Erin Young, Procuring Contracting Officer

Erin Young serves as a key procurement lead within the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (N61340), responsible for managing acquisitions that advance naval aviation training capabilities. She oversees the development and sustainment of mission-critical simulation systems, immersive training environments, and avionics infrastructure essential to pilot and aircrew readiness. Her portfolio focuses on complex, technology-driven contracts that integrate hardware, software, and curriculum development to modernize tactical training systems across the Navy’s maritime aviation enterprise. Erin ensures alignment with DoD acquisition directives and operational requirements, prioritizing solutions that enhance realism, interoperability, and scalability in live-virtual-constructive training domains. Her primary contractor relationships center on STRACON SERVICES GROUP, LLC and FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL INC, both of which provide high-fidelity flight simulators, training system integration, and mission-specific avionics support. These partnerships reflect a preference for established industry leaders with proven expertise in defense-grade simulation technologies, while maintaining flexibility to engage niche vendors for specialized components. Erin’s contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, systems engineering rigor, and lifecycle sustainment, ensuring long-term operational effectiveness of training assets. Erin consistently applies a balanced set-aside strategy, with half of her acquisitions reserved for small businesses under FAR 19.5 and the other half awarded as full and open competitions. This approach ensures robust competition while actively fostering small business participation, particularly among firms capable of delivering specialized training system components and maintenance services. Her pattern reflects a deliberate effort to build a resilient supplier base without compromising technical performance or mission timelines. Her procurement focus is exclusively aligned with NAICS 333310—Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing—reflecting deep specialization in the design, integration, and production of advanced training devices. She procures high-end flight simulators, synthetic training environments, embedded training systems, and mission rehearsal platforms, demonstrating expertise in electro-mechanical systems, real-time simulation software, and human-machine interface technologies critical to naval aviation readiness.