Robin D Bartley

Robin A. Bartley serves as a Contract Negotiator within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate (FA8650), where she plays a pivotal role in securing advanced aerospace technologies critical to U.S. air and space dominance. She specializes in negotiating complex research and development contracts for next-generation propulsion systems, hypersonic flight technologies, and high-performance functional materials. Her work directly supports the agency’s mission to accelerate the transition of cutting-edge engineering solutions from laboratory innovation to operational capability, ensuring timely and technically sound procurement outcomes across mission-critical programs. Bartley maintains longstanding contractual relationships with leading aerospace and defense contractors including UES INC, General Electric Company, DCS Corporation, Spirit Aerosystems Inc., and Advanced Thermoplastic Composites LLC. These partnerships reflect a focus on industry leaders with proven expertise in propulsion system design, adaptive flight control, and advanced composite manufacturing. Her negotiation approach emphasizes technical rigor, risk mitigation, and performance-based outcomes, fostering collaborative, long-term vendor relationships grounded in mutual accountability and innovation-driven deliverables. Bartley’s contracting portfolio is entirely non-set-aside, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects a strategic emphasis on accessing the broadest possible pool of technical expertise rather than socioeconomic set-asides. While small business participation is not formally prioritized through set-aside mechanisms, her procurement strategy remains open to qualified small firms capable of meeting the stringent technical demands of propulsion and materials research. Her primary procurement focus lies within NAICS 541712, encompassing research and development in physical, engineering, and life sciences—excluding biotechnology. She routinely procures advanced materials testing, computational fluid dynamics modeling, hypersonic wind tunnel validation, and high-temperature material systems, demonstrating deep familiarity with aerospace propulsion engineering domains and the specialized R&D infrastructure required to advance them.