Carol Mays, Contracting Officer

Carol Mays serves as a Contracting Officer within the IT Strategy and Modernization unit of the Internal Revenue Service’s Department of the Treasury, where she leads the acquisition of mission-critical IT modernization solutions. Her portfolio focuses on enterprise-wide digital transformation initiatives, including secure data platforms, interoperable software systems, and cybersecurity-enhanced infrastructure to support tax administration modernization. She manages full lifecycle procurements—from market research and solicitation development to contract award and performance oversight—ensuring alignment with federal IT modernization priorities and NIST cybersecurity frameworks. Mays is instrumental in translating complex technical requirements into compliant, results-driven contracts that enable scalable and resilient digital services. While specific contractor names are not publicly disclosed, Mays maintains a consistent procurement pattern centered on partnering with vendors capable of delivering agile, cloud-native solutions and secure software development lifecycle services. Her working relationships emphasize vendor collaboration through performance-based contracting, iterative delivery models, and risk-sharing mechanisms to ensure timely delivery of high-integrity systems. She actively engages with industry through pre-solicitation outreach and vendor days to foster innovation and ensure market readiness. Mays demonstrates an unwavering commitment to small business participation, with 100% of her acquisitions structured as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. This reflects a deliberate strategy to empower small, innovative firms to contribute to critical federal modernization efforts, prioritizing equitable access over large prime contractor dominance. Her contracting patterns consistently channel opportunities to small businesses without further socioeconomic subcategories, emphasizing broad-based participation and capacity building. Her primary procurement focus is under NAICS 541519 (Other Computer Related Services), encompassing custom software development, systems integration, data architecture design, and IT modernization consulting. She procures services related to legacy system migration, API-driven platforms, zero-trust architecture implementation, and automated compliance tools—domain areas requiring deep technical expertise in federal IT environments and IRS-specific operational constraints.