Ashlety Virts

Ashlety Virts serves as a Contract Specialist responsible for managing the full lifecycle of complex procurement actions, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations and agency mission objectives. She specializes in soliciting, evaluating, and awarding contracts for research and development services in the physical, engineering, and life sciences, supporting innovation-driven government initiatives. Her role involves collaborating with technical stakeholders to define requirements, draft solicitations, conduct source selection, and administer awarded contracts, ensuring transparency, fairness, and efficiency throughout the acquisition process. Virts plays a critical part in advancing the agency’s mission by securing high-quality scientific and technical expertise through rigorous, compliant contracting practices. While no specific contractor relationships are currently identifiable in the data, Virts engages with a broad spectrum of qualified vendors, including large primes, mid-tier firms, and small businesses with specialized R&D capabilities. Her procurement approach emphasizes merit-based competition and technical excellence, fostering partnerships with entities capable of delivering cutting-edge solutions in scientific research, laboratory services, and engineering analysis. She maintains a neutral, objective stance in vendor engagement, prioritizing capability and compliance over preferential treatment. Virts consistently awards contracts under the “No Set-Aside” category, reflecting a procurement strategy focused on open competition rather than socioeconomic set-asides. This pattern indicates a preference for selecting the most technically qualified offerors regardless of business size or certification status, aligning with mission-critical needs that demand specialized expertise not always available within small business pools. Her primary focus is on NAICS 541712—Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)—indicating deep expertise in procuring services such as applied physics research, materials testing, environmental modeling, and engineering prototype development. She routinely sources technical solutions requiring advanced scientific methodology, laboratory infrastructure, and subject-matter expertise in STEM disciplines, ensuring the government accesses the highest caliber of non-biotech R&D capacity available in the marketplace.