Government Programs & Proposal Lead

ABOUT TERRANOVA - Backed by leading deep tech VCs, Terranova builds intelligent robotic systems to terraform the Earth itself - lifting land, restoring wetlands, and protecting critical infrastructure from floods. Our mission is to preserve the built environment, create new habitats, and usher in an era of abundance. Our work supports climate resilience, disaster recovery, housing development, and defense across the United States and beyond. We’re assembling a world-class team that wants to work on something real, physical, and civilization-scale. If you want your work to reshape the world (literally), this is the place to do it. WHAT TO EXPECT - We are looking for a Government Programs & Proposal Lead to help turn Terranova’s technology into funded government programs, demonstrations, and contracts. - This person will own the proposal process from opportunity identification through submission, evaluation, negotiation, and follow-up. You will work directly with Terranova’s founders, engineers, field operators, and external partners to translate complex technical work into clear, persuasive, and compliant government submissions. - You will pursue opportunities across USACE, DARPA, DoD, DOE, FEMA, and other federal programs through vehicles including Commercial Solutions Openings, BAAs, OTAs, SBIR/STTR programs, grants, white papers, concept briefs, and full proposals. - This is not a role for someone who only edits documents after the strategy has already been decided. You will help determine which opportunities Terranova pursues, shape the technical and commercial argument, define the proposed program, and drive the submission to completion. - The upside is meaningful ownership and the opportunity to help establish Terranova as a major government technology and infrastructure partner. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES - Identify and evaluate government funding, contracting, and partnership opportunities aligned with Terranova’s technology and mission. - Own proposal development from solicitation review through final submission, including schedules, compliance matrices, writing assignments, reviews, and supporting materials. - Lead submissions for CSOs, BAAs, OTAs, SBIR/STTR programs, grants, RFIs, white papers, solution briefs, concept papers, quad charts, pitch decks, and full technical proposals. - Translate complex engineering, robotics, geotechnical, field deployment, and performance data into clear, specific, mission-focused narratives. - Work with technical and operations teams to define project scope, technical objectives, milestones, deliverables, schedules, staffing plans, budgets, and rough-order-of-magnitude pricing. - Build a compelling argument for why Terranova’s technology addresses an urgent government capability gap and why the proposed program should be funded now. - Ensure every submission directly responds to solicitation requirements, evaluation criteria, formatting rules, and contracting constraints. - Coordinate inputs from engineers, founders, customers, academic collaborators, subcontractors, advisors, and external partners. - Support government pitches, technical evaluations, site demonstrations, oral presentations, requests for clarification, and contract negotiations. - Develop agency-specific concepts and materials that help shape customer thinking before a formal solicitation is released. - Build Terranova’s government opportunity pipeline, proposal calendar, content library, templates, review cadence, and submission processes. - Track submitted opportunities, agency feedback, next steps, and follow-on pathways from initial study through demonstration, procurement, and scaled deployment. REQUIREMENTS - Exceptional technical writing, strategic judgment, and attention to detail. - Experience leading federal government proposals, non-dilutive funding applications, or complex technical submissions from start to finish. - Ability to understand complex engineering quickly and turn it into a clear, persuasive argume…