Laina J Ouellette

Laina J. Ouellette serves as a Contract Negotiator at Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport, where she plays a pivotal role in securing critical capabilities to advance naval warfare systems. Responsible for negotiating complex technical and commercial terms across high-priority acquisitions, she supports the agency’s mission to develop, test, and evaluate advanced maritime technologies. Her portfolio primarily encompasses engineering services, electronic systems, and integrated communication solutions essential for undersea, surface, and aerial domain superiority, with a strong focus on sensor, navigation, and electronic warfare technologies. She ensures compliance with federal acquisition regulations while aligning contract outcomes with operational readiness goals. Ouellette maintains established working relationships with key industry partners including Science Applications International Corporation, Aerospace & Commercial Technologies, LLC, Astronics Test Systems Inc, Serco Inc, and Mikel Inc. These partnerships reflect a strategic emphasis on technical innovation and systems integration, particularly in the development of test equipment, mission-critical electronics, and specialized naval instrumentation. Her negotiation approach balances rigorous technical validation with commercial flexibility, fostering long-term vendor collaboration to meet evolving naval requirements. Her contracting patterns demonstrate a strong preference for open competition, with 65.4% of awards issued without set-aside designation. However, she consistently facilitates 34.6% of acquisitions through Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5, reflecting a deliberate commitment to expanding small business participation in advanced naval technology programs without compromising technical performance or schedule integrity. Ouellette’s procurement focus centers on NAICS 541330 (Engineering Services) and 334111 (Electronic Computer Manufacturing), with significant activity in 334511 for search, detection, and navigation systems. She routinely negotiates contracts for high-performance sonar arrays, electronic countermeasure components, and integrated command and control interfaces, underscoring her deep technical familiarity with naval sensor architectures and mission-critical electronics manufacturing.