Marilena J. May

Marilena J. May serves as a procurement professional specializing in satellite telecommunications acquisitions, playing a critical role in advancing the agency’s mission through secure, high-capacity space-based communications solutions. She manages the full lifecycle of contracts for satellite network services, ground station infrastructure, and related technical support, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations and national security requirements. Her work directly supports the deployment and sustainment of mission-critical satellite systems, requiring deep technical understanding of bandwidth allocation, signal integrity, and orbital mechanics. She collaborates closely with engineering and operational teams to align contractual deliverables with strategic communications objectives. Her contractor relationships are primarily with prime contractors and systems integrators specializing in satellite telecommunications services, including firms with expertise in geostationary and low-Earth-orbit satellite platforms, telemetry and command systems, and encrypted data transmission. While no single vendor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages with a pool of qualified industry participants possessing the necessary ITAR and EAR compliance credentials, as well as experience in classified and sensitive government environments. Marilena maintains a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions conducted without set-asides, reflecting a focus on technical capability and mission readiness over socioeconomic classifications. This approach prioritizes performance, reliability, and scalability in procurement decisions, aligning with the specialized nature of satellite infrastructure where only a limited number of vendors meet stringent operational requirements. Her procurement focus is exclusively centered on NAICS 517410—Satellite Telecommunications—encompassing the acquisition of transponder capacity, satellite bandwidth leases, satellite ground segment services, and associated network management solutions. She possesses deep domain expertise in RF spectrum utilization, orbital slot coordination, and international regulatory frameworks governing space-based communications, making her a key figure in securing resilient, next-generation satellite infrastructure for national priorities.