Melinda A. Rivera

Melinda A. Rivera serves as a key procurement professional within the Social Security Administration’s Office of Acquisition and Grants, supporting the agency’s mission to secure reliable, secure, and efficient operational infrastructure for social benefit delivery. She manages a diverse portfolio of acquisitions centered on IT modernization, cybersecurity, and facility services, ensuring compliance with federal contracting regulations while advancing the SSA’s strategic priorities. Her work spans complex systems integration, software development, and mission-critical administrative support contracts, requiring deep familiarity with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) frameworks and risk-managed procurement strategies. Rivera maintains established relationships with a core group of contractors including CA, Inc., Johnson Controls, Inc., East Coast Welding & Construction Co., Inc., and Colorid, LLC, reflecting a balanced mix of large-capacity providers in IT, facility maintenance, and security systems. Her contracting patterns emphasize performance-based outcomes and long-term service delivery, often involving multi-year task orders and indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) vehicles. She collaborates closely with technical stakeholders to align vendor capabilities with SSA’s operational needs, prioritizing vendor reliability, cybersecurity compliance, and system interoperability. While the majority of her acquisitions are unrestricted, Rivera consistently allocates approximately 26.7% of her portfolio to Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5, demonstrating a strong commitment to socioeconomic contracting. Her approach supports small business growth without compromising mission-critical requirements, fostering partnerships with capable small firms in technical and facility service sectors. Her primary NAICS focus areas include Security Systems Services (561621), Other Computer Related Services (541519), and Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690), underscoring expertise in cybersecurity infrastructure, custom software solutions, and systems consulting. She also regularly procures commercial and industrial equipment maintenance (811310) and flooring services (238330), reflecting a holistic approach to sustaining SSA’s physical and digital operational environments.