Sara Riley

Sara Riley serves as a primary contracting professional within the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, where she plays a critical role in executing the acquisition of complex aerospace and defense systems across their full life cycle. She manages procurements spanning research and development, guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing, and ammunition production, ensuring alignment with the AFLCMC’s mission to sustain warfighting readiness through innovation. Her work directly supports the fielding of next-generation avionics, secure microelectronics, and advanced propulsion systems, requiring deep technical understanding of defense acquisition regulations and risk mitigation strategies in high-consequence programs. Her contractor relationships are centered on prime contractors with proven expertise in defense systems integration, particularly those capable of delivering classified and sensitive technologies under strict security protocols. She collaborates with a diverse ecosystem of industrial partners, including established aerospace primes and specialized technology developers, fostering partnerships that emphasize performance-based contracting, technical innovation, and supply chain resilience. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, her pattern reflects a preference for vendors with demonstrated capability in rapid prototyping, systems engineering, and secure manufacturing environments. Sara Riley’s contracting activity is entirely non-set-aside, with 100% of her acquisitions conducted under full and open competition. This reflects the highly specialized, technologically sensitive nature of the systems she procures, where national security requirements and unique technical qualifications often preclude socioeconomic set-asides. Her approach prioritizes capability over socioeconomic classification, ensuring mission-critical performance while still adhering to all statutory and regulatory procurement frameworks. Her primary NAICS focus areas—332993, 541715, and 336414—reveal deep expertise in ammunition systems, defense R&D, and guided missile/space vehicle manufacturing. She routinely sources advanced warhead technologies, hypersonic component development, and secure electronics, demonstrating specialized knowledge in propulsion systems, guidance and control architectures, and ruggedized electronics manufacturing for extreme operational environments.