Type: Independent contractor (fixed fee per engagement), with potential full-time conversion ($130,000 to $185,000 per year).
Location: Remote, United States
Clearance: Preferred, not required
ABOUT THE ROLE
eyesAtop builds the operating platform for multi-drone operations: a battle-proven system that enables a single operator to deploy and orchestrate drones across vendors, mission types, and contested environments. With more than 500,000 frontline operational hours and TRL 9 validation, our software is not a prototype. It is fielded and operating today.
As eyesAtop expands its U.S. defense business, we are seeking an experienced proposal and contracts professional who has personally authored proposals selected for award in a small-business or startup environment and negotiated the resulting agreements.
This is a hands-on authorship role. You will draft the volumes, build the pricing structure, write the past-performance narratives, and then negotiate the resulting award yourself. The work begins with defined engagements. When a proposal or contract is ready, you take responsibility for it for an agreed fixed fee. We expect volume to grow over time and potentially support conversion into a full-time U.S. contracts lead position.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
• Evaluate, shape, and write selected submissions: SBIR/STTR proposals, OTA white papers and prototype submissions, responses to RFPs and RFIs from DoD customers and prime contractors, and task-order proposals under IDIQs and GSA Schedules.
• Own the full proposal lifecycle: compliance matrix, technical volume coordination with our engineers, pricing structures and cost narratives, and maintenance of SAM.gov registration and required representations and certifications.
• Negotiate the contracts you win, including prime contracts, subcontracts, and teaming agreements with DoD customers and prime contractors.
• Review terms and flow-downs for risk, including indemnification, termination, warranty, payment terms, and the clauses that matter more than they initially appear.
• Protect our technical data, software, and IP rights, including assertions under DFARS 252.227-7017 and, as applicable, rights and markings under DFARS 252.227-7013, -7014, -7015, and -7018 for SBIR/STTR data.
• Advise on acquisition and contracting strategy, including SBIR/STTR, OTAs, IDIQs, GSA Schedule opportunities, and FAR Part 12 procedures for commercial products and commercial services.
COMPLIANCE AND CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION
• Flag export-control, cybersecurity, accounting-system, and other compliance requirements, including ITAR/EAR, CMMC, DCAA audit readiness, and DCMA-administered requirements, before they become problems.
• Maintain clean contract files and a defensible record of what was agreed and why.
WHAT YOU BRING
• Proposals or submissions you personally wrote that resulted in three or more awarded U.S. government funding agreements, including prime contracts, task orders, SBIR/STTR awards, or OTAs, with at least one award within the past five years. You can name the agency, solicitation or vehicle, and approximate value of each and describe which sections were yours.
• That experience earned at a small business or startup of approximately 100 employees or fewer, where you owned the submission from opportunity analysis through final delivery, even when engineers or other subject-matter experts contributed technical content.
• Five or more years negotiating defense contracts from either side of the table. Former government contracting officers in the 1102 series and industry contracts managers are equally welcome.
• Working command of the FAR and DFARS and the judgment to know which clauses are negotiable in practice.
• Familiarity with at least one of the following: SBIR/STTR (authorship strongly preferred), OTAs, or subcontracting under a major prime.
• The self-direction to drive an engagement from scoping through submission with limited internal oversight, coordinating technical and executive approvals as needed.
HELPFUL, NOT REQUIRED
• Direct experience with technical-data rights and IP in a hardware or systems context.
• Active or recent security clearance.
• NCMA certification (CFCM or CPCM), current DoD Contracting Professional Certification, or legacy DAWIA Level II-III certification.
• UAS, aerospace, or defense-hardware background.
• 8(a), SDVOSB, HUBZone, or other small-business program experience.
• Export-control licensing experience.
• DoD price-analysis or cost-realism experience.
TERMS
• Engagement phase: Fixed fee per engagement, typically $3,500 to $12,000 depending on complexity. A straightforward subcontract negotiation or task-order proposal sits at the low end; a full SBIR/STTR proposal or negotiation involving contested data rights sits at the high end. Particularly complex or extended proposals, such as a full competitive prime proposal with multiple volumes, may be scoped separately and may exceed the typical range. Scope, expected rounds, and fee are agreed in writing before each engagement. If an engagement materially expands beyond that scope, we agree on any additional fee before continuing. Indeed requires an hourly equivalent. Actual compensation is an agreed fixed fee per engagement based on scope and complexity.
• Potential full-time conversion: As volume grows, this role may convert to a full-time U.S. contracts lead position with a base salary of $130,000 to $185,000.
• Location: Remote within the United States, with occasional travel for negotiations and program reviews.
• Eligibility: This role requires access to export-controlled technical data. Applicants must therefore be authorized to access that data under applicable U.S. export-control laws. For this position, eyesAtop currently requires U.S.-person status as defined under ITAR, 22 CFR 120.62.
Pay: $175.00 - $300.00 per hour
Application Question(s):
• Have you personally owned and written at least three proposals or submissions that resulted in awarded U.S. government contracts, task orders, SBIR/STTR awards, or OTAs while working at an organization with approximately 100 or fewer employees?
• Describe one federal proposal you personally wrote that resulted in an award. Identify the agency, solicitation or vehicle, approximate value, proposal team size, and what you personally authored.
• Describe one defense contract you personally negotiated. What was the principal sticking point, what position did you take, and what changed as a result?
Work Location: Remote