Amanda Qualls

Amanda Qualls serves as a Contract Specialist within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s RDK division (FA9451), where she plays a pivotal role in executing complex research and development acquisitions aligned with national security objectives. She manages the full lifecycle of contracts for advanced scientific and engineering projects, with a primary focus on directed energy systems, electro-optics, laser vulnerability research, and next-generation aerospace instrumentation. Her work directly supports the agency’s mission to pioneer cutting-edge technologies that ensure air dominance, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations while fostering innovation through agile contracting methods. Qualls collaborates with a diverse range of contractors, including defense primes, specialized R&D firms, and technical service providers with expertise in photonics, high-energy laser systems, and precision instrumentation. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for performance-based, cost-reimbursement, and cost-plus-fixed-fee arrangements suited to high-risk, high-reward R&D environments. She maintains close coordination with technical officers and program managers to align contract deliverables with evolving mission requirements, fostering long-term partnerships with vendors capable of delivering rapid prototyping and field-deployable solutions. Her procurement activities are exclusively non-set-aside, reflecting the mission-critical and highly specialized nature of RDK’s research portfolio, which often requires proprietary technologies and subject matter expertise unavailable through small business channels. While socioeconomic set-asides are not utilized, she ensures full and open competition to secure the most technically capable and innovative solutions. Qualls primarily procures under NAICS 541712, focusing on physical, engineering, and life sciences R&D services. Her acquisitions center on advanced laser systems, optical diagnostics, beam control technologies, and integrated sensor platforms, requiring deep technical fluency in aerospace defense domains. She consistently engages vendors with proven capabilities in classified and unclassified R&D environments, ensuring alignment with Air Force scientific priorities and technology transition goals.