Cherie See

Cherie See serves as a Contracting Officer within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate (FA8650), where she leads the acquisition of advanced aerospace propulsion systems, hypersonic technologies, and high-performance functional materials critical to U.S. air and space dominance. She manages full lifecycle contracts for research and development efforts spanning fundamental science to prototype integration, ensuring alignment with mission-critical defense priorities. Her portfolio emphasizes complex, technically demanding procurements requiring specialized engineering expertise and rapid innovation cycles, often involving multi-year, performance-based agreements with industry partners. Cherie See maintains strategic relationships with leading aerospace and defense contractors including UES INC, General Electric Company, DCS Corporation, Spirit Aerosystems Inc, and Advanced Thermoplastic Composites LLC. These partnerships are characterized by long-term collaboration on high-priority R&D initiatives, particularly in propulsion system design, adaptive flight control, and advanced material development. Her contracting approach prioritizes technical excellence, risk mitigation, and performance accountability, fostering trusted vendor relationships built on rigorous compliance and mission alignment. Cherie See’s procurement portfolio is exclusively non-set-aside, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects the highly specialized, classified, and mission-essential nature of the technologies being acquired, which require deep technical capabilities typically found only among established, large-scale defense contractors with appropriate security clearances and infrastructure. While small business participation is not formally structured through socioeconomic set-asides, her team ensures fair access to opportunities through transparent solicitation practices and industry engagement. Her primary focus is on NAICS 541715—Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences—where she procures advanced propulsion components, hypersonic test assets, composite material systems, and computational modeling services. She specializes in acquisitions requiring cutting-edge engineering analysis, materials science innovation, and systems integration for next-generation air and space platforms, consistently supporting AFRL’s mission to accelerate technological superiority in propulsion and flight systems.