Project Engineer - Proposal

About the role

SEL Inc. is seeking a highly motivated, detail-oriented Proposal Engineer to lead the development of technical scopes and proposals from initiation through submission. The role acts as a strategic liaison between sales, engineering and project support teams, turning customer requirements into actionable scopes of work and comprehensive proposals. It suits someone with a strong technical background who wants to grow in project management.

Key responsibilities

• Hold business development meetings with sales representatives and customers, and communicate with customers to understand their technical needs and recommend solutions within SEL's capabilities.
• Collaborate with local branches to obtain technical review and support for proposals.
• Estimate engineering services, subcontractor labor, equipment and expenses.
• Orchestrate proposal development, internal review and submission, and keep customers informed of status and due dates.
• Evaluate and quantify project risks, and evaluate subcontractors against the proposed scope.
• Work with the project support team so bid documents are complete and submitted on time.
• Build front-end milestone and construction schedules.
• Review purchase orders and contracts for scope, schedule and budget compliance, and deviations from the bid.
• Run bid review meetings, internal and external kickoffs, and post-mortems on completed projects to improve proposal writing, estimating and execution.
• Develop tools that help deliver proposals on time, maintain customer relationships and act as a trusted advisor.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related technical field, OR an Associate's degree with at least 4 years of relevant experience, OR a PMP certification or similar with 6 years of relevant experience.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally at least 25% depending on focus area.
• Available in Fairview Heights, IL, Houston, TX, Denver, CO, or Plymouth, MI.

Required skills

• Basic knowledge of electric power system protection and control, integration and/or automation and communications applications.
• Working knowledge of electric power system design, studies, ICT and protective relay applications.
• Protection focus: generation, transmission and distribution, BOMs, layouts, schematics, wiring diagrams, protection schemes, coordination and arc flash studies, FAT and SAT.
• Automation focus: SCADA, PLC, control systems, HMIs, network and cybersecurity, communications schemes, infrastructure for automation and control, FAT and SAT.
• Estimating labor, equipment, subcontractor costs and project expenses, and building milestone and construction schedules.

What we offer

• Pay range of $110,000 - $175,000 depending on location and experience.
• Medical, prescription, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, plus retirement benefits including an ESOP and 401(k).
• 10 paid holidays, vacation accrual starting at 12 days, 9 paid sick days and paid family and medical leave covering 90% of pay.
• Tuition assistance, STEM courses, apprenticeships and engineering development programs.