Project Engineer - Proposal
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
Houston, TX · Posted August 26, 2026
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Where Houston, TX ranks
Where Houston, TX placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #1Best cities for manufacturing and industrial jobs887 openings · of 100
- #1Best cities for energy and utilities jobs704 openings · of 27
- #1Cities hosting the most energy & utilities conferences11 conferences · of 15
- #2Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Southwest481 jobs · of 38
- #2Best cities for software and engineering jobs in the Southwest1,018 openings · of 33
- #2Best all-round cities for mid-career professionals in the Southwest74 / 100 · of 15
Rankings about engineering jobs
- Best cities for software and engineering jobs #1 San Francisco (3,412 openings)
- Best cities for engineering pay after cost of living #1 San Mateo ($216k)
- Most requested AI skills in engineering jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (6.1%)
- AI tools named most often in engineering jobs #1 Claude (1.7%)
- Employers with the most engineering jobs #1 Amazon (2,992 roles)
Pay compared with the market
This listing does not state pay. Across 327 open project engineer listings that state pay, the middle half runs $85,000 to $117,000 and the median is $99,500.
Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.
How AI is used in this kind of work
AI use among engineers, all other is little observed so far. Measured exposure for engineers, all other: 7% (little observed).
Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.
Skills this job asks for
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About the job
We are seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented Proposal Manager to lead the development of technical scopes and proposals from initiation through submission. This role is critical in aligning customer needs with engineering solutions, ensuring proposals are technically sound, competitively priced, and delivered on time.
The ideal candidate will serve as a strategic liaison between sales, engineering, and project support teams, translating customer requirements into actionable scopes of work and comprehensive proposals. Success in this role requires strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills, along with a deep understanding of engineering services, estimating practices, and proposal management methodologies.
As a Project Engineer – Proposal Manager a typical day might include the following:
Conduct business development meetings with sales representatives and customers
Communicate with customers to understand their technical needs and recommend solutions within SEL Engineering Services’ competencies
Collaborate with the local branches to attain technical reviewer and support in developing proposals
Estimate Engineering Services and subcontractor labor, equipment, and expenses
Orchestrate proposal development, internal review, and submission to customer
Evaluate and quantify project risks in accordance with proposed scope of work
Evaluate subcontractors in accordance with proposed scope of work
Collaborate with project support team to ensure bid documents are complete and submitted on time
Construct front-end milestone and construction schedules
Communicate with customers regularly on proposal status and provide revisions, as necessary. Document and archive important communications for project execution team
Ensure status for proposal submission, due dates, and estimated project execution dates are accurate
Conduct bid review meetings with sales team and customers
Review purchase orders and contracts for scope, schedule, and budget compliance and deviations from submitted bid documents
Conduct internal kickoff meeting with project team to hand-off internally
Collaborate in external customer kickoff meeting and complete project turnover to customer
Orchestrate post-mortem analyses on completed projects to develop action plans for proposal writing, estimating, and project execution team performance
Develop tools that facilitate on time to promise (OTP) proposal delivery to the customer
Maintain customer relationships and serve as a trusted advisor.
This job might be for you if you possess the following skills:
A strong technical background and are pursuing career growth in the project management profession
A strong understanding of SEL products, solutions and SEL Engineering Services capabilities
Experience in estimating labor, equipment, subcontractor costs, and project expenses
Proficient in developing milestone and construction schedules
Ability to evaluate and quantify project risks and evaluate contracts and purchase orders for compliance with scopes, schedules, and budgets
Enjoy customer communication and serving as a trusted advisor
Enjoy the autonomy of creating tools and templates to improve group processes and tracking
Required Qualifications:
One of the following: Bachelors degree in Engineering or related technical field; Associates Degree with minimum of 4 years relevant experience; or PMP Certification or similar with 6 years relevant experience.
Basic knowledge of electric power system protection and control, integration and/or automation and communications applications
Working knowledge of electric power system design, studies, information and communication technology and protective relay applications
Willing to travel both domestically and internationally a minimum of 25% based on focus area
Protectio n Focus
Strong protection background in Generation, Transmission and Distribution
Experience developing BOM, layouts, schematics, wiring diagrams and protection schemes
Experience developing coordination and arc flash studies
Experience conducting FAT and SAT with customer
Automation Focus
Strong automation background in SCADA, PLC, control systems, HMIs, and network & cybersecurity.
Experience developing BOM, layouts, schematics, wiring diagrams and communications scheme .
Experience developing infrastructure for communications, automation, and control systems.
Experience conducting FAT and SAT with customer
Location:
We are open to multiple locations: Fairview Heights, IL, Houston, TX, Denver, CO, Plymouth, MI.
Competitive pay. Superior benefits. Inspiring work.
People are at the core of our company and we hire employee-owners. We welcome you to learn more about how we support employees.
We’re 100% employee owned. Retirement benefits include an employer funded stock ownership plan (ESOP) and personal 401(k) options.
We offer top tier medical, prescription, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance.
We recognize the importance of a healthy life balance and offer: 10 paid holidays, annual vacation accrual starting at 12 days, 9 paid sick days, and paid family and medical leave that covers 90% of your pay.
We foster growth and development of our employees through avenues such as STEM courses, apprenticeships, tuition assistance, and engineering development programs.
Ask our team about other benefits including wellness, fertility, adoption, and flexible spending benefits.
Pay Range Data
New hires generally start between $110,000 - 175,000. We base our starting pay offer on location and job-related factors such as candidate experience, training, knowledge, and skills. Our salary ranges are determined by job, responsibility, and location
Communication with Applicants
We communicate with all applicants. If you do not receive a response about your application, please check your SPAM filter or reach out to us at careers@selinc.com .
SEL is an Equal Opportunity Employer: Vets/Disabled.