Alison C Wicks

Alison C. Wicks serves as a Contract Negotiator at Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport, where she plays a critical role in advancing the Department of the Navy’s maritime technology objectives through strategic procurement of advanced systems. She specializes in negotiating complex contracts for naval sensor arrays, electronic warfare components, and integrated communication systems essential to undersea, surface, and aerial domain superiority. Her work directly supports NUWC’s mission of research, development, testing, and evaluation of next-generation naval technologies, ensuring timely and compliant acquisition of mission-critical capabilities while adhering to federal contracting regulations and technical specifications. Wicks maintains consistent working relationships with key industry partners including Science Applications International Corporation, Aerospace & Commercial Technologies, LLC, Astronics Test Systems Inc, Serco Inc, and Mikel Inc. These partnerships reflect a preference for established defense contractors with proven expertise in electro-optical systems, test and evaluation services, and embedded avionics. Her negotiation approach emphasizes technical rigor, performance-based outcomes, and long-term vendor collaboration to ensure system interoperability and sustainment readiness across naval platforms. Her contracting patterns reveal a strong emphasis on small business participation, with nearly half of her acquisitions structured as Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5. While no set-aside remains the most common category, her consistent use of small business set-asides demonstrates a deliberate commitment to fostering innovation and capacity within the defense industrial base, particularly among firms with niche technical capabilities in electronics manufacturing and systems integration. Wicks primarily procures goods and services under NAICS codes 334418 (printed circuit assembly), 339999 (miscellaneous manufacturing), 541380 (testing laboratories), 541330 (engineering services), and 541512 (computer systems design). Her portfolio centers on high-reliability electronic assemblies, test instrumentation, systems engineering, and embedded software development—reflecting deep technical expertise in naval electronics, signal processing, and mission-critical system integration.