Kathleen Hourihan

Kathleen Hourihan serves as a key procurement professional within Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport, supporting the Department of the Navy’s mission to advance maritime warfare capabilities through technical acquisition and contract management. She oversees complex contracts for advanced naval systems, with a focus on sensor technologies, electronic warfare components, and integrated communication architectures critical to undersea, surface, and aerial domain superiority. Her work ensures timely delivery of mission-critical R&D and test evaluation capabilities, aligning acquisition strategies with operational requirements across the naval enterprise. Hourihan maintains strong working relationships with leading defense and aerospace contractors including Science Applications International Corporation, Aerospace & Commercial Technologies, LLC, Astronics Test Systems Inc, Serco Inc, and Mikel Inc. These partnerships reflect a preference for established vendors with proven expertise in naval systems integration, test instrumentation, and mission-critical engineering services. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, technical compliance, and sustained collaboration with industry partners capable of supporting rapid prototyping and fielded system sustainment. Her procurement patterns reveal a balanced commitment to small business participation, with nearly half of her awards structured as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. While no single socioeconomic category dominates, her consistent use of small business set-asides demonstrates a deliberate strategy to foster innovation and capacity-building within the defense industrial base, particularly among firms with niche capabilities in naval technology support. Her primary NAICS focus areas include engineering services (541330), commercial building construction (236220), and plumbing and HVAC contracting (238220), reflecting a hybrid portfolio that supports both high-tech R&D infrastructure and facility modernization. She routinely procures specialized services in systems engineering, test and evaluation, and technical training (611420), underscoring her expertise in managing multidisciplinary contracts that bridge advanced naval systems development with physical and operational infrastructure needs.