Dorri Petterson

Dorri Petterson serves as a Contract Specialist at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), where she plays a pivotal role in procuring mission-critical aviation systems and support technologies essential to naval airpower readiness. She manages the full lifecycle of complex acquisitions for advanced avionics, flight control systems, diagnostic instrumentation, and specialized test equipment, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations and technical performance requirements. Her work directly supports NAWCAD’s mission to advance the development, testing, and sustainment of next-generation naval aircraft through strategic sourcing of high-precision components and integrated systems. Petterson maintains enduring relationships with leading defense and aerospace contractors, including Lockheed Martin Corporation, BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc., PCI Aviation LLC, Critical Communications, Controls and Instruments, LLC, and Aerospace & Commercial Technologies, LLC. These partnerships are characterized by long-term collaboration on technical solutions requiring rigorous certification, rapid prototyping, and sustainment support. She consistently engages with prime contractors possessing deep domain expertise in military-grade electronics and aviation systems integration, ensuring alignment with Navy-specific operational and maintenance standards. Her contracting activity reflects a strong preference for open competition, with 98.2% of awards issued without set-aside designations, indicating a focus on technical capability and performance over socioeconomic categorization. While small business participation is limited, she maintains compliance with FAR 19.5 through occasional Total Small Business Set-Asides, ensuring that qualified vendors with niche technical capabilities can compete on merit. Petterson’s procurement focus centers on NAICS categories including 334519 (Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing), 334515 (Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals), and 334511 (Aeronautical System and Instrument Manufacturing). She specializes in acquiring precision instrumentation, sensor arrays, signal processing modules, and avionics test platforms critical to aircraft diagnostics, flight system validation, and maintenance analytics. Her technical expertise lies at the intersection of aerospace engineering and procurement compliance, ensuring that acquisitions meet stringent military performance and reliability standards.