Senior Proposal Writer (Contract)

The Role

Red Cell Federal is seeking a Senior Federal Proposal Writer (1099) to develop clear, persuasive, and compliant responses to federal solicitations. You will turn capture strategy and complex technical input into strong proposal content.

You will work with the Proposal Manager, capture leads, Solutions Architects, product leaders, and subject matter experts. This role sits in the Operations Cell under the COO and reports to the Proposal Manager.

This is a remote, project-based 1099 engagement. Work is assigned on demand, and no minimum volume is guaranteed.

What You'll Do

• Write and edit technical approaches, management and staffing plans, transition plans, past performance, executive summaries, white papers, solution briefs, and other response content.
• Review solicitations, SOWs, PWSs, instructions, and evaluation criteria, including Sections L and M.
• Build compliant outlines, storyboards, content plans, and compliance matrices.
• Interview SMEs, program managers, key personnel, and product leaders; turn their input into clear proposal text.
• Apply capture strategy, customer priorities, win themes, discriminators, benefits, and proof points.
• Address review comments and produce clean, submission-ready revisions on tight deadlines.
• Maintain a consistent voice and message across multi-author responses.
• Maintain reusable past-performance, corporate-experience, management, and technical content.
• Flag missing inputs, compliance gaps, conflicting guidance, and schedule risks early.

What We're Looking For

• At least five years of federal proposal-writing experience in government contracting.
• Experience with Shipley or a similar proposal-development process.
• Strong knowledge of federal solicitations, FAR/DFARS concepts, Sections L and M, and evaluation criteria.
• A record of contributing to successful federal civilian or defense proposals.
• Ability to understand and explain complex topics such as AI/ML, autonomy, cybersecurity, software platforms, defense hardware, advanced communications, and health technology.
• Strong interviewing, writing, editing, and collaboration skills.
• Ability to protect sensitive company, customer, partner, and procurement information.
• U.S. citizenship.
• An independent-contractor business setup and the ability to provide a W-9.

Bonus Points

• Current APMP certification.
• Active Secret or Top Secret U.S. Government security clearance.
• Experience with OTA, CSO, BAA, and SBIR/STTR submissions for national-security organizations.

Engagement Details

• Compensation: Hourly, based on experience.
• Assignments: Each assignment will define its scope, deliverables, milestones, deadlines, acceptance criteria, estimated hours, and authorized maximum.
• Availability: You must acknowledge assignment requests within one business day. Active proposals may require faster response times when agreed in advance.
• Hours: You may work up to 40 hours in a workweek within an approved assignment. The COO must approve additional hours in writing before the work is performed. Work outside the approved scope or authorized maximum also requires advance written approval.
• Equipment: You must provide a secure workspace, reliable high-speed internet, suitable computer hardware, Microsoft Office 365, PDF-editing tools, and other standard software. The company may provide specific systems when needed.
• Confidentiality: You must follow all applicable confidentiality, data-protection, system-access, records-management, and information-handling requirements.
• Conflicts: You must disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest.

What We Look For

At Red Cell, culture is defined by how our people live our values every day. We look for people who are DEDICATED and passionate about their work; COLLABORATIVE communicators who help where needed; PRINCIPLED and accountable; and THOROUGH, with pride in the quality of what they produce.

Our Red Cell Partners Benefits

For full-time roles

• Career track opportunity with potential for rapid advancement with strong performance as the firm grows
• 100% employer paid, comprehensive health care including medical, dental, and vision for you and your family.
• Paid maternity and paternity for 14 weeks at employees' normal pay.
• Unlimited PTO, with management approval.
• Opportunities for professional development and continued learning.
• Optional 401K, FSA, and equity incentives available.
• Mental health benefits are available through Tara Mind.
• Cost effective GLP-1 solutions available through Crux.