Charlotte Chumack

Charlotte Chumack serves as a Contracting Officer within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate (FA8650), where she manages complex research and development acquisitions critical to advancing U.S. air and space dominance. Her portfolio centers on next-generation aerospace propulsion systems, hypersonic technologies, and high-performance functional materials, aligning with the agency’s mission to accelerate innovation in mission-critical domains. She oversees the full lifecycle of sole-source and competitive contracts under FAR and DFARS guidelines, ensuring technical rigor, compliance, and timely delivery of cutting-edge capabilities to support Air Force and Space Force operational readiness. Chumack maintains enduring partnerships with leading aerospace and defense contractors including UES INC, General Electric Company, DCS Corporation, Spirit Aerosystems Inc, and Advanced Thermoplastic Composites LLC. These relationships are built on sustained technical collaboration, with contractors providing specialized expertise in propulsion system integration, adaptive flight control software, and advanced composite manufacturing. Her procurement approach emphasizes long-term strategic vendor engagement, often leveraging Other Transaction Authority (OTA) and Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs) to streamline innovation pipelines and respond rapidly to evolving technical requirements. Chumack’s contracting activity is exclusively non-set-aside, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects the highly specialized, mission-critical nature of the technologies procured, which demand proven technical capability and industrial capacity typically found only among established prime contractors with extensive defense experience. While small business participation is not formally structured through socioeconomic set-asides, she ensures fair opportunity through transparent solicitation practices and robust market research. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541715 (Research and Development in Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences), accounting for nearly 60% of her portfolio, with additional activity in 541712 and 339999 for advanced manufacturing. She routinely procures experimental propulsion components, hypersonic test hardware, and high-temperature functional materials, demonstrating deep technical fluency in aerospace engineering domains and a consistent emphasis on performance-driven, science-based acquisition outcomes.