Aleah Parker

Aleah Parker serves as a key procurement lead within the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), supporting the agency’s mission to advance foundational scientific discovery for next-generation aerospace and defense capabilities. In this role, she manages the acquisition of high-risk, high-reward basic research services, primarily focused on computational science, autonomous systems, and human-machine collaboration. Her work bridges academic innovation with national security imperatives, ensuring that cutting-edge research from universities, nonprofit research institutes, and specialized technology firms is effectively funded and delivered through competitive, performance-based contracts. She specializes in soliciting and awarding research and development services under broad agency announcements and basic research programs, emphasizing scientific merit and technical novelty over commercial readiness. Parker’s contractor relationships are centered on research-intensive organizations, including elite universities, federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), and specialized engineering firms with deep expertise in computational modeling, sensor development, and AI-driven systems. She engages with a diverse ecosystem of academic and non-traditional defense contractors, fostering long-term partnerships built on technical rigor and mission alignment rather than volume-based procurement. Her approach prioritizes intellectual capability and peer-reviewed scientific excellence, often working with entities that lack prior DoD contract experience but demonstrate transformative research potential. Parker’s procurement portfolio reflects a strict preference for open competition, with 100% of awards issued under non-set-aside mechanisms. This underscores AFOSR’s commitment to selecting the most technically capable performers regardless of business size or socioeconomic status, aligning with the agency’s mission to pursue scientific excellence without artificial constraints. Her primary NAICS focus is 541512 (Computer Systems Design Services), reflecting her specialization in procuring advanced computational research, algorithm development, simulation environments, and data analytics platforms. She consistently acquires services related to machine learning infrastructure, high-performance computing, and autonomous system architectures, supporting AFOSR’s strategic investments in foundational technologies critical to future air and space dominance.