Amanda J Mercado

Amanda J. Mercado serves as a Contract Specialist within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), supporting the agency’s mission to advance environmental science through strategic procurement of specialized instrumentation and technical services. She manages the full lifecycle of federal acquisitions, from requirements definition and market research to contract award and administration, with a focus on high-precision scientific equipment and professional research support. Her work directly enables NOAA’s core operations in oceanographic monitoring, atmospheric data collection, and coastal resilience initiatives, ensuring timely delivery of mission-critical capabilities aligned with federal procurement regulations and technical standards. Mercado maintains consistent contracting relationships with a select group of specialized vendors, including WISCONSIN EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS BOARD, TRONCONI SEGARRA & ASSOCIATES LLP, JNB SERVICES LLC, PURE ENVIRO-MANAGEMENT, LLC, and THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO. These partnerships reflect a preference for firms with demonstrated expertise in environmental instrumentation, data systems, and applied scientific services. Her contracting approach emphasizes technical competency, past performance, and compliance with federal standards, fostering long-term collaborations with contractors who deliver high-integrity solutions for complex operational environments. Mercado’s procurement portfolio is entirely non-set-aside, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. While she does not currently utilize socioeconomic set-asides such as 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB programs, her contracting decisions are grounded in merit-based evaluation criteria that prioritize technical capability and mission alignment over socioeconomic preferences. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 334519 (Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing), encompassing sensors, data loggers, and environmental monitoring systems, and NAICS 541990 (All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services), which includes research support, modeling services, and technical analysis. She specializes in acquiring advanced scientific instrumentation and expert services critical to NOAA’s earth observation and predictive modeling infrastructure.