Shanna Patterson

Shanna Patterson serves as a primary procurement lead at the NASA Shared Services Center, where she plays a critical role in acquiring mission-enabling technologies that support NASA’s scientific and exploration objectives. She manages a diverse portfolio of contracts focused on high-precision analytical instrumentation, specialized software systems, and engineering services essential to maintaining the agency’s computational and laboratory infrastructure. Her work directly enables the deployment of advanced research tools used across NASA’s field centers, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations while aligning procurements with strategic technology roadmaps. Patterson’s acquisitions are predominantly non-set-aside, reflecting the technical complexity and specialized nature of the goods and services required. She maintains strong, recurring relationships with key contractors including NEXTROW INC and PENN OAK SERVICES LLC, both of which provide niche engineering, software development, and instrumentation support services. These partnerships reflect a pattern of sustained collaboration with vendors capable of delivering custom, high-reliability solutions under stringent NASA performance and quality standards. Patterson’s procurement approach emphasizes vendor reliability, technical proficiency, and past performance, often favoring contractors with demonstrated experience in aerospace-grade systems and scientific instrumentation. While the majority of her acquisitions—70.9%—are conducted without set-asides, she consistently supports small business participation through Total Small Business Set-Asides, accounting for 29.1% of her portfolio. This reflects a deliberate strategy to foster innovation and capacity within the small business community, particularly among firms with expertise in specialized technical domains. Her contracting patterns align with NASA’s broader socioeconomic goals without compromising mission-critical performance requirements. Her primary NAICS focus areas include Software Publishers (513210), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), and Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (541715). She routinely procures scientific software platforms, calibration systems, data acquisition hardware, and R&D services tailored to aerospace and planetary science applications, demonstrating deep technical fluency in instrumentation and computational research ecosystems.