Proposal Engineer

About the Role Hydroleap is looking for a detail-oriented Proposal Engineer to prepare high-quality technical and commercial proposals for our water and wastewater treatment solutions. Sitting at the interface between Sales, Process/Application Engineering, Operations, and other internal teams, you will translate customer requirements and technical designs into compelling, accurate, and competitive proposals. This is a hands-on engineering role for someone who enjoys both the technical depth of water treatment processes and the discipline of winning tenders. Key Responsibilities Enquiry qualification and scoping • Review incoming enquiries, RFQs, and tender documents; assess technical feasibility and fit against Hydroleap's technology. • Interrogate client-supplied water quality data (COD, BOD, TSS, TDS, conductivity, pH, hardness, flow profiles) and identify gaps that need clarification before pricing. • Make and document bid / no-bid recommendations. Technical solution design • Select and size the treatment train, including electrochemical reactor sizing, pre-treatment and post-treatment stages, and sludge handling. • Translate pilot and jar test results into full-scale design assumptions. • Prepare process flow diagrams, mass balances, and general arrangement inputs with the design team. • Define scope of supply, battery limits, exclusions, and deviations against client specifications. Costing and commercial modelling • Build bills of materials and obtain vendor quotations for equipment, instrumentation, and installation. • Develop CAPEX build-ups and OPEX models covering power, consumables (electrodes, chemicals), sludge disposal, and maintenance. • Apply margin and contingency in line with internal guidelines and flag commercial risk to the Engineering Manager and CFO. Proposal production • Write the full technical and commercial proposal document to a standard that requires minimal rework before submission. • Manage submission deadlines, tender portal requirements, and document compliance. • Respond to client technical clarifications and revise offers through the negotiation cycle. • Attend techno-commercial meetings with clients alongside sales. Handover and continuous improvement • Hand over won orders to Project Management with the full cost basis, assumptions, and risk register intact. • Maintain a proposal library — reusable technical content, cost benchmarks, and vendor pricing. • Track win/loss outcomes and feed lessons back into pricing and design assumptions. • Operate within Hydroleap's Proposal-to-Commercialisation gate process. Requirements • Bachelor's degree or higher in Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related field. • 3–7 years of experience in a proposal, tendering, or applications engineering role within the water/wastewater treatment, EPC, or related industry. • Solid working knowledge of water and wastewater treatment technologies and processes; exposure to electrochemical treatment is a plus. • Ability to read and interpret P&IDs, process flow diagrams, and technical specifications, and to build CAPEX/OPEX cost models. • Strong project coordination, technical writing, and editing skills. • Proficient in MS Office Suite; experience with proposal, estimating, or document management tools is a plus. • Comfortable working under tight deadlines and managing multiple proposals simultaneously. • Strong cross-functional communication skills, with the ability to bridge technical and commercial conversations.