Susan Gaylor

Susan Gaylor serves as a Purchasing Agent at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division (N00174), where she plays a critical role in acquiring specialized goods and services essential to the development, testing, and sustainment of naval ordnance systems. Her procurement activities support the agency’s mission to advance explosives technology, precision instrumentation, and weapon system reliability through the acquisition of engineering services, manufacturing components, and technical testing capabilities. She routinely manages competitive solicitations under FAR Part 15, focusing on complex, performance-based contracts for mission-critical defense applications, often requiring strict compliance with military specifications and safety standards. Gaylor maintains established relationships with a core group of contractors including TOTAL CONCEPTS OF DESIGN INC, Boh Environmental, L.L.C., CHUCKING MACHINE PRODUCTS, INC., CANADIAN COMMERCIAL CORP, and DEVAL LIFE CYCLE SUPPORT LLC. These partnerships reflect a preference for vendors with proven expertise in ordnance manufacturing, environmental compliance, precision machining, and lifecycle support services. Her contracting patterns emphasize long-term vendor collaboration, technical vetting, and performance accountability, ensuring alignment with the Navy’s stringent reliability and safety requirements. While the majority of her acquisitions are conducted as open competitions (76.5% no set-aside), she demonstrates a consistent commitment to small business participation, with 23.5% of awards designated as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. Her approach reflects a balanced strategy—prioritizing technical capability while actively facilitating opportunities for qualified small businesses in the defense supply chain. Her primary procurement focus centers on NAICS codes related to testing laboratories and services (541380), explosives manufacturing (325920), and small arms and ordnance accessories manufacturing (332994). She routinely sources precision-engineered components, hazardous material handling systems, and specialized testing equipment, underscoring her deep technical familiarity with ordnance lifecycle support and defense manufacturing domains.