Margo Graves

Margo Graves serves as Associate Director and Contracting Officer within the Contract Administration Services Division of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Procurement Operations. In this role, she oversees the acquisition of critical professional, scientific, and technical services essential to national security readiness, with a focus on research and development in physical and engineering sciences, cybersecurity, and systems engineering. She manages full lifecycle contracting actions for complex, high-stakes procurements, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations while aligning acquisitions with the agency’s mission to maintain systems integrity and operational resilience. Her portfolio includes both sole-source and competitive engagements requiring advanced technical evaluation and risk mitigation strategies. Graves collaborates with a diverse range of contractors specializing in industrial gas manufacturing and applied scientific research, including established primes and niche technical firms with deep domain expertise in hazardous material handling, gas purification systems, and laboratory instrumentation. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, technical rigor, and long-term vendor reliability over transactional exchanges. She cultivates strategic partnerships with vendors capable of delivering mission-critical solutions under stringent security and quality control standards, often engaging in early market research and industry days to refine requirements and foster innovation. Graves’ procurement portfolio reflects a strong preference for full and open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions classified as non-set-aside. While she does not prioritize socioeconomic set-asides such as 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB programs, her focus remains on technical capability and mission alignment, ensuring that contract awards are driven by merit, performance history, and compliance with federal technical specifications. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 325120 (Industrial Gas Manufacturing) and 541712 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences), where she acquires specialized equipment, process engineering services, and advanced R&D support for homeland security applications. Her expertise spans cryogenic systems, gas delivery infrastructure, and applied physics research, positioning her at the intersection of engineering innovation and national security procurement.