Deborah M. McKellar

Deborah M. McKellar serves as a Procuring Contracting Officer at the Naval Air Warfare Center (N68936), where she leads the acquisition of mission-critical technologies supporting naval aviation modernization. In this role, she manages the full lifecycle of complex contracts for research, development, testing, and evaluation of advanced avionics, sensor systems, command and control platforms, and mission simulation software. Her procurement activities directly enable the agency’s strategic priorities in enhancing airborne warfare capabilities through integrated electronics and next-generation software architectures, ensuring alignment with Department of Defense innovation goals and operational readiness requirements. McKellar maintains consistent working relationships with leading defense contractors including Lockheed Martin Corporation, Jacobs Technology Inc., SAIC, Kranze Technology Solutions Inc., and Teya Support Services LLC. These partnerships reflect a blend of large prime contractors delivering integrated systems and specialized service providers offering engineering, technical support, and mission-critical IT services. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, technical rigor, and long-term sustainment, fostering collaborative environments that prioritize innovation and system interoperability across naval aviation domains. Her procurement portfolio is evenly split between 8(a) competed set-asides and open competitions, demonstrating a strong, balanced commitment to small business participation without compromising access to high-capacity industry partners. She actively leverages the 8(a) program to cultivate emerging defense technology firms while maintaining flexibility to award to non-set-aside vendors when technical complexity or scale demands it, ensuring both socioeconomic compliance and mission effectiveness. McKellar’s primary acquisition focus centers on NAICS 517919 (Other Telecommunications) and 541330 (Engineering Services), reflecting her specialization in advanced communications infrastructure, signal processing systems, and mission-critical engineering support. She routinely procures software development, systems integration, cybersecurity services, and real-time data analytics solutions that underpin modern naval air operations, demonstrating deep technical fluency in the domains of electronic warfare, avionics modernization, and mission planning systems.