Diane C Christensen

Diane C. Christensen serves as a Contract Negotiator at Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport, where she plays a pivotal role in securing advanced maritime technologies critical to naval dominance. Responsible for negotiating complex technical contracts, she ensures alignment between mission requirements and industry capabilities in areas such as sonar systems, electronic warfare components, and integrated communication architectures. Her work directly supports NUWC’s mission to advance undersea, surface, and aerial warfare systems through rigorous testing and evaluation, with a focus on high-integrity, mission-critical procurements requiring deep technical vetting and risk mitigation. Christensen maintains consistent working relationships with leading defense and aerospace contractors including Science Applications International Corporation, Aerospace & Commercial Technologies, LLC, Astronics Test Systems Inc, Serco Inc, and Mikel Inc. These partnerships are characterized by long-term collaboration on specialized engineering and systems integration projects, often involving proprietary sensor technologies and classified development efforts. Her negotiation approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, technical compliance, and supply chain resilience, fostering trust with vendors capable of meeting stringent Navy standards. While the majority of her acquisitions—73.9%—are unrestricted, she actively supports small business participation, with 26.1% of awards structured as Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5. Her contracting patterns reflect a deliberate effort to cultivate a diverse supplier base without compromising technical rigor, ensuring that qualified small firms contribute meaningfully to naval innovation. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541330 (Engineering Services), where she sources systems engineering, test support, and modeling & simulation capabilities. She also regularly procures electronic components under 334419 and specialized navigation and detection systems under 334511, demonstrating deep expertise in maritime sensor technologies and electronic systems integration essential for undersea warfare operations.