Stephanie Lakata

Stephanie Lakata serves as a Contracting Officer with the Military Sealift Fleet Support Command Norfolk (N40442), where she is responsible for managing the acquisition of critical maritime systems essential to the operational readiness of the U.S. Navy’s non-combatant fleet. Her portfolio centers on procuring advanced nautical and aerospace instrumentation, propulsion system components, and marine HVAC equipment required for the maintenance and modernization of government-owned vessels. Lakata ensures compliance with federal acquisition regulations while aligning procurement strategies with the Command’s mission to sustain maritime logistics infrastructure through specialized engineering and industrial support services. Lakata cultivates strategic partnerships with a diverse range of vendors specializing in defense-grade navigation, detection, and guidance systems. While no single contractor dominates her award profile, she consistently engages with Tier 1 defense contractors and niche suppliers possessing AS9100 and ISO 9001 certifications, fostering long-term relationships built on technical precision and delivery reliability. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance-based acquisition methods and rigorous source selection criteria to ensure mission-critical system integrity. She maintains a balanced set-aside strategy, allocating approximately half of her acquisitions to small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, reflecting a strong commitment to socioeconomic contracting. Her awards frequently support small disadvantaged businesses, HUBZone firms, and other eligible small entities, enabling broad-based industry participation while maintaining mission readiness standards. Lakata’s procurement focus is exclusively aligned with NAICS 334511, which encompasses the manufacturing of search, detection, navigation, guidance, aeronautical, and nautical systems and instruments. She specializes in acquiring precision marine instrumentation, radar and sonar subsystems, autopilot controls, and integrated bridge systems, requiring deep technical understanding of naval engineering standards and DoD compliance protocols. Her expertise lies in sourcing ruggedized, shipboard-certified electronics that meet MIL-STD and IEEE maritime environmental specifications.