Capture & Proposal Lead

Avalanche is a Seattle-based start-up developing compact fusion machines for clean, energy-dense power generation at a scale you can hold in your hands.  Our unique approach allows us to build, test, break, learn and iterate in days.  The modular design is designed to provide power to applications from austere environments to deep sea vehicles and maritime transport to lunar power. 

We know we have an incredibly ambitious mission, and that it requires a wide combination of skills, attitude, and grit to make it happen. If you have a passion for abundant energy, and how we can improve life with it, we want to have a chat with you.

Avalanche might be fit for you if: You are self-motivated, energized by problem solving and working closely with hardware. You enjoy hands-on, creative collaboration with a small, tight-knit team you can work with, laugh with, and learn with on a wide variety of topics.  You can learn and pivot between priorities when necessary and you can slide the headphones on, focus, and auger deep into a single topic as needed.  You thrive in an atmosphere of development, and you are an ardent learner who’s always looking for ways to grow and improve.

We are seeking a Capture & Proposal Lead to build the pursuit strategies, communications, and operating discipline required to convert qualified opportunities into funded government and commercial programs. This role owns the capture and proposal process from opportunity qualification and pursuit planning through white papers, proposals, negotiation support, award, and transition to program execution, with particular emphasis on technically complex R&D, prototype, demonstration, production, and strategic partnership opportunities.

You will report to the Director of Strategy and work closely with business development, government relations, science & engineering, finance, legal/contracts, compliance, and program management to develop differentiated win strategies, shape customer engagements, lead cross-functional proposal teams, and produce compelling, compliant, and technically credible submissions and strategic communications. You will also strengthen the systems behind growth by managing capture and proposal workflows, CRM and pipeline governance, reusable content, IP and data-rights coordination, and the formal handoff of awards to program teams. The role requires both a hands-on writer and operator and a process owner who can make Avalanche's pursuit organization increasingly rigorous, repeatable, and scalable as the company grows.

Key Responsibilities:

Growth Communications and Strategic Engagements

• Develop presentations, white papers, concept papers, capability briefs, technical marketing materials, proposals, applications, RFI responses, and other communications that advance customer discovery, capture, and strategic partnerships.

• Translate complex fusion, nuclear, engineering, market, and financial information into accurate, compelling narratives for technical and non-technical audiences.

• Support customer, partner, Departmental, policy, and Congressional engagements with targeted research, market and technical data analysis, visualizations, briefing materials, and evidence-based messaging for priority pursuits and strategic engagements.

• Prepare executives and business development leaders for customer meetings, conferences, demonstrations, and pitch sessions, and maintain an approved library of reusable content, claims, evidence, graphics, and past performance.

• Own and continuously improve a library of reusable proposal content, technical claims, graphics, resumes, corporate qualifications, and approved customer-facing materials.

Capture, Proposals, and Growth Operations

• Inform the company's capture process from opportunity qualification and bid/no-bid through capture planning and solution development.

• Manage and lead the capture and proposal development processes and cross-functional proposal teams, including writing, internal review, submission, debrief, and lessons learned.

• Develop capture plans, win themes, compliance matrices, proposal outlines, schedules, assignments, review plans, and content-development workflows; coordinate cross-functional inputs and maintain accountability for deadlines and quality.

• Provide business developers with CRM and opportunity pipeline management support.

• Establish scalable templates, dashboards, calendars, operating procedures, metrics, and governance mechanisms for capture, proposals, and growth planning.

• Develop and maintain capture metrics that illuminate pipeline quality, probability of win, proposal throughput, resource demands, and lessons learned.

Commercial Structuring, Agreements, and Award Transition

• Support the development and negotiation of prime and subcontracts, teaming agreements, NDAs, subawards, service agreements, and other government and commercial agreements.

• Develop and coordinate statements of work, deliverables, milestones, acceptance criteria, schedules, assumptions, technical exhibits, and commercial terms.

• Coordinate intellectual property, data rights positions, licenses, markings, assertions, and contractual flow-downs with legal/contracts, technical, and program stakeholders.

