Marita F Thompson

Marita F. Thompson serves as Deputy for Small Business at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), where she plays a pivotal role in aligning small business engagement with NRL’s mission of advancing foundational research and development for naval and national security systems. In this capacity, she advises on procurement strategy, ensures compliance with federal small business goals, and facilitates meaningful participation of disadvantaged and emerging vendors in high-impact R&D contracts. Her portfolio centers on complex scientific and engineering acquisitions, particularly in physical sciences, advanced instrumentation, and electronic systems development, ensuring that innovative capabilities are sourced from a diverse and capable supplier base. Thompson maintains consistent working relationships with key contractors including Assurance Technology Corp, L3Harris NexGen Communications LLC, Envisioneering Inc, Integration Innovation Inc, and Analex Corporation. These partnerships reflect a preference for established firms with proven expertise in sensor design, signal processing, electronic warfare components, and autonomous systems integration. Her procurement approach emphasizes technical rigor, past performance, and capability alignment with NRL’s advanced R&D objectives, fostering long-term vendor collaboration grounded in mission-critical requirements. Notably, Thompson’s contracting activity reflects a 100% no set-aside profile, indicating a strategic focus on full and open competition. While she does not prioritize socioeconomic set-asides such as 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB programs, she actively promotes small business involvement through subcontracting opportunities, teaming arrangements, and mentor-protégé initiatives that integrate small firms into larger prime contract efforts. Her primary procurement focus is on NAICS 541712—Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences—encompassing advanced electronics, radar and sonar technologies, data fusion algorithms, and next-generation navigation systems. Thompson’s expertise lies in acquiring cutting-edge scientific solutions that bridge laboratory innovation with operational naval capabilities, ensuring that NRL’s R&D pipeline remains agile, secure, and technologically superior.