Sumithra Rajashekara

Sumithra Rajashekara serves as a Program Officer within the Immediate Office of the Secretary of Transportation (693JK4 Ost), where she plays a pivotal role in advancing the agency’s mission to secure and modernize critical IT and administrative infrastructure supporting federal transportation leadership. She manages the acquisition lifecycle for professional, scientific, and technical services essential to maintaining the operational integrity of the Secretary’s headquarters, with a focus on cybersecurity modernization, physical security systems, and mission-critical workforce support functions. Her procurement activities center on high-stakes, non-commodity services requiring specialized expertise in federal IT governance, risk management, and compliance frameworks. Rajashekara collaborates with a broad spectrum of professional services firms that deliver strategic consulting, systems integration, and security assurance services. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages with firms possessing demonstrated experience in federal transportation environments, particularly those capable of delivering agile, compliant, and scalable solutions under tight operational constraints. Her working relationships emphasize performance-based outcomes, clear statement of work definitions, and adherence to federal acquisition regulations, fostering partnerships built on technical excellence and accountability. Her contracting patterns reflect a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions classified as “No Set-Aside.” This indicates a focus on selecting the most qualified providers based on technical merit and past performance rather than socioeconomic designation, though she remains compliant with all applicable small business policies. Her approach prioritizes mission effectiveness and operational readiness over socioeconomic targeting, aligning with the high-security, mission-critical nature of her portfolio. Rajashekara’s procurement focus is exclusively under NAICS 541990—All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services—encompassing cybersecurity architecture, risk assessment, policy development, and technical advisory services. She routinely procures specialized expertise in federal information systems security (FISMA), NIST compliance, and executive-level operational support, demonstrating deep domain knowledge in securing high-profile government environments.