David Kim

David Y. Kim serves as a Contract Specialist within the DCSO Columbus Division #3 under the Defense Logistics Agency, where he manages the acquisition of mission-critical strategic materials essential to national defense systems. His responsibilities include executing full-cycle contracting actions for high-purity nonferrous metals, specialty chemicals, and engineered industrial inputs used in aerospace, electronics, and weapons platforms. Kim ensures compliance with federal acquisition regulations while aligning procurements with the agency’s strategic imperative to secure domestic, reliable sources of critical supply chain inputs. He primarily handles complex, technical solicitations requiring deep industry expertise and rigorous performance specifications. Kim maintains a primary working relationship with ARES Strategic Mining, Inc., a key vendor providing access to rare and refined nonferrous feedstocks critical to defense manufacturing. His contracting patterns reflect a preference for established industrial suppliers with proven capabilities in metallurgical processing and chemical purification, often engaging vendors with specialized facilities and quality assurance certifications such as AS9100 and ITAR compliance. His approach emphasizes long-term supply chain resilience over transactional procurement, fostering partnerships with vendors capable of sustaining consistent, high-integrity material delivery. Set-aside preferences are heavily skewed toward open competition, with 93.3% of awards issued without socioeconomic set-asides, reflecting the technical specificity and limited vendor base for these materials. Only 6.7% of awards are designated as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, indicating a focus on capability over socioeconomic classification. While small business participation is not a primary driver, Kim ensures compliance with all applicable socioeconomic requirements when qualified sources exist. His procurement focus centers on NAICS codes 327992 (ground or treated mineral manufacturing), 331491 (nonferrous metal rolling/drawing/extruding), 325180 (basic inorganic chemical manufacturing), and 541715 (physical and engineering research and development). These reflect expertise in sourcing advanced materials requiring precise chemical composition, metallurgical processing, and R&D-driven innovation to meet stringent defense performance standards.