Pearl Solano

Pearl Solano serves as a Contract Specialist within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Rocket Propulsion Division (FA9453), where she plays a pivotal role in executing complex research and development acquisitions to advance next-generation space and aerospace technologies. Her responsibilities encompass the full lifecycle of contract actions—from solicitation and evaluation to award and administration—supporting high-priority initiatives in resilient computing architectures, space domain awareness, and autonomous space systems. She specializes in non-commercial, performance-based contracts for cutting-edge engineering and scientific research, ensuring alignment with national security objectives and rapid prototyping mandates. Solano collaborates with a diverse ecosystem of defense contractors, academic research institutions, and advanced technology firms specializing in propulsion systems, space instrumentation, and high-performance computing. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages with firms possessing deep technical expertise in aerospace engineering, hypersonics, and space-based data processing. Her procurement approach emphasizes technical merit, innovation, and mission-critical capability over cost alone, fostering long-term partnerships with vendors capable of delivering high-risk, high-reward solutions under tight developmental timelines. Solano’s contracting patterns reflect a strong preference for full and open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions conducted without set-asides. This underscores a strategic focus on accessing the broadest possible pool of technical talent to meet the Air Force’s urgent innovation needs, rather than prioritizing socioeconomic categories. Her approach prioritizes capability and readiness over socioeconomic classification, aligning with the mission-critical nature of the technologies under development. Her primary procurement focus is on NAICS 541712—Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences—where she procures advanced propulsion systems, space-qualified sensors, autonomous navigation algorithms, and ruggedized computing hardware. She works closely with engineering teams to translate technical requirements into enforceable contract deliverables, ensuring that funded research directly supports the Air Force’s dominance in space operations and next-generation satellite architectures.