Heather Dinsmore

Heather E. Dinsmore serves as a Contract Specialist at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), where she plays a pivotal role in acquiring advanced scientific and technological capabilities to support naval and national security missions. She manages complex research and development procurements focused on physical sciences, engineering, and advanced instrumentation, ensuring alignment with NRL’s strategic priorities in electronic warfare, signal processing, autonomous navigation, and high-precision sensor systems. Her work spans the full acquisition lifecycle—from market research and solicitation development to contract award and administration—enabling the transition of cutting-edge innovations from lab to fleet. Dinsmore maintains consistent working relationships with key contractors including Assurance Technology Corp, L3Harris NexGen Communications LLC, Envisioneering Inc, Integration Innovation Inc, and Analex Corporation. These partnerships reflect a preference for firms with proven expertise in defense-oriented R&D, electronic systems integration, and mission-critical instrumentation. Her contracting patterns indicate a reliance on established industry partners with deep technical capabilities in naval applications, fostering long-term collaboration on high-complexity, low-volume procurements requiring specialized engineering knowledge. Her procurement approach prioritizes open competition, with 77.3% of awards issued without set-aside restrictions. However, she actively supports small business participation, allocating 18.2% of awards to total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5 and 4.5% to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, demonstrating a balanced commitment to both mission efficacy and socioeconomic objectives. Dinsmore’s primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541715 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences), which accounts for half of her portfolio. She frequently acquires services related to prototype development, test and evaluation, and advanced electronics manufacturing under NAICS 334515 and 334111, reflecting deep expertise in signal processing systems, electronic test instrumentation, and embedded computing platforms critical to next-generation naval systems.