Jessica Otten

Jessica Otten serves as a key procurement professional within the IT Contracting Division - PL83 of the Defense Information Systems Agency, where she manages mission-critical IT acquisitions to sustain and modernize secure defense information systems. Her responsibilities center on soliciting, evaluating, and awarding contracts for software solutions that enhance cybersecurity, interoperability, and operational resilience across DoD networks. She specializes in end-to-end acquisition lifecycle management for software publishers, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations and alignment with strategic modernization goals. Her portfolio consistently supports the agency’s mandate to maintain legacy infrastructure while deploying scalable, cloud-enabled platforms for mission-critical communications. Otten cultivates partnerships with a diverse ecosystem of software vendors, primarily small businesses certified under federal socioeconomic programs. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, her contracting patterns reflect a preference for agile, innovative firms capable of delivering secure, custom software applications and embedded systems tailored to defense operational needs. She actively engages with vendors through competitive sealed bidding and negotiated procurements, fostering transparent, performance-based contracting relationships grounded in technical rigor and compliance. Her procurement strategy is fully aligned with a 100% Small Business Set-Aside mandate under FAR 19.5, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunities for small businesses across all socioeconomic categories. She consistently prioritizes awarding contracts to small businesses, including 8(a), HUBZone, and SDVOSB firms, reinforcing the agency’s mandate to promote equitable access to defense IT opportunities. Otten’s technical focus is exclusively on NAICS 513210 — Software Publishers — with acquisitions centered on mission-specific software development, secure coding frameworks, cybersecurity applications, and integrated platform solutions. Her expertise lies in procuring software that supports secure data exchange, zero-trust architectures, and defense-grade DevSecOps environments, ensuring alignment with DoD cyber resilience standards.