Sarah Cooley

Sarah Cooley serves as a key procurement lead within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Advanced Systems and Technology Division, supporting the Department of Defense’s mission to accelerate next-generation aerospace autonomy and AI capabilities. She manages complex research and development contracts focused on mission-critical digital design, simulation frameworks, and explainable AI systems for air and space platforms. Her acquisitions prioritize operational relevance, performance validation under extreme conditions, and rapid prototyping of next-generation aerospace technologies, often engaging industry partners through broad agency announcements and other flexible contracting mechanisms. Cooley collaborates with a diverse ecosystem of defense contractors, research institutions, and technology innovators specializing in autonomous systems, high-fidelity modeling, and real-time decision analytics. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages firms with proven expertise in AI/ML algorithm development, embedded computing architectures, and secure simulation environments. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for agile, iterative partnerships that support rapid technology insertion and field validation, often leveraging Other Transaction Authority and prototype agreements to expedite innovation cycles. Her procurement strategy reflects a strong emphasis on commercial innovation, with 87% of awards issued under open competition and 13% designated as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. Though she does not prioritize specific socioeconomic categories like 8(a) or HUBZone, her consistent use of small business set-asides demonstrates a deliberate commitment to fostering competitive entry by agile, technically capable small firms in advanced aerospace domains. Cooley’s primary procurement focus lies in NAICS categories related to computer-related services, electronic computer manufacturing, and telecommunications apparatus, reflecting her technical domain expertise in AI-enabled systems, embedded computing, and high-performance digital instrumentation. She frequently procures custom software development, real-time data fusion tools, and mission-specific hardware integration services essential to autonomous platform development, aligning industry capabilities with the AFRL’s strategic imperatives in air and space dominance.