Michelle Knox

Michelle Knox serves as a Contract Officer for the Military Sealift Fleet Support Command Norfolk, where she manages the acquisition of critical engineering and industrial support services essential to sustaining the U.S. Navy’s non-combatant fleet. Her responsibilities include planning, soliciting, awarding, and administering contracts for the maintenance, repair, and modernization of shipboard systems—including propulsion, marine HVAC, and navigation instrumentation—ensuring operational readiness of government-owned vessels. She plays a pivotal role in aligning procurement strategies with the agency’s mission to maintain maritime logistics capability through specialized technical support and industrial infrastructure. Michelle works with a diverse range of contractors specializing in maritime systems, industrial equipment, and technical instrumentation. While no single vendor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages firms with proven expertise in naval engineering, marine electronics, and industrial supply chain logistics. Her contracting approach emphasizes technical compliance, lifecycle support, and performance-based outcomes, fostering long-term partnerships with vendors capable of delivering complex, mission-critical solutions under stringent Navy standards. Her procurement patterns reflect a strong preference for open competition, with 83.3% of acquisitions conducted without set-asides, indicating a focus on technical capability over socioeconomic categorization. Nevertheless, she actively supports small business participation, dedicating 16.7% of awards to Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5, demonstrating a balanced commitment to both competitive sourcing and broad vendor access. Michelle’s primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 334511 for nautical and navigation systems, with significant activity in industrial supplies (423840), chemical product manufacturing (325998), and oil and gas field machinery (333132). She specializes in acquiring precision instrumentation, marine control systems, and mission-critical components that support the sustainment of auxiliary naval vessels, requiring deep technical understanding of maritime engineering standards and federal acquisition regulations.