Margaret Thomas

Margaret Thomas serves as a key procurement lead within the FA8621 AFLCMC WNSK SIMS unit of the Department of the Air Force, where she oversees the acquisition of mission-critical avionics and synthetic training systems essential to maintaining Air Force operational readiness. Her responsibilities center on managing full lifecycle contracts for custom software development, simulation infrastructure, and integrated avionics modernization programs that support pilot and maintenance crew training across high-performance aircraft platforms. She plays a pivotal role in translating technical requirements from flight test and training commands into actionable acquisition strategies, ensuring alignment with Air Force digital modernization priorities and cybersecurity compliance standards. Thomas maintains a primary working relationship with Lockheed Martin Corporation, a principal systems integrator for advanced aircrew training solutions and embedded logistics platforms. Her procurement approach favors long-term, performance-based partnerships with prime contractors possessing deep domain expertise in flight simulation, real-time data modeling, and secure avionics architecture. These relationships are characterized by iterative development cycles, agile acquisition frameworks, and continuous capability upgrades under indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) mechanisms. Thomas’s contracting portfolio exhibits no set-aside preferences, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects a strategic emphasis on technical superiority and mission-critical performance over socioeconomic classifications, prioritizing proven capability and system interoperability over vendor size or certification status. Her procurement focus is exclusively aligned with NAICS 541511 (Custom Computer Programming Services), underscoring her specialization in bespoke software development for synthetic training environments, digital twin integration, and mission rehearsal systems. She procures high-fidelity, government-furnished equipment-enabled software solutions that support live-virtual-constructive (LVC) training architectures and next-generation pilot-in-the-loop simulation platforms.