Jenista M. Featherstone

Jenista Featherstone serves as a Contracting Officer within the Contract Administration Services Division (70RCAS) of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Procurement Operations. She is responsible for managing the full lifecycle of professional, scientific, and technical service acquisitions that directly support national security missions, including research and development, systems engineering, and facilities support. Her portfolio focuses on ensuring operational readiness through the procurement of mission-critical services that enhance cybersecurity, physical infrastructure resilience, and scientific innovation. Featherstone exercises full contracting authority under FAR and DHS-specific acquisition regulations, ensuring compliance, risk mitigation, and performance accountability across complex, high-stakes contracts. While specific contractor names are not disclosed in available data, Featherstone maintains a broad network of qualified vendors capable of delivering specialized technical services across engineering, R&D, and operational support domains. She engages with both large primes and mid-tier firms possessing proven capabilities in federal science and technology contracting, fostering collaborative relationships grounded in performance-based acquisition strategies and outcome-driven contract management. Her approach emphasizes transparency, competitive bidding, and contractor accountability to meet mission-critical timelines and technical requirements. Featherstone’s contracting patterns reflect a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions conducted without set-aside designations. This indicates a focus on maximizing competition among qualified offerors rather than socioeconomic set-asides, though she remains compliant with all small business participation goals and may include small business subcontracting requirements where appropriate. Her approach prioritizes technical merit and capability over socioeconomic categorization, aligning with DHS’s mission to secure the most capable solutions available. Her primary NAICS focus areas include 541990 (All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services), 541712 and 541715 (Research and Development in Physical and Engineering Sciences), and 561210 (Facilities Support Services). She routinely procures advanced engineering analyses, laboratory testing, systems integration, cybersecurity assessments, and mission-critical facility operations support, demonstrating deep expertise in technical domains critical to homeland security infrastructure and innovation.