Heather Garay

Heather Garay serves as a key procurement lead within the FA8770 Aflcmc Gbk, a critical component of the Department of the Air Force responsible for sustaining and modernizing mission-critical command, control, and decision-support systems. She manages the acquisition of custom software solutions that enable real-time situational awareness, logistics coordination, and operational planning for air operations. Her portfolio centers on the modernization of legacy scheduling, monitoring, and data management platforms, ensuring secure, scalable, and interoperable systems that meet evolving warfighter requirements. Garay oversees full lifecycle contracting for complex software development efforts, from requirements definition through delivery and sustainment, with a focus on agile and DevSecOps-aligned methodologies. Garay collaborates with a diverse range of defense contractors specializing in defense-grade software engineering, systems integration, and cybersecurity-enabled applications. While specific vendor names are not publicly disclosed, her contracting patterns indicate consistent engagement with firms possessing DoD 800-53 compliance, CMMI Level 3 or higher, and ISO 27001 certifications. She fosters long-term partnerships with vendors capable of delivering secure, cloud-native applications and integrating with Air Force enterprise architectures such as ABMS and JADC2. Garay’s procurement activity is entirely non-set-aside, with 100% of contracts awarded under standard competitive procedures. This reflects a mission-critical emphasis on technical capability and rapid delivery over socioeconomic preferences, though small businesses remain eligible and are considered on merit. Her approach prioritizes performance, interoperability, and cybersecurity resilience over socioeconomic targeting. Her primary procurement focus is exclusively under NAICS 541511 (Custom Computer Programming Services), with deep expertise in procuring tailored software development for air operations systems. She specializes in acquiring real-time data fusion tools, automated scheduling engines, and secure backend platforms built for high-assurance environments, demonstrating strong technical fluency in defense software domains.