Celeste Jewell

Celeste Jewell serves as a Contracting Officer within the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), where she plays a pivotal role in acquiring critical aviation systems that support the operational readiness of U.S. Navy and Marine Corps air platforms. Responsible for managing the full lifecycle procurement of advanced aeronautical and avionics systems, she executes complex contracts for research, development, testing, and sustainment of carrier-based and expeditionary aircraft, weapons, and mission-critical sensors. Her work directly enables NAVAIR’s mission to maintain air superiority through cutting-edge technological integration and lifecycle support of naval aviation assets. Jewell maintains consistent and strategic relationships with industry leaders including Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and General Atomics, partnering primarily with prime contractors possessing deep expertise in aerospace engineering, unmanned systems, and integrated avionics. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, technical rigor, and long-term sustainment planning, fostering collaborative partnerships that align with NAVAIR’s modernization priorities. She routinely engages vendors with proven capabilities in flight control systems, radar and electronic warfare suites, and mission data link integration. Her procurement portfolio reflects a strong emphasis on open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions issued without socioeconomic set-asides, indicating a focus on technical merit and industrial capacity over mandated categories. While small business participation is not structurally prioritized in her portfolio, she ensures compliance with all federal acquisition regulations and maintains transparency in sourcing decisions driven by mission necessity and system interoperability requirements. Jewell specializes exclusively in NAICS 334511—Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing—procuring advanced sensors, targeting systems, flight instrumentation, and integrated avionics architectures. Her technical domain expertise spans radar systems, electronic countermeasures, autonomous flight control, and secure data fusion platforms, making her a key steward of the Navy’s next-generation air combat capabilities.