Charlotte M. Chumack

Charlotte M. Chumack serves as a Contract Negotiator within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate (FA8650), where she plays a pivotal role in securing advanced aerospace technologies critical to U.S. air and space dominance. She specializes in negotiating complex research and development contracts for next-generation propulsion systems, hypersonic flight technologies, and high-performance functional materials. Her work directly supports the agency’s mission to accelerate innovation in mission-critical domains by ensuring timely, compliant, and technically robust acquisition outcomes. Chumack typically handles sole-source and competitive negotiated procurements under FAR Part 15, often involving classified or sensitive technical requirements. She maintains sustained partnerships with leading defense and aerospace contractors including UES INC, General Electric Company, DCS Corporation, Spirit Aerosystems Inc, and Advanced Thermoplastic Composites LLC. These relationships are characterized by long-term collaboration on R&D initiatives requiring deep technical alignment, iterative prototyping, and rigorous performance validation. Chumack’s negotiation approach emphasizes technical feasibility, risk mitigation, and lifecycle cost efficiency, fostering trust-based vendor engagements that prioritize mission success over transactional outcomes. Chumack’s contracting portfolio reflects a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of her awards issued under no set-aside categories. This underscores a strategic focus on technical excellence and capability over socioeconomic classifications, aligning with the high-stakes, specialized nature of propulsion and hypersonics research. While small business participation is not formally prioritized in her portfolio, all vendors are evaluated on technical merit, past performance, and capacity to deliver mission-critical innovations. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541712 and 541715, encompassing physical and engineering research in aerospace materials, adaptive flight control systems, and advanced manufacturing processes. She routinely acquires proprietary composites, thermal protection systems, and propulsion component prototypes, requiring deep domain expertise in aerodynamics, materials science, and systems integration. Chumack’s work bridges laboratory innovation and operational deployment, ensuring R&D outcomes meet rigorous military performance standards.