James Rider

James Rider serves as a Contract Specialist at the Naval Air Warfare Center Air Division, where he plays a critical role in executing complex acquisitions for advanced naval aviation systems. He manages the full lifecycle of contracts supporting the development, testing, and sustainment of mission-critical avionics, electronic warfare suites, communications networks, and aircraft subsystems. His work directly enables the agency’s mission to maintain air superiority through rapid technological integration and legacy system modernization. Rider specializes in sole-source and competitive procurements under the Aircraft Manufacturing NAICS code, focusing on high-technical-risk, performance-based contracts requiring rigorous engineering oversight and defense acquisition compliance. Rider maintains long-standing, high-trust relationships with key industry partners including SABRE SYSTEMS, LLC, THE BOEING COMPANY, SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, SYSTEMS PLANNING AND ANALYSIS, INC., and ONTIC ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING, INC. These contractors provide specialized engineering services, systems integration, and hardware manufacturing critical to next-generation airborne platforms. His procurement approach emphasizes technical alignment, past performance evaluation, and risk mitigation, often leveraging firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursement contract types tailored to the complexity of aerospace development programs. Rider’s contracting portfolio reflects a strict focus on full and open competition, with 100% of awards issued under no set-aside classifications. While he does not routinely utilize socioeconomic programs such as 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides, his process remains fully compliant with FAR requirements and emphasizes technical merit and capability over socioeconomic preferences. His primary procurement focus is NAICS 336411 — Aircraft Manufacturing — encompassing the acquisition of integrated avionics, mission computers, radar systems, electronic countermeasures, and flight control hardware. Rider’s expertise lies in procuring high-integrity, defense-certified components for manned and unmanned naval aircraft, requiring deep familiarity with MIL-STD, DO-178C, and other aerospace engineering standards.