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. 

Department: Engineering | Reports to: Engineering and Projects Manager 

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. 
What We Offer 
  • The opportunity to work on innovative water treatment technology with real environmental impact. 
  • A collaborative, fast-moving team environment across engineering, sales, and operations. 
  • Competitive compensation and growth opportunities within a scaling company. 

Be a part of our family