Rebecca Novak

Rebecca Novak serves as a Contracting Officer within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate (FA8650), where she manages complex research and development acquisitions critical to advancing U.S. air and space dominance. Her portfolio focuses on high-priority propulsion systems, hypersonic technologies, and advanced materials development, ensuring timely and compliant procurement of cutting-edge engineering solutions. She plays a pivotal role in translating scientific innovation into operational capability by overseeing full lifecycle contract actions—from solicitation and source selection to award and administration—primarily for non-commercial, federally funded R&D projects requiring specialized technical expertise and stringent performance metrics. Novak maintains enduring relationships with industry leaders such as UES INC, General Electric Company, DCS Corporation, Spirit Aerosystems Inc., and Advanced Thermoplastic Composites LLC, all of which possess deep domain expertise in aerospace propulsion, adaptive flight controls, and high-performance composites. Her contracting approach emphasizes long-term technical collaboration, performance-based outcomes, and rigorous technical evaluation criteria, fostering partnerships built on innovation, reliability, and mission alignment rather than transactional procurement. Her acquisition strategy reflects a strong emphasis on open competition, with 100% of her awards issued under no set-aside provisions. This reflects a deliberate focus on technical merit and mission-critical capability over socioeconomic preferences, ensuring access to the most qualified and capable industry partners for highly specialized R&D tasks. While small business participation is not formally incentivized through set-asides, she actively encourages collaboration through teaming arrangements and subcontracting opportunities within prime contracts. Novak’s procurement activity is exclusively aligned with NAICS 541712—Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology). She routinely procures advanced propulsion systems, hypersonic test hardware, functional materials, and computational modeling services, requiring deep technical fluency in aerodynamics, thermodynamics, and materials science. Her work directly supports the development of next-generation propulsion architectures essential to maintaining U.S. aerospace superiority.