• Support pricing and negotiation activities by integrating business-case assumptions, technical inputs, cost and schedule estimates, bases of estimate, risk positions, and expected value with finance and technical teams.

• Manage the crosswalk and formal handoff of signed contracts and agreements to program management teams for project execution.

• Track amendments, modifications, and customer-directed changes, and ensure updates are reflected in the CRM, agreement records, financial models, and program baselines.

• Coordinate contract and agreement reviews across business development, finance, legal/contracts, technical, compliance, and program stakeholders.

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in defense, space, or energy capture/proposal management, technical business development, or a related role in a complex technology sector.

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, science, economics, finance, business, or a related field.

• Experience leading RDT&E proposals, BAAs, OTAs, SBIR/STTR transitions, prime-subcontract pursuits, or similar complex efforts within the DoW ecosystem.

• Exceptional experience managing cross-functional capture and proposal efforts to win DoW opportunities, with referenceable success winning awards.

• Strong command of structured capture and proposal practices, including qualification, win strategy, compliance, reviews, executive approvals, and debriefs.

• Exceptional writing, presentation, storytelling, and visual-communication skills, with experience developing executive briefings, white papers, proposals, RFI/RFP responses, and customer-facing technical materials.

• Working knowledge of federal acquisition and contracting, including non-traditional contracting and FAR/DFARS concepts, solicitations, prime/subcontract relationships, grants, cooperative agreements, SBIR/STTR, BAAs, OTAs, and government data rights concepts.

• Experience administering a CRM, maintaining an opportunity pipeline, and producing decision-useful analyses, dashboards, forecasts, and executive reviews.

• Startup “builder” mindset: comfortable moving between strategy and execution, creating new processes, working through ambiguity, and managing multiple high-priority workstreams.

• Ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI clearance.

Preferred / Bonus:

• MBA, advanced technical degree, or equivalent experience.

• Direct experience with fusion, nuclear, isotopes, radiation systems, high-voltage tech, semiconductors, aerospace, defense tech, or an adjacent deep-technology sector.

• Experience building capture and proposal infrastructure inside a startup or non-traditional contractor.

• Experience developing or negotiating teaming agreements, subawards, subcontracts, service agreements, licensing arrangements, and IP, or technical-data-rights positions.

• Experience developing cost and schedule estimates, bases of estimate, pricing strategies, and price-to-win analyses for proposals.

• Experience working with or proposing to DOE, NNSA, NASA, the Intelligence Community, national laboratories, or regulated commercial customers.

• Knowledge of DCAA/DCMA readiness, government accounting, indirect rates, contract audit, export controls, and/or CMCC/NIST compliance.

• Working knowledge of nuclear or fusion regulatory frameworks.

• Experience with CRM software, business-intelligence, and data-visualization tools.

• Active DoW security clearance.

Benefits:

• Excellent medical, dental and vision benefits: We pay 100% of your premiums

• 10 paid holidays and company-wide December holiday break

• Generous paid vacation and sick time

• Small, tight-knit team with low barriers to action

• Exposure to a wide variety of problems for unparalleled, hands-on professional growth

• Weekly employer provided team meals, a well-stocked kitchen, and employee events on and off-site

• Opportunity for Equity

Avalanche values people of all races, ethnicities, genders, ages, religions, and sexual orientations. We also acknowledge the value that different life experiences bring to our organization. Avalanche is an equal opportunity employer, and you do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. We encourage all individuals who are excited about delivering fusion energy to the world to apply.

Notice to Recruitment Agencies

Avalanche Energy does not accept unsolicited resumes or candidate submissions from staffing agencies, search firms, or third-party recruiters. Agencies should not submit candidate information through our careers site or directly to hiring managers or employees without prior authorization from our Talent Acquisition team.

Avalanche Energy will not be responsible for placement fees or other charges associated with unsolicited submissions. Agency partnerships and candidate submissions must be authorized in advance and supported by a signed agreement with Avalanche Energy.