Jennifer M. Leger

Jennifer Leger serves as a Contracting Specialist at the Missile Defense Agency (HQ0276), where she plays a pivotal role in executing complex acquisitions aligned with the agency’s mission to develop, test, and field integrated missile defense systems. She manages the full lifecycle of research and development contracts, focusing on advanced engineering solutions for ballistic and hypersonic threat mitigation, including sensor architectures, interceptor systems, and command-and-control software. Her work directly supports the Department of Defense’s strategic imperatives in national missile defense, ensuring timely procurement of cutting-edge technologies through competitive and compliant contracting processes. Leger collaborates with a diverse range of defense contractors, including prime systems integrators, aerospace engineering firms, and specialized R&D providers with expertise in radar signal processing, kinetic intercept technology, and real-time battle management systems. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages with vendors possessing deep technical capabilities in physics-based modeling, systems integration, and live-fire test support. Her procurement approach emphasizes technical merit, performance-based outcomes, and rigorous compliance with Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) requirements. Leger’s contracting patterns reflect a strong preference for unrestricted competition, with 100% of her acquisitions conducted under non-set-aside authorities. She does not routinely utilize 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides, instead prioritizing technical capability and mission readiness over socioeconomic classifications. This reflects the high-stakes, classified, and technologically intensive nature of missile defense programs, where specialized expertise often outweighs socioeconomic targeting criteria. Her primary procurement focus is on NAICS 541712—Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences—where she sources advanced engineering services, prototype development, simulation and modeling, and systems analysis for next-generation interceptors and sensor networks. Her domain expertise spans hypersonic defense architectures, mid-course tracking systems, and layered defense integration, making her a key liaison between technical stakeholders and acquisition execution teams.