Chelsea O'Connor

Chelsea O’Connor serves as a Contracting Officer responsible for managing complex acquisition programs within the aerospace and defense sector, with a singular focus on aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing. She ensures full compliance with federal procurement regulations while facilitating the timely delivery of mission-critical propulsion systems and related components. Her role is central to sustaining national defense readiness, as she oversees the full lifecycle of contracts—from market research and solicitation development to award administration and contract closeout—ensuring technical requirements align with operational needs and statutory obligations. O’Connor cultivates strategic relationships with a diverse pool of prime contractors and subcontractors specializing in advanced turbine systems, combustion components, and precision-engineered aerospace parts. While no single vendor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages with Tier 1 aerospace manufacturers and niche suppliers possessing specialized certifications in AS9100 and ITAR compliance. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, technical merit evaluations, and rigorous source selection processes to ensure quality, reliability, and supply chain resilience. Her procurement patterns reflect a strong preference for full and open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions conducted without set-asides. This indicates a focus on technical capability and industrial base capacity over socioeconomic categorizations, though she remains fully compliant with all small business participation requirements when applicable. Her approach prioritizes mission necessity and system interoperability, ensuring that procurement decisions are driven by performance rather than preference. O’Connor’s technical domain expertise centers exclusively on NAICS 336412, encompassing the design, development, testing, and production of aircraft engines and their constituent parts. She is well-versed in the engineering specifications, certification standards, and supply chain dynamics unique to military and commercial aviation propulsion systems, making her a key liaison between technical stakeholders and acquisition teams in safeguarding national aerospace capabilities.