Kristen A. Ethridge

Kristen A. Ethridge serves as a procurement professional responsible for managing complex acquisitions in advanced technology and engineering domains. Her role centers on executing full lifecycle contracting processes for mission-critical systems, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations and aligning procurements with national technical priorities. She typically handles competitive solicitations for high-precision instrumentation, navigation systems, and professional engineering services, working closely with technical stakeholders to define requirements, evaluate proposals, and award contracts that meet operational and performance standards. Ethridge maintains a broad and diverse contractor base, engaging both large prime contractors and specialized small businesses across the aerospace and defense sectors. Her procurement approach emphasizes technical rigor and competitive fairness, with no single vendor dominating her award portfolio. She fosters collaborative relationships with firms possessing deep expertise in avionics, sensor development, and systems integration, ensuring access to innovative solutions while maintaining stringent oversight of contract performance and deliverables. Her contracting patterns reflect a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions conducted without set-aside designations. This indicates a focus on technical capability and value over socioeconomic categorization, though she remains compliant with all small business participation goals. Her approach prioritizes mission need and performance outcomes, ensuring that contract awards are driven by merit, innovation, and proven technical proficiency rather than socioeconomic preferences. Ethridge’s primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 334511, encompassing the acquisition of search, detection, navigation, and guidance systems, and NAICS 541330, covering professional engineering services. She routinely procures advanced avionics, radar and sonar instrumentation, embedded software systems, and systems engineering support for defense and aerospace applications. Her domain expertise includes electromagnetic sensing, real-time data processing, and mission-critical system integration, positioning her as a key technical buyer in the national security technology ecosystem